Movies

Cold Turkey

Synopsis

“You can pick your mates but you can’t pick your family.”

Cold Turkey explores the relationship of two brothers against a back drop of manipulative mind games.

Shane and Robby are Aboriginal brothers living in Alice Springs. Robby is leaving for a job in the opal fields of Coober Pedy. Feeling abandoned, Shane taunts him into drinking heavily and plots to find a way of stopping him from leaving.

Awakening in a prison cell, the brothers attempt to reconstruct the events of the preceding night – a long night of self-destructive drinking. Gradually the pieces of the nightmare start falling into place, or do they?

A story of disempowerment and the breaking of a spirit, Cold Turkey provides a twist on the theme of “brotherly love”.

Superbly acted by its young and mostly Aboriginal cast, and inventively directed, this intense and unsettling drama offers an insight into the emotional dimension of social dislocation and alienation among young Aboriginal men in an urban context.

Details

Cast
Wayne Munro - Robby
John Moore - Shane
Kelton Pell - Old Man
Christine Palmer - Bernie
Gorgy Winter - Police officer
Adam May - Police officer
Heath Farlow - Police officer
Bec Sindler - ATM female tourist
Alan ‘Oopy’ Campbell - Brother boys
Martin ‘Bobo’ Campbell - Brother boys
Ricky Ramp - Tavern bouncer
Errol Williams - Tavern barman
Melissa Middleton - Tavern girl
Jacinta Castle - Tavern girl
Neville Khan - Accident man
Netta Williams - Accident woman
Audrey Martin - Accident woman
Ida Granite - Accident woman
Trevor Adamson - Old man
Steve Laxton - Old man
Video/DVD release date
2003
Awards
2003 Australasian Video Awards, Gold Medal “Short Film Drama” 2003 Winner for “Best NT Film” and “Best cinematography” – Down Under Film Festival
Rating
PG - Parental guidance
Distributor
Ronin Films
Soundtrack
David Bridie

Watch now or find a DVD/BlueRay copy

Powered by JustWatch

Browse a list of Aboriginal film suppliers and distributors

Other films by Steven McGregor

Go exploring!

Use the Aboriginal film timeline to discover films you never heard of.

Take the quiz: Are you an Aboriginal movie buff?

Cite this page

Korff, J 2018, Cold Turkey, <https://stage.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/cold-turkey>, retrieved 11 December 2024

Creative Spirits is a starting point for everyone to learn about Aboriginal culture. Please use primary sources for academic work.

Join thousands of Smart Owls who know more!