Film No. 68 (2021) August 24th. 6:45 PM Cinema 1 LUNA, Leederville.
"The police haven't got a single piece of evidence. They haven't got a single piece of forensic evidence to tie me to those murders!" (The explanation prime suspect Jay Ford continually repeats as he protests his innocence).
Watching this compelling documentary and being embarrassed as a white, privileged, Australian is simply understating how I actually felt as I walked from the cinema after watching THE BOWRAVILLE MURDERS.
As far as documentaries go, TBM is thorough, incisive, informative and as mentioned previously, compelling. Many countries reflect on multiple cases where injustices to their indigenous population raise questions of incompetence by law-makers, law enforcers, and the onlookers who simply shrug their collective shoulders. The injustices blanketing the families of Colleen Walker (16), Evelyn Greenup (4) and Clinton Speedy-Duroux (16) thirty-one years on from their brutal murders will make your blood boil due to the intimate power of this film.
The Australian newspaper first made the forgotten story of these serial killings public in 2016 through a podcast series by sound technician, turned voice talent, Dan Box . Box is featured here along with detective Gary Jubelin, both are committed white men, who dedicated years of their lives to helping the families of the victims. Their stories and the relationships they built with the embittered Gambaynggirr people of the mission settlement in Bowraville give hope to the idea that bridges can be built in our time.
The strengths that lie in the human spirit are exemplified here and there are many reasons to be optimistic. However due to the fact that police in a position to deal with the case at the time did nothing, a prime suspect, Jay Ford, was never investigated thoroughly when the scent was warm.
I had no idea that so many more layers to this story had been revealed since I finished listening to Box's Podcast. The layers will have you in awe of the resilience of the families of Colleen, Evelyn and Clinton. The respect we garner for Detective Jubelin in the second half of TBM is nothing compared to the Gambaynggirr people's love for him. The documentary does what a good doco should do; moves an audience. 11GUMS.
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