Timelines: Honoring Vision in a Posthumous Documentary Film in Balgo
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Presentation Type
Presentation
Location
Online and in the Kailis Room
Start Date
1-7-2026 12:30 PM
End Date
1-7-2026 1:30 PM
Description
This talk reflects upon the following question: how does one honor the vision of a deceased long-term film partner within the editing process? I have wrestled with this question in the wake of the passing of Mark Moora, a Kukatja elder that I worked with in Balgo. Mark and I began collaborating on the documentary film Mangkayi Calling during my years of fieldwork with Aboriginal media organizations in Western Australia over a decade ago.
This film traces the vacillating history of victories and setbacks in Mark’s life and regional Aboriginal Australian communities including Yagga Yagga. After Mark passed away in 2020, the documentary became indefinitely paused due to cultural protocols and heartbreak. Here, I recount the story of aiming to honor Mark’s vision alongside his family through multiple visits to Balgo in recent years, including June of 2026, when we went through the footage together. I explore the layers of meaning embedded within the film editing framework of “timelines”—temporally binding screens, projects, relationships, and lifetimes.
Recommended Citation
Lempert, William, "Timelines: Honoring Vision in a Posthumous Documentary Film in Balgo" (2026). Talking Heads Seminar Series. 7.
https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/nulungu_talkingheads/2026/Schedule/7
Timelines: Honoring Vision in a Posthumous Documentary Film in Balgo
Online and in the Kailis Room
This talk reflects upon the following question: how does one honor the vision of a deceased long-term film partner within the editing process? I have wrestled with this question in the wake of the passing of Mark Moora, a Kukatja elder that I worked with in Balgo. Mark and I began collaborating on the documentary film Mangkayi Calling during my years of fieldwork with Aboriginal media organizations in Western Australia over a decade ago.
This film traces the vacillating history of victories and setbacks in Mark’s life and regional Aboriginal Australian communities including Yagga Yagga. After Mark passed away in 2020, the documentary became indefinitely paused due to cultural protocols and heartbreak. Here, I recount the story of aiming to honor Mark’s vision alongside his family through multiple visits to Balgo in recent years, including June of 2026, when we went through the footage together. I explore the layers of meaning embedded within the film editing framework of “timelines”—temporally binding screens, projects, relationships, and lifetimes.
