"Samson and Delilah"

Last Friday night we caught a cab up to Telegraph station to watch a free outdoor screening of "Samson and Delilah" a love story set in Alice.

The cab dropped us off and we walked through the dark bush with dozens of people carrying picnics and chairs. We arrived to the melodious sounds of a band called something like “Desert Death Metal (apologies if this is but a loose interpretation of the band’s name).” 

Besides the sheer musical genius of “Desert Death Metal,” what struck me first was that there were nearly equal numbers of Indigenous and non-Indigenous viewers assembled, waiting for the film to begin.

Although there are more Indigenous people in Alice than I have ever seen before, the cultures seem very separate here, in every day life. White people and Aboriginal people in the town seem, for the most part, to stay out of each other’s way. But on Friday night, it felt that everyone had come together for the same thing, to watch a movie about Alice. That in itself made the event feel unique.

The screen was framed on either side by huge ghost gums. The film was remarkable. Samson and Delilah’s romance played out with not a word spoken between them. The film managed to capture humour and tenderness inside a tragedy. Samson and Delilah were both exquisitely beautiful and unaffected actors. The events of the film were horrifying, because of the unavoidable truths it presented. We’re used to film being a genre that allows escapism but whilst watching this film all I could think was “this really happens to people, this is real.”

Sitting under the ghost gums, at the Alice premiere of this film, listening to the proud shouts when a friend’s face came up on the big screen or when the local Coles was recognised, I felt privileged to be here in Alice Springs, and really felt a part of something special.