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The Moogai

Directed by Jon Bell

2023

Australia

86 minutes

Unclassified 18+

Book Tickets

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A malicious spirit enters the home of a young Indigenous couple with a newborn baby. Based on his SFF-winning short of the same name, writer-director Jon Bell’s striking feature debut arrives direct from SXSW and Sundance.

The haunting history of the Stolen Generations looms large in this boldly conceived and stylishly executed psychological horror movie from Jon Bell (The Chuck In, SFF 2013). When successful city lawyer Sarah (Shari Sebbens) and husband Fergus (Meyne Wyatt) become parents for the second time, their joy is short-lived. Lurking in the shadows is a whispering creature that wants to steal their baby. Artfully weaving the story of Sarah’s difficult family background into the nightmarish terror that begins to consume her, Bell delivers an eerie tale that unfolds at the intersection of primal fear, generational trauma and supernatural horror.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

A striking allegory, building on the Stolen Generations inspiration to touch on everything from postpartum depression to Indigenous mythology, to racial identity and parent-child reconciliation

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

This allegory is all the more disturbing for the truth that it represents; when deployed properly, there’s nothing quite like reality to make a horror story all the more haunting

Laura Bradley, The Daily Beast

Special Guests

Jon Bell

Director

Jon Bell is an Indigenous filmmaker with an extensive portfolio in Australian cinema and television. His show Cleverman was AACTA-nominated and won the Screen Producers Australia Award for Best Drama in 2017. Bell’s short film The Chuck In also screened at Sydney Film Festival in 2013.

Tessa Rose

Cast

Tessa Rose is an actress and dancer with an extensive background in theatre with Sydney Theatre Company, Riverside, Belvoir and Bangarra. Her one-woman play The Daily Rivergirl premiered at Browns Mart Theatre and toured Adelaide Fringe Festival, where it won Theatre Production of the Week.

Meyne Wyatt

Cast

Meyne Wyatt is an award-winning Wongutha-Yamatji actor, writer and director. His screen credits include the Australian anthology film We Are Still Here (SFF Opening Night 2022), the musical comedy The Sapphires, and the film adaptation of Tim Winton’s The Turning. Wyatt also wrote and starred in his breakout debut play City of Gold, which he is adapting for the screen with Bunya Productions.