We acknowledge Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF are based.
We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

The Moogai

Directed by Jon Bell
2023
Australia
86 minutes
M
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.

Tickets

Sat 8 Jun
8:30pm
Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 5
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Sun 9 Jun
8:45pm
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 1
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Program Strand
Freak Me Out, First Nations Award
Year
2023
Classification
M
Country
Australia
Language
In English
Director
Jon Bell
Producer
Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings, Mitchell Stanley
Cast
Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt, Tessa Rose
Screenwriter
Jon Bell
Cinematographer
Sean Ryan
Editor
Simon Njoo
Premiere
Australian Premiere
Genre
Horror, Australian Films, First Nations
Company Credits
Australian Distributor: Maslow Entertainment
Official Website
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