Hitting cinemas around Australia from Thursday 8th of September is Franklin, a documentary-style film about the fight to save the World Heritage-listed Franklin River and one man’s 14-day solo journey down the river itself. 

 

With never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with protestors and politicians from the 1980s, including Bob Brown himself, Franklin shares the story of Australia’s most significant environmental battle on this journey into the past. 

Photo by Bruce Fenton
Photo by Chris McGowan
Photo by Peter Moore
Photo by Denis Lisson
Photo from The Examiner newspaper
Photo by The Wilderness Society
Photo by George Krieger
Photo from The Examiner newspaper

But it’s also a quest for the future, as eighth-generation Tasmanian and environmentalist, Oliver Cassidy, challenges himself to retrace the 14-day rafting journey his father took down the Franklin River to join protestors at the dam site, in order to make peace with his father’s passing. 

With stunning on-site footage of Franklin River shot by Screen Australia and with the memory of Oliver’s dad, Mike, voiced by Hugo Weaving, Franklin is teeing up to be an incredibly moving and inspirational visual journey through history and one of Tasmania’s most raw and untamed wildernesses. 

Check out Franklin in cinemas across the country from tomorrow! 

 

 

Feature photo by Luke Tscharke