Cracks in the Mask

Cracks in the Mask

  • Overview
  • Cast
  • Crew

Status

Released

Release Date

Jun 6, 1997

Runtime

0h 57m

Genres

Documentary

Original Title

Cracks in the Mask

Production Companies

SBS Independent, Talking Pictures, SF DRS/ SRG SSR idée suisse, WDR

Director

Frances Calvert

Description

A century ago the Torres Strait Island were the subjects of the famous Cambridge Anthropological Expedition - the resulting depletion of their cultural artifacts left them with nothing but a history of remembered loss. The only people in the Pacific to make elaborate turtleshell masks have none left - they are all in foreign museums. In a quest to reclaim the past, Ephraim Bani, a wise and knowledgeable Torres Strait Islander, travels with his wife to the great museums of Europe where his heritage lies. The film, an SBS Independent production, shows that the thickest of masks cracks when a descendant of the original owners enters a museum.