Journey Home, David Gulpilil: the ‘extraordinary’ 4,000km, 10-month effort to return the actor home

<p>After his death in 2021, Gulpilil’s family and mob used planes, boats, vans and helicopters to transport his casket, with a documentary crew in tow. As his son reflects: ‘We have to fulfil his wishes – by any means’</p><p><em><strong>Warning:</strong> Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have died</em></p><p>He was a man who danced between two worlds, carried stories across continents and, on his final journey, returned to the land that made him.</p><p>Before <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/30/vale-david-dalaithngu-the-inimitable-actor-who-changed-the-movies-and-changed-us">his death in November 2021</a>, actor David Gulpilil made one final request: to be laid to rest in his ancestral home, deep in remote East Arnhem Land. Honouring that wish became a monumental undertaking and the subject of a documentary releasing across Australia next week called Journey Home, David Gulpilil.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/24/david-gulpilil-actor-casket-journey-home-documentary">Continue reading...</a>