BUSH MECHANICS:
ABC TV. 1999.

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Bush Mechanics - The Series. VHS. PAL. 2001. (Also DVD).

“A Bush Mechanic is a person who fixes his car using wood and anything he can find to replace the certain part that is broken.”

Bush Mechanics – The Series follows the exploits of a group of young Aboriginal men as they travel across the central desert in their clapped-out cars. In each episode the five Bush Mechanics from the remote Warlpiri community of Yuendumu are faced with a new set of challenges and a host of mechanical problems, which they solve with inventive bush repair techniques.

Bush Mechanics – The Series blends drama and documentary with anecdotes of life in the bush. Each of the four episodes - Motorcar Ngutju (Good Motorcar); Payback; The Chase; The Rainmakers - illuminates a particular aspect of Warlpiri life.
Featured characters include Jack Jakamarra, an Aboriginal elder who introduces the episodes with recollections of his first strange encounters with white people and their ways, and Jupurrula, the magic mechanic who appears from nowhere to help the Bush Mechanics when they are in real car trouble.

Combining adventure, magic, realism and a distinctive brand of indigenous humour, Bush Mechanics – The Series provides an insight into both contemporary and traditional Aboriginal culture. It is based on an original half-hour program that was broadcast on the ABC in 1999, and has received awards and critical acclaim both here and overseas.