The Tall Man

Early one morning in November 2004, Palm Island, Australia. Young aborigine Cameron Doomadgee was drunkenly tottering down the street, on his way home on this sparsely populated island. Following a brief exchange of words with white police officer Christopher Hurley, he was arrested. A little less than an hour later, Cameron was found dead in his cell, with a perforated liver and four broken ribs. Hurley denied any involvement, but an eyewitness, also an aborigine, saw the tall officer raining blows on Cameron while he lay, defenseless, in the doorway. The aborigine community was shocked, and serious riots broke out: Hurley had to answer charges in court. The trial that followed went on for years. Filmmaker Tony Krawitz based his exhaustive reconstruction on the book of the same name by Chloe Hooper, who attempted to solve the puzzle by presenting an impressive procession of witnesses. Members of Cameron's family, journalists, legal experts, everyone appears on camera - except for the police. Was it just an unfortunate accident? A single violent incident by the normally "friendly giant" Hurley? Or has the Australian police force still not overcome its racist past, protected by a legal system in a country based on apartheid principles? (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)