• 10 months ago
Sarah and Fergus, a hopeful young Aboriginal couple, give birth to their second baby. But what should be a joyous time of their lives becomes sinister when Sarah starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her baby. Fergus, who can’t see it but desperately wants to believe her, grows increasingly worried as she becomes more unbalanced. Is the child-stealing spirit real or is she in fact the biggest threat to the safety of their family?

Written and directed by Jon Bell, the film stars Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt, Tessa Rose, Clarence Ryan with Toby Leonard Mooore and Bella Heathcote.

Bell expanded the screenplay from his 2021 short of the same name.

The Moogai had its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Transcript
00:00 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
00:04 - Is it hard?
00:06 I don't mean difficult. I mean--
00:09 oh, you know what I mean.
00:12 - Yes.
00:13 Sometimes.
00:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:17 - What's the hardest thing about it?
00:20 - When the caller hangs up.
00:21 Not always, but sometimes you just
00:27 wanted to keep talking, and you can't call them back.
00:31 So you just wonder, did I upset them?
00:35 Did I fail them?
00:38 - But they were already hurting.
00:40 - Yes.
00:42 - So it was already hard.
00:45 - Yes.
00:48 - Does it make you cry?
00:49 - Sometimes.
00:55 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:57 But the fact is, I'm just hearing their stories.
01:00 They're the ones living them.
01:01 So for me to cry, it feels like, I don't know,
01:06 a bit of a self-indulgence.
01:10 It isn't about me.
01:11 I'm-- I'm just here to listen.