Mitjili Napanangka Gibson Biography
Mitjili’s first drama was playing the title role in Warwick’s short film Na na, which was shot at the end of 2006. She has also been featured in Beck Cole’s SBS documentary Lore of Love, where she teaches her granddaughters about the traditional rules of love. Mitjili is Marissa Gibson’s actual step-grandmother and is thought to have been born around 1938 in Pintupi country, near Kiwirrkurra, WA.
In 1957, when she was met by anthropologist Donald Thompson’s expedition, she was a married woman with one child and another on the way, living a traditional lifestyle. Mitjili’s bush skills are still in demand today, whether she is tracking endangered animals to help with scientific research, showing the secrets of the Western Desert to visiting film crews, or hunting for her own enjoyment.
Through the 60s until the late 90s, Mitjili lived in the Yuendumu and Nyirripi Communities, before moving to Alice Springs. Acting is the latest of many jobs in Mitjili’s life. She has also taken up painting in the last few years and has quickly become a very highly regarded artist. Her first solo show at Gondwana Gallery sold out in a matter of hours and her colourful works are highly collectable.
The beautiful artworks used in the film are her own. Warwick Thornton says of Mitjili, “What she brings is this incredible ray of sunshine, this amazing truth and reality to film. She just owns the screen.”
