The Fringe Dwellers

The Fringe Dwellers
Theatrical poster
Directed byBruce Beresford
Written byBruce Beresford
Rhoisin Beresford
Produced bySue Milliken
StarringKristina Nehm
Justine Saunders
Kylie Belling
CinematographyDonald McAlpine
Edited byTim Wellburn
Music byGeorge Dreyfus
Release date
  • October 1986 (1986-10)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$1.26 million
Box office$174,433 (Australia)

The Fringe Dwellers is a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1961 novel The Fringe Dwellers by Western Australian author Nene Gare. The film is about a young Aboriginal girl who dreams of life beyond the family camp that sits on the fringe of white society (the term fringe dwellers having specific application in Australia).

The film is acclaimed as being the first Australian film featuring Indigenous actors in all the major roles. It achieved critical and international success when it was released in 1986, but gained only a lukewarm reception in Australia.