SBS film captures Trundle NSW’s quest to launch an ABBA Tribute Festival as it aims to follow in the footsteps of Parkes’ Elvis Festival.
Documentary special ABBA & Elvis in the Outback can be seen on SBS on Thursday (was previously available at SBS on Demand).
The film captures Trundle NSW’s ambitious quest to launch an ABBA Tribute Festival, as it strives to follow in the footsteps of the neighboring town of Parkes, home to the world famous Parkes Elvis Festival.
It was the idea that these rural communities chose to celebrate international music icons to secure their economic future.
Director Tahyna Tozzi MacManus, whose grandparents emigrated to Parkes, became fascinated by the city’s 365-day tribute to the king himself, Elvis, from murals to monuments, and an annual festival that injects $15 million into the local economy.
The film from the female-led production company Neon Jane is about survival. Against a backdrop of drought, floods and even locusts, the film documents the resilience of rural communities, transforming nostalgia into economic lifelines.
MacManus said: “There is something beautiful and unexpectedly moving about these towns choosing joy and international pop icons as a means to persevere. Trundle’s celebration of ABBA is filled with pride and positivity. Close by, Parkes feels like an international shrine to the King himself. What struck me was the humor and heart in the way these communities are reinventing themselves in the face of hardship.
“This documentary is our love letter to rural Australia. I hope audiences enjoy the spectacle, but also see the power: the role these communities play in our cultural fabric, and how ABBA and Elvis helped keep their spirit alive.”
In central west NSW, the rural town of Parkes has achieved its unique fame over the years as the home of The Dish and now as the home of the world’s largest Elvis Tribute festival. Drive 53km west along the Bogan Way and you will find the small town of Trundle. After weathering a plague of mice, locusts, drought, Covid, floods and a dwindling population, can a small group of locals follow in Parkes’ footsteps and hold the world’s only ABBA tribute festival to bring some life back to their dying town?
Director: Tahyna Tozzi MacManus
Producers: Kelly Tomasich and Tahyna Tozzi MacManus
Executive Producers: Keith Rodger and Josh Pomeranz
Editors: Tahyna Tozzi MacManus and Kelly Cameron
Photography director: Thomaz Labanca
Thursday, December 18 at 7:30 PM on SBS
#Broadcast #Abba #Elvis #Outback #Television #tonight