A brilliant circus family’s hidden legacy unfolds as descendants reunite across continents, revealing their Australian Aboriginal ancestry, global stardom, and the extraordinary secrets they kept in order to survive. The greatest entertainment on earth in the 1900s was the circus and its performers were the global superstars. The big top transported children and adults alike into a world where anything was possible.
Con Colleano, ‘the wizard on the wire’ defied gravity, while he and his family defied all odds to become a global phenomenon. Through the Colleano family's remarkable home movies, never-before-seen footage, family interviews and archive, their extraordinary story is revealed. Rooted in humble beginnings from the Australian bush, the family outmanoeuvred punitive Australian laws and prejudice to travel the world, concealing their Indigenous heritage and reaching the highest echelons of circus stardom.
Con Colleano dazzled fans while also mingling with icons including Charlie Chaplin, at the most exclusive social sets of America and Europe, beguiling even the likes of Hitler and Mussolini.
As the filmmaker, Pauline Clague, reveals her connection to the story, she finds Australian Deb Hescott, who uncovers her own secret link to this family. Connecting with Molly, one of the oral history holders of the family, they go on a profound journey of discovery. The Colleano Heart unravels the hidden secrets of their family of circus royalty, revealing them as survivors of Australia’s Hidden Generation of Aboriginal people.
The Colleano Heart presents a rich portrait of the family, and the global socio-cultural shifts shaping First Nations lives. The Colleano Heart recently screened at the Adelaide Film Festival, and Nadine Whitney spoke with director Pauline Clague ahead of the films screening about her film.
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