This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Sundance Film Festival movie "Mad Bastards" made its debut this weekend in its native Australia - but not without some tragedy attached.
The movie, which depicts life for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley town of Wyndham, in Western Australia, opened on Friday, the same day that one of its cast members was sentenced for a stabbing death.
Roxanne Williams, who played a supporting role in the film, was sentenced to three years for fatally stabbing her partner, Joseph Johnston, with a kitchen knife, the New Zealand Herald reported.
During the trial, Williams' lawyers argued that Johnston, 30, had assaulted her many times - including on the night of his death. Williams, then 14 weeks pregnant, intended to disable him when she grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the chest. After trying to resuscitate him, she called the police and an ambulance.
The director of "Mad Bastards," Dexter Fletcher, testified as a character witness for Williams, 29. According to the Herald, Fletcher told the court that Williams "had behaved in an exemplary way during filming and was a loving and caring mother."
On Sunday, according to The West Australian newspaper, Australian singer Alex Lloyd headlined a concert in Broome, near Wyndham, in honor of Josie Pigram, who died earlier this year.
Josie Pigram was the wife of Alan Pigram, who with his brother Scott form the Pigram Brothers - who worked with Lloyd to create the "Mad Bastards" soundtrack.
An emotional highlight of the Mother's Day concert, the paper reported, was when Lloyd sang out Josie's name during a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."