Close to the Bone

A sweeping family saga that unfolds in Scotland, England, Australia and the Philippines over more than 80 years.

On 24 June 1948, the SS Ormonde docks at Railway Pier in Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne. Among its passengers are 250 British children who have arrived without parents or family to begin a new and better life in Australia. Within that number are six orphaned brothers and sisters: 20-year-old Jayne Harper, 17-year-old James, 15-year-old John, 12-year-old Betty, 10-year-old David and 6-year-old Margaret.

John (now 92) is the father of film-maker Kerreen Ely-Harper. In 2012, Kerreen embarks on her own journey to tell her family’s story on film. She has always felt her father’s story didn’t add up. The death of both his parents led to a childhood interrupted by trauma, poverty and migration. Once a curious child, Kerreen, now an adult, begins asking questions about the past to uncover a difficult family history.