“For Australia to become like this – to have Villawood transformed into that is painful.” – Maria

A well-known end point and starting point for those who leave their country seeking asylum in Australia is Villawood Detention Centre – formerly known as Villawood Hostel. Two women who were faced with the choice to flee share their story with their sons.

There are a few things that separate the arrival of Maria and Zahoor at Villawood: ten years, a few policy reforms and two very large fences.
Visit The Stories Project website for more videos.

Villawood Mums
Release: October 2010
Location: Villawood Detention Centre, Western Sydney

Producers: Guido Gonzalez and Saif Jari
Directors: Guido Gonzalez and Saif Jari
1st Assistant Director: Alan Lao
Directors Photography: Guido Gonzalez and Saif Jari
Editor: Anna Lam
Sound (Shoot): Shane MacDonald
Sound (Post) and Music: Saif Jari

The Stories Project
Creative Director: Shakthidharan
Producer: Eleanor Winkler
Mentors: Elias Nohra & Platon Theodoris

Click here to order This City is a Body online via Paypal or secure credit card payment or call us on (02) 9281 2570 to organise an alternative method of payment.

A beautifully packaged DVD with a luscious 22 page booklet.

The DVD includes the main feature, This City is a Body, a short film 100 Blind Deals and the mashup Sold / This City is a Body .
Only $20 including GST (Australian buyers) and shipping to anywhere in the world.

Background

Over 4 years, 50 people from the same city worked on The Migrant Project : CuriousWorks’ first creative initiative. The action was documented on video by many different people, on many different cameras. The resulting edit, unfolding an invisible, bird’s eye view of the project, is the film This City is a Body .

It is a portrait of Sydney, Australia, from the ground up: an examination of a place built on a history of migration. Its backdrop is a time in Australia’s history when a race riot, desperate refugees and citizenship tests seemed to dominate the political agenda.

This film is for anyone who has wondered about mapping more than a city’s streets. Anyone who has thought about who their belonging displaces. This City is a Body doesn’t provide any answers, but it does depict the extraordinary journey of one motley group trying to – and bringing you along with them, whether you like it or not.

View Excerpts

This City is a Body Part 2: Survival

This City is a Body Part 5: Them
Please note this video contains sustained coarse language at one point. A safe version of the film is available for education buyers: please click here to acquire it.

Click here if you are from an educational institution.

Click here to view The Migrant Project blog.

That would make me Aboriginal, wouldn’t it?

This little film has been causing stirs and rousing discussions all over Sydney and Canberra, so it’s time you lot had a peek! Created by indigenous youths between 13 and 16 in the PAKT program, Caught Between explores notions of identity and acceptance.

The short film was shot in Fairfield over a weekend in May, 2009. The young people worked with CuriousWorks and Powerhouse Youth Theatre to devise and shoot it, addressing issues that were pertinent to their lives and experiences. The film is designed as a starting point for conversation, and the PAKT group welcome feedback! How did it make you feel/think/act?

The PAKT kids are part of a program called How Big Are Your Dreams, a new year-long program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school and TAFE students who live or study in or around Sydney. This is a partnership between Gilbert + Tobin, Tranby Aboriginal College and the University of Technology, Sydney.