Documentary following female AFL hopefuls opens Darwin International Film Festival

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A new documentary following four female Tiwi Island AFL hopefuls over a six-year period opened Darwin’s international film festival last night. The film called ‘Like My Brother’ explores what it costs to chase a dream.

Transcript

00:00While the Tiwi Islands are known for producing hotshot male footballers, the road for female

00:08players is far less travelled, but not for a lack of talent.

00:12You would have been quicker than any other girl that was in the draft.

00:17So imagine if you had a fancy indoor stadium and you were wearing shoes.

00:22A film crew follows four young Tiwi women as they leave the challenges of home life

00:27in the Northern Territory.

00:28Here, like, we do have a gym, but the dingoes have eaten the cushion off the bench press.

00:36Chasing their dreams to Melbourne to play in the Victorian Football League, with the

00:40crew documenting the many hurdles they have to jump.

00:44Systemic racism, pathways that are insecure, pathways that are there and then dragged away.

00:51So what this film is really, the biggest story is about who has the privilege to dream.

00:57But also capturing the many triumphs the girls experience along the way.

01:04And then bringing it all together in a film that breaks boundaries and opens doors.

01:10It's a good experience to see on TV, on screen, to say, you know, like, these guys lived away

01:17from home.

01:18How can we be like these guys?

01:20For every great footy player we see out playing, there's 10 to 20 more of the same calibre

01:26in community and we really need to unlock these pathways.

01:30The film releases in cinemas around the country on October 17, but before that it's made its

01:35way home to the Top End, opening Darwin's International Film Festival last night.

01:41So that's what made it so special, you know, this is where the story began and it's a full

01:46circle moment to be a part of that audience last night.

01:50A remarkable true story about four girls who dared to dream.

Category

Transcript

Recommended