Menindee Central School

Well, here we are at the end of our three-week project. Our final week was spent in the very remote town of Menindee, about 100 kms outside of Broken Hill. Our group of students: Jak, Anthony, Daina, Harley, Travis, Leonie, Toni and Tayla are all from Year 8. I think the Menindee kids have produced some really good work. Together, they have made four films.

Jak and Anthony teamed up to make their dramatised documentary style piece: Pig Hunting with Jak and Anthony. Jak's dogs Tai and Bindi give a gritty authenticity to the film as co-stars, and the boys were very organised in their preparation, which gave clarity to their story and helped the shoot go very smoothly.

Sometimes 'actions speak louder than words'. In his piece, Travis' Film, our young director chose this motto to communicate his love of motorbike riding to great effect. He uses the location of the clay pan near his house to introduce the audience to one of his favourite hobbies and to share the fun of it!

Harley has recorded a voiceover of his own poem to go with still photos of family and friends. In this very thoughtful film - My Family and My Friends - we also see Harley with his Aunty Susie. The location is The Reserve. We can see how special this place is to Harley as Aunty Susie tells him stories about his uncle and grandmother and the old way of life here.

Our four girls - Taylah, Toni, Leonie and Daina - have teamed up to create their film: Gutter Gang. The girls seemed to have lots of fun with the acting required in their piece. They also used choreographed synchronised movement to tell their story. The girls' film may seem light-heated but also has a serious message.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WE WORKED WITH … FROM COOMEALLA, WILLYAMA & MENINDEE. THANKYOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK AND FOR SHARING YOUR IDEAS WITH US THROUGH THE FILM- MAKING PROCESS. IT HAS BEEN A PRIVELIGE TO MEET AND WORK WITH YOU ALL. I LOOK FORWARD WITH ANTICIPATION TO SEEING THE FILMS COMPLETED.

ALL THE BEST & LOTS OF LOVE,

.X.SARAH.X.