By Benjamin Millar
A film challenging negative stereotypes about Footscray has nabbed the top award at this year’s Bayside Film Festival.
Footscray City College year 9 students Liam Ta, Declan O’Rourke, Dominic O’Day and Hamish Hobson won the ‘Best Film’ award for My Footscray, a documentary contrasting prejudice against Footscray with the positive experiences of locals such as Bob Murphy, a veteran of the Western Bulldogs AFL team.
Hobson said the film, which opens with a stream of people revealing negative associations with Footscray, helps counter views held by people living outside the area.
“We thought we could show people what it was really like,” Hobson said.
O’Rourke said they wanted to include a broad range of views and experiences in the film.
“We asked a lot of people to be involved, including those whose views we thought countered the things
said by all of the people at the start of the film.”
Ta said the experience was a lot of fun and had given the group a taste for film-making.
Footscray City College students collected four Bayside Film Festival awards in
all, including ‘Best Narrative’ for
Lost in the Music.
This film was directed by year 9 students and keen musicians Reuben Cumming, Angus Glover, Angus Ingram and Ennis Kelly.
It explores choosing music as a career through interviews with local musicians Steve Purcell, David Jones, Rebecca Barnard and Jordie Lane.
Love For the Board and Video Games, A Murderer’s Playground both won achievement awards.
View the films at www.footscray.vic.edu.au/bayside-film-festival-youth-documentary-project.
