Documentary Film - Cos Im Free - Essay Example

?Documentary Film "Cos I'm free" Film Synopsis: Short The film is about the life and achievements of Cathy Freeman, well-known Aborigine athlete, with the Aborigines’ struggles and rights in Australia ‘acting’ as the background. Long Cathy Freeman is one of the well-known sporting athletes from Australia because of her exploits in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and various other achievements. Being an aboriginal girl from Australia’s ‘backyard’, she made all the way to the top of the world through her optimum ability and hard work. With the aborigines being one of the suppressed sections of the Australian society, particularly few decades earlier, her subjugation and the eventual triumph is an inspiration for many aborigines. So, the main line of this documentary is capturing the struggles of the aborigines and their fight for self-respect and equal treatment, inter-cut with the struggles and rise of Cathy Freeman. With Cathy Freeman being the well known “Face” of the aborigines, she can take the role of the narrator for this documentary film. So, this film will start by showing in the form of photos and paintings, the life of the aborigines in the early centuries, before and after the arrival of the European settlers with the voice narration. Then the film will follow the history of aborigines, particularly in the 20th century, using photos and also interviews with the elderly people among the aboriginal population. Then through the mid way, the film would take a kind of biographical turn, focusing on Cathy Freeman’s childhood, her struggles in those period, her sporting talent, her initial mark at the Auckland Commonwealth Games (through photos and videos), her move to Melbourne, her lighting of the Olympic Flame and finally ending with her triumph in the 400mts Finals, with the shot of gold around her neck. Cast and Key Crew: With this being a documentary film, it does not need a cast of actors. All the people who are going to be featured in this film are not going to act according to any script, and will be asked to provide their experiences regarding particular events or about their life, or even asked to answer to some questions. When it comes to Cathy Freeman only, steps has to be taken to involve her in the project. Although, she is a busy high profile personality, she can be approached to taken on the narrator’s part. As mentioned above, she is the well known face of the aborigines and also as she was involving herself in various constructive activities for the aborigines, she can be involved in the project. “Catherine has a real desire to give back to the Australian community and has just established her own foundation, the Catherine Freeman Foundation. The Foundation provides pathways to a brighter future…using education and sport as a conduit for social change, the focus being on Indigenous girls.” (reconciliation.org.au). With the sizable part of the film focusing on her life and achievements, she can give good personal perspectives in the narration, elevating the film. Importantly, the title of this film is actually the words, which are tattooed on Freeman’s forearm. The on-location crew of the film will be minimal with mainly the cameraman, sound recordist and a translator (who has good knowledge of the aborigines culture and their language), along with the director. Then in the film and sound editing table only, others will get involved with editing labs or companies, which can do all the things in ‘under one roof’ can be, engaged. Rationale for Making: Indigenous Australians consisting of either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, number over 500,000, making up around 2.6% of Australia's population. But, before the advent of the Europeans, theirs’ total population was around 750,000, making up 100% of the Australia’s population. “Estimates have put the figure at over 1 million, while recent archaeological finds suggest that a population of 750,000 could have been sustained.” (Leitner 2004, p.68). The population of Indigenous Australians was diverse in nature, with many communities and societies arising, each with separate and unique culture, languages, etc. This film has been conceived to spread the word about diverse aboriginal culture and lives in Australia. The culture of Australia is rich and diverse due to the many who have migrated to Australia, as well as due to the local residents who have been on the land for centuries. This amalgamation of sorts has led to marginalized groups that are often overlooked with the melting pot of Australia and as a result little attention is given to the minority groups and the way in which they function within society. This documentary will give every Australian a chance to reexamine their heritage and culture and display the changes which have occurred in society and will. As the film, will have a notable insight into what happened during the colonialization and the changes that has happened till the present time, it give a clear picture about the lives of aborigines. Importantly, as it involves such popular and inspiring figure like Cathy Freeman and her life, it can have good reach. The film by focusing on her life, her struggles, her hard work and the eventual triumph, it can provide a lot of inspiration to the aborigines who might be watching it. For the majority White population also, it provide a clear and in-depth about the aborigines’ lives, their struggles, their spirit to come up in life and importantly their contributions achievements for the country of Australia. Even if few of the people realize this, it can go a long way in understanding and even supporting their cause. In line with that mindset, Australians are could organize and also taking part in many social movements, which can be carried out with the aim of healing the past ill-treatment, even while providing a pluralistic society, where everyone can live without any segregation. This film will surely support the rise of these groups and at the same time will also feature key social changes which have to be actualized in the society. Funding: Funding for this project can be raised from variety of sources. One of key agencies that can be approached is Screen Australia, Australian Government’s key funding body. They provide funds for subjects or scripts involving about the lives and culture of the Aboriginal population. Screen Australia’s “Indigenous Department Documentary Development program seeks to provide emerging and experienced practitioners with the opportunity to create appropriate written and/or visual materials” (screenaustralia.gov.au). If all the details including the script or the treatment or even the rushes (preliminary shooting) are provided to this agency, and if certain conditions of theirs are fulfilled, they will provide adequate funding. In addition, funding can be sourced from corporate sponsors, who may allocate funds for initiatives like this. References Leitner, G, 2004, Australia's Many Voices, Walter de Gruyter, New York. reconciliation.org.au, Catherine Freeman OAM, Olympic Athlete, viewed on May 6, 2011, from http://www.reconciliation.org.au/share-our-pride/topics/success-stories/indigenous-achievers/catherine-freeman screenaustralia.gov.au, Indigenous Department Documentary Development, viewed on May 6, 2011, from http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding/indigenous/Doco_Dev.aspx Film Poster Read More