From the outset we attracted a lot of interest with the large numbers of young people and kids in Kiwirrikurra who recognised us from videos they had seen on ICTV which we’d made with the Docker River community earlier this year. It seemed everyone wanted to be involved in making movies. Every ‘film shoot’ had large numbers of actors as well as onlookers and helpers who all remained amazingly quiet while filming, continuously pulling babies out of the frame as they crawled magnetically towards the action.

In the two weeks we spent out there we integrated film-making and photography with trips to favourite locations close to the community and activities people were wanting to do, like hunting for maku. On these trips we availed the cameras to young people for experimentation and have amassed some great photos and footage which we’ve just had printed and sent back to the community.

   
Kylie having a go on camera and Michael shows the youngfellas how it's done

The process of facilitating the journey from young people's ideas to story to storyboard to movie realisation created 3 short movies which were shown at a movie night at the Women’s Centre the night before we left to a riotous response. We thank the Kiwirrikurra community for having us and NPY Women's Council for making it happen and especially the young people who put so much into making such great videos.

Unfortunately Indigenous Community Television (ICTV) folded recently with the launch of the new National Indigenous Television (NITV). ICTV had been an highly valued outlet for community-produced material and, as we have experienced, a great way for people in more than 150 remote Aboriginal communities to see films, video-clips and music being produced in other communities.