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interview

Alec Doomadgee talks with Tahiti-agenda.com about his experience at FIFO 2017

The 14th International Festival of Documentary Film Oceanian or FIFO be held at the House of Culture in Papeete, Tahiti, from 7 to 12 February 2017 .

Tahiti-Agenda.com asks Alec Doomadgee director and actor of the documentary in the Official Competition of the 2017 FIFO ” Zach’s Ceremony “

Translation of the interview

Alec Doomadgee

I am very honored to participate in this edition of FIFO and to be present for the screening of my documentary “Zach’s Ceremony”.

When I started writing his story, my goal was to project it internationally because this film traces the history of the Australian aborigines, my story. It mixes the past with the present.

It also demonstrates the importance of spirituality as well as the beauty of this culture.

This documentary is a tool to share the aboriginal culture with the rest of the world. To use the culture of the ancestors is a wealth that one must wear with pride.
Tahitian culture is similar to ours: colonization by the French, the problem of double culture.

We could have been French if the expedition commanded by Jean-Francois de la Perouse had arrived two days earlier [laughs].
In Australia, a program is planned to project the film in different schools to raise awareness among young people.

For the FIFO, I will participate in the various conferences and debates on my documentary and I will be delighted to meet the public.

Interview with ABC 105.7

Alec Doomadgee grew up on the Territory side of the border until his mum felt it was safe for him, as a light skinned boy, to go to school in Doomadgee. On his first school trip he decided to make a film to showcase the wonderful things about his culture, the way he saw other 'exotic' cultures celebrated. He told Rebecca McLaren, this film is the result.

https://soundcloud.com/1057darwin/zachs-ceremony-a-film-by-alec-doomadgee

Through the eyes of a boy

Pro Bono Australia partnered with GOOD PITCH² to shine a light on powerful films that are addressing some of society’s most pressing issues. Aaron Petersen, director of Zach’s Ceremony, invites viewers to submerse themselves in Zach’s world and see it through the eyes of the boy. In the documentary a 13-year-old Zach Doomadgee says: “In Sydney they call me a blackfella, in Doomadgee they call me a whitefella. I don’t know who I am.”

https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2016/08/through-the-eyes-of-a-boy/

FilmInk Interviews Zach’s Ceremony – Anthony O’Connor

Anthony O'Connor talks to director, Aaron Petersen, Associate Producer, Alec Doomadgee, and Zach Doomadgee, the subject of the excellent indigenous doco, Zach's Ceremony.

Growing up isn’t easy, especially for Zach who is rapidly making the transition from boyhood to manhood, in both the modern world and his ancient culture. Pressures from his loving, but staunch father, the temptations of city life and the ever present spectre of racism all take their toll. Ultimately Zach must embrace the traditions and knowledge of his ancestors and awaken the warrior within.

https://filmink.com.au/2016/interview-zachs-ceremony/

The Entertainment Junkie

Empathy is a crucial component of Zach's Ceremony (grade: A-), Aaron Petersen's new documentary. The film follows Zach, an Aboriginal teenager in Sydney who, with the encouragement and pressure of his dad Alec, wants to have an initiation ceremony, a significant ritual of manhood in his nation's culture. Set over six years, the film charts Zach's complex relationship with his dad and his heritage, from the racial bullying he endures in school to connecting with his ancestral land in northwest Queensland, and finally the ceremony itself, which had never been captured on film before.

http://imthecautionarywhale.blogspot.com.au/2016/06/sydney-film-festival-day-four-timely.html

Screen NSW – Ted Rose

Zach’s Ceremony filmmaker Aaron Petersen spent six years following a ten-year-old Aboriginal boy from Sydney, Zach, as he prepared for his transition into manhood on his father’s country in Far North Queensland. Ahead of the films Australian premiere at Sydney Film Festival, we catch up with Aaron Petersen to learn about the making of the film and what he learnt in the process..

http://bit.ly/2a7zBN5

Next Projection – Kamran Ahmed

Peterson’s coming-of-age documentary chronicles six years in the life of Zachariah Doomadgee, an aboriginal growing up in Sydney, far away from his peoples land claim and culture. His father teaches him about his people, in an effort to maintain the culture, but Zach feels always split between the blackfella and whitefella, ostracized both by his aboriginal ancestry as well as his urban present. Peterson provides a highly intimate portrait of Zach’s struggle, from preteen ambition to teenage angst, all the while offering voice to Zach’s culture and people.

http://bit.ly/1OnVmmh

Toronto Film Scene – Andrew Parker

Making its international premiere at Hot Docs 2016 as a part of the Made in Australia program, the family drama Zach’s Ceremony takes a multi-year look at one aboriginal teenager’s difficult coming of age story.

http://bit.ly/2aaN6fc

Movie Quotes & More – Douglas Gosse

Rites of passage have existed since the beginning of time, serving to affirm membership within a group, and acknowledgement of change in status. Traditional rites of passage are of particular importance among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In Zach’s Ceremony, related themes of colonialism, marginality, sense of belonging, and perseverance, collide with the complex relationship between a father and son of Aboriginal heritage living in Sydney – Alec and Zach Doomadgee, lending this film broad universal appeal.

http://bit.ly/2a6DsXr