PAW Media a success at the Castlemaine Festival

12 April 2011

PAW Media's longtime video trainers, Cath South and Stewart Carter,  were curators of the Red Dust and Video Tape Festival at the April Castlemaine Festival. They provided this report on the reception of PAW Media's videos at the Festival:

"Auntie Lyn (Yorta Yorta woman) Chairperson of the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative and Auntie Ellen came down from Bendigo to screen a couple of 2 minute videos they'd put together and this was followed by the special PAW presentation.

Auntie Lyn did the Welcome to Djadjawarrung Country which is where the Red Dust screening was happening.

Cath and Stewart (wearing the red dust coloured PAW T-shirts "The corporate Uniform" said Stewart!) thanked everyone for coming and Stewart gave a brief history of Warlpiri Media's beginnings as a grass roots response to the impending Kardiya TV invasion : Australia's first guerilla TV station broadcasting in language and keeping the culture strong.

We then let everyone know how highly successful and professional PAW is and what wonderful programs, training and work you do. We then screened the PAW Radio broadcasters advertisement and next came Walyka - the audience loved them both.

We then described a few of the amazing grass roots movements that have developed into highly succesful and professionally run organisations (recognisedd and looked to from all over Australia as showing best practice) like

• Mt Theo
• Warlukurlangu
• Childcare
• Womens Centre
• Night Patrol
• Old People's Centre

We then screened Here at Home - which everyone really loved and was hugely impressed by!

We then talked about Steve Jampijinpa's film, Ngurra Kurlu and about Steve's work in teaching the written Warlpiri language in Lajamanu. Ngurra Kurlu shows Steve drawing in the sand describing the 5 pillars of Warlpiri society, Language, Culture, Law, Family and Land.

Stewart then got up and described the background to Lajamanu and the Law. He described how the police (following up unpaid traffic offences) had walked into sacred country being used for a Kurdiji. One of the officers was a woman. The offense caused motivated the community to ask Stewart and crew to put something together for Youtube.

Then we finished up the PAW segment of the program with Juka Juka to illustrate the importance of PAW's archival work (and to show a skinny Curtis at work!) and Zombie Driver showed the technical skill and humour being used in this little drive safely film!

PAW was much admired. Auntie Lyn bought a DVD, CD and 2 beanies and she really wants a T-shirt! What impressed Stewart and I was how interested everyone was in your work. You could have heard a pin drop during Ngurra Kurlu - and yes there were kids in the audience! They were impressed, fascinated and moved by the works and you mob should feel proud. We think that this screening is powerful and a great way to encourage interest and support in PAW work and in the life and politics of the Pintubi, Anmatjerre and Warlpiri people.

All the best
Cath and Stewart
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