Ride the airwaves with radio presenter Stani Goma for a unique perspective on the changing face of African music and culture in Melbourne today.

Interview with Director/Producer Thomas Lowe

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

It started with a question: Who else is listening to this amazing African music radio show in Melbourne right now? The answer is harder to find than you might think. Radio waves drift through the air to be caught by anyone who might care to tune in. It's free. It's immeasurable. It can be on in the background while you tend your garden or it can be at full volume as you dance around your back yard with friends.

I felt it would make a good film because African music has energy, colour and vibrancy even without being explained or understood. Anyone who is down with this music is going to have an interesting story, right? What I didn't expect was a story with such depth. A story with Stani Goma's radio show at its heart; providing the soundtrack to so many people's lives.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

If you like music, if you like people, if you listen to radio, if you like Africa, or if you've ever emigrated or moved away from your family and friends then you'll like this film.

Ajak Kwai is from South Sudan but now lives and performs in Melbourne, Australia.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Having grown up in a rural university town, I saw many young overseas students, many of them African, a long way from home and family and struggling with the anxiety of being the only black faces in a sea of white. Being able to share their music, food and culture brought them great joy and comfort and made them feel more confident.

This sense of connection to home while in a foreign place is echoed in Africa on Air. The film describes the tension that many diaspora populations feel between holding on to their cultural roots and creating a new identity in their adopted home. It is a very difficult balance to strike and can take generations to reconcile. In the film, I use music as a metaphor for this cultural transition.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

In the beginning, the scope of the documentary was quite broad: find out about the people that are listening to this African music radio show around Melbourne. I have a social research background, so I’m comfortable asking questions and allowing people’s responses to form the narrative.

Almost immediately it became clear that Stani’s radio show is at the epicentre of many people’s lives and that it stands for much more than just music. It took quite a few drafts and feedback sessions to eventually find the right mix, but what I think Africa on Air represents is a snapshot in time of some of the many issues facing African/Australian people in Melbourne right now.

Amadou Suso is a Gambian Kora player now living in Melbourne.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The feedback so far has been reassuring. I have always been conscious that I’m telling someone else’s story, but the film has received lots of positive comments, especially from young African/Australians, who are experiencing the tension between their cultural heritage and their new identity, and who are grateful that their story is being told.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

There has been a lot of attention focussed on African communities in recent years with much of it emotionally and politically charged. One really positive comment has been that Africa on Air tells the African story without agenda and highlights the fact that there’s a whole lot more to the African/Australian community than what we see on the news.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

As a self-funded project, there’s little or no budget for marketing and promotion. I’m hoping that this exposure helps to put Africa on Air in front audiences who share my inquisitiveness and are interested in the issues it addresses. But I’m also hoping it's seen by people who may not have thought too deeply about this kind of diaspora story and who may have only been influenced by politicians or the media.

Yaw Nyarko talks about his love of Stani's radio show.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

I would like to hear from anyone with an interest in sharing, promoting, distributing or collaborating on this or future projects.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I would like audiences to be interested and enlightened by watching Africa on Air. I would like them to feel more informed about an evolving African/Australian culture and excited about the many positive outcomes that this melting-pot of identity and creativity is producing. I would like audiences to have a more nuanced understanding of what is going on around them.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Should diaspora communities leave their culture behind when assimilating into a new country?

Stani Goma has been presenting his African music show in Melbourne for almost 30 years.

Would you like to add anything else?

I am truly grateful to everyone that helped to make Africa on Air possible. In many ways not having a budget demonstrates that you are sincere about your motivations and brings out the best in people. In the case of Africa on Air, all contributors gave their time freely and all music has been provided license-free by Melbourne-based musicians. I hope the film brings them the exposure they deserve.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I'm looking forward to starting another creative project and I'm hoping that through Africa on Air I'll make more connections and find more opportunities to collaborate with others.

Interview: June 2020

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Africa on Air

Ride the airwaves with radio presenter Stani Goma for a unique perspective on the changing face of African music and culture in Melbourne today.

Length: 38:16

Director: Tom Lowe

Producer: Tom Lowe

About the writer, director and producer:

TOM LOWE is a Melbourne-based filmmaker who applies his experience as a social researcher to delve into fascinating untold human stories and uses his musicality and creativity to bring them to life for viewers to share, understand, question and wonder.

Key cast: Stani Goma (central character)

Looking for: sales agents, journalists, film festival directors, distributors, producers, buyers

Facebook: Africa on Air Documentary

Hashtags used: #Africaonair

Website: www.tomlowevideographer.com

Other: Vimeo

Funders: Self-funded

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Melbourne Documentary Film Festival