MDFF 2021 - This Is Our School
A year-long, intimate and loving study of a primary school in one of Sydney’s most diverse suburbs.
Interview with Director/Producer Iqbal Barkat
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
In 2016, we were introduced to Merrylands East Public School – a unique, little oasis in the heart of Western Sydney, in Darug Country. We spent a few years conducting digital storytelling workshops and developing a trusting relationship with the school executive, staff, PNC and students. The principal, John Goh, invited us to document the transformations that were happening in the school and this led to our film.
Merrylands East is a unique state school beset with challenges. Most kids have English as a second language. Many are refugees with no English at all. Some have never attended school before. It’s a fluid population where of the 300 or so children enrolled, 100 leave and 100 arrive during the year and of the 19 teachers employed only 3 are permanent. How does the school deliver meaningful experiences for the children, experiences that will remain with them for life?
For Principal John Goh and his staff, challenges have become opportunities to expand learning and build resilience. There are no victims here, rather it’s a place where innovative ideas are put into practice. Unlike other schools in the state, lessons start at 8.15am and finish at 1.15pm and there are no bells and very few desks. A carpet becomes a place to learn maths. And there are zero suspensions.
Children’s real world experiences become learning opportunities. In an English language support class, a young boy struggles to describe how his grandfather was murdered by the Taliban; a kindergarten child learns to accept critical feedback from her class; a Year 5 boy wants to go to Harvard or perhaps become a plastic surgeon. At the other end of the spectrum, rethinking ideas about learning, space, and play - and questioning the connections between schooling and the future - Goh develops a relationship with super tech company Atlassian. Year 6 kids work with Atlassian analysts to solve the problem of company food waste and present to an Atlassian staff audience of hundreds.
This is a government primary school attempting to implement a philosophy of self-regulation and self-reliance for both teachers and students while at the same time grappling with the education department's changing requirements. In the words of visiting television journalist Stan Grant, “it’s the real Australia”.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The contemporary primary classroom in not a space that has been traversed much by the documentary camera. We all think we know what’s happening in a classroom. But do we, really? How does a teacher teach a child to write and read? How are children socialised to become members of our society?
It’s also a feel good film about how a community binds together to perform one of the most important tasks in society – to educate a child. It’s a celebratory and affirmative film. And there are lots of cute kids saying and doing the crazy things that kids say and do.
It celebrates the public education system that we have and the work of teachers.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film deals with important universal themes including resilience, the courage to try and to fail, the honouring of diversity, kindness and generosity but without losing the rigour for the tasks at hand. All the themes are explored through the interactions of characters in the film. There is no voice-over in the film; only the voices of the people who inhabit its world.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We filmed for an entire year from the 1st day of school to the last. We acquired 300 hours of filmed footage. We spent 2 years editing the film and produced over a dozen versions.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Extremely positive. People have laughed and cried at screenings.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It has only confirmed for us that our direction to produce a film without a central conflict/struggle, or following single protagonist was the correct one. The film affirms a community.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
To attract further interest in the film. It’s a film that has to be seen by anyone who cares about the education of our children and the future of our nation.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
All of them.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We hope it has a huge impact that shows what an amazing public education system we have in NSW. I hope it celebrates the unsung-heroes, the essential workers among us: teachers! The film chronicles their dedication, kindness and generosity, the lengths they go to for learning to take place.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How do we educate our children for the future?
Interview: July 2021
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
This Is Our School
Length:
1 hour 40 minutes
Writer/Director/Producer
Iqbal Barkat, Maree Delofski
Iqbal is a digital artist, filmmaker and a proponent and practitioner of community and participatory arts. His works are often hybrid as they emanate from real settings but include fictional elements and involve the intersection of digital media with other art forms. He has recently completed his first ever dance film, Anthi. His project Terrorist/Apostate, a hybrid theatre/digital media work that explores the outsider and Islam, was performed at Parramatta Riverside Theatres and Blacktown Arts Centre in Western Sydney, Australia. His most recent film is an observational documentary on a primary school in Western Sydney, This Is Our School. Iqbal was born in Singapore where he founded the now disbanded political theatre company, Gung-ho Theatre Ensemble. He teaches screen practice at Macquarie University, Sydney.
Maree Delofski began filmmaking with the London based film workshop Cinema Action during the 1970s. Her films reflect her deep interest in a cinema of mutuality and social issues. She has also made audio documentaries with the Australian Broadcasting Commission and has taught at Macquarie University and at the Australian Film and Television School where she was Senior Lecturer in Screen Studies and Head of Documentary. Her films and audio work have won awards and nominations and have been screened at national and international festivals, on national and international television.
Key cast:
John Goh, Jenny Noble, Jen Greig, Mitzy Camillo
Looking for:
distributors, film festival directors
More info:
https://www.thisisourschoolfilm.org/watch-now
Where can I watch it now?
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival in July 2021, online section