FRESH!
Some issues are easier to address than others, some subjects are to be handled with care. But there is always a way to break through the barriers and make people think without being offensive. One of these solutions is to use humour.
This year at Melbourne WebFest, three web series chose to deal with important matters such as multi-culturalism, racism and discrimination. Wrong Kind of Black (AUS), FRESH! (AUS) and Dreaming Whilst Black (GBR) all found a way to denounce the flaws of our society, while putting a smile on our face.
Have you ever been to one of Melbourne’s numerous markets on a Sunday morning? Surrounded by a crowd composed of people from different ages, sexes, backgrounds and beliefs, did you ever pay attention to the vendors? Who they are, where they’re from, what they do when the market is closed? That’s what FRESH! is all about.
In this Melbourne-based series, we follow different characters in each episode, all as diverse as the other. From a young Arabic couple trying to start their restaurant to a well-established Italian stall, every minority is represented.
Nikki Tran, FRESH!’s writer, says that she was inspired by the community she grew up in, in the city’s western suburbs.
“I was searching for a way to talk about the migrant experience in Australia, and issues specific to a community where people from many different cultural backgrounds live and work in close proximity,” she explains.
With 25 speaking roles, all from culturally diverse backgrounds and languages, casting the actors was one of the greatest challenges for the producers.
“We scoured everywhere to find the right cast; we even found one of our actors at a local Footscray shop. It was a huge undertaking which went on for about six months”, Simon Trevorrow, producer and episode director, recalls.
Between relationship drama and family disputes, FRESH! will make you laugh and realise that everyone is the same, no matter where they’re from or the language they speak. The series highlights perfectly the joys and pitfalls of multi-culturalism with a good amount of humour.
“Australia is multi-cultural in its make-up, so on our screens, it makes sense to represent this modern day version of our country. Diversity of stories on screen helps facilitate understanding and normalisation of different people, lifestyles, identities and values,” Tran says.
Taking place on the other side of the world, International Spotlight series Dreaming Whilst Black follows wannabe filmmaker Kwabena.
Kwabena, from a Jamaican background, is struggling to find a job in the industry. Too dreamy and naïve for his own good, the young man will have to face a lot of challenges and difficult situations to achieve his goal in the media industry.
The producers of the series – Natasha Jatania, Adjani Salmon, Laura Seixas and Max Evans – say that they chose the web format because it allowed them to bypass gatekeepers for approval for their work and hence go directly to the audience.
“It also gave us creative freedom to express ourselves however we wanted, and experiment with different styles and formats which isn’t usually done on broadcast TV.”
But behind the humour, the show also denounces discriminatory behaviours that people of colour have to face in their everyday life.
“What comedy does is it makes divisive and difficult conversations easier to digest. By wrapping it in humour, we created a delayed reaction, where people would laugh first, then discussed why they laughed afterwards,” the producers explain.
“It took two years for the show to come to life, from the inception of the idea to the release day. The crew of Dreaming Whilst Black would like their audience to keep in mind that “whatever the obstacle is, keep going, because dreams are worth fighting for.”
Inspired by the real life of Boori Monty Pryor, Wrong Kind of Black takes place in Australia in the 60s-70s. Just like Kwabena, Boori is a struggling artist trying to follow his dreams, no matter the obstacles.
As the story unfolds, the audience discovers a young DJ hoping to fit in in a 1970s’ Melbourne life, who comes from an Australian Aboriginal family. Flashbacks take the viewers back to Queensland in the 1960s, showing them the persecutions that the Pryor family had to endure, but also their precious moments of love and happiness.
Emma Fitzsimons and Andrea Denholm, two of the series producers, explain that they were seduced by Boori’s incredible life and knew that they had to make a show out of it. They found support in Film Victoria and Screen Queensland, together with the ABC and Screen Australia.
“Boori and his family graciously and generously shared their stories – some hilarious, some heartbreaking – and it was an honour to be involved in bringing them to the screen and to a broader audience,” the producers say.
Pryor and his family were present on set, either as extras or helping behind the scenes. Moved by the performance of Aaron McGrath, Pryor’s family says the actor embodied perfectly the spirit of his brother Paul.
Wrong Kind of Black is an inspiring personal story that spans a tumultuous time in Australia’s history.
“Stories like these reveal the consequences of destroying First Nations’ culture and the price paid by those who try to protect it. They can also highlight what we have in common as humans and can fuel compassion and empathy and motivate personal and political action,” Fitzsimons and Denholm explain.
The producers say that they were impressed by how positive Boori Monty Pryor is about the future despite the hardships he and his family experienced, and the hope he has for a united Australia. They also wanted the series to reflect Pryor’s incredible sense of humour.
“We want audiences to have been entertained and moved, to feel great pride in Aboriginal culture, to want to heal the wounds of the past and to be motivated and hopeful about our shared future.”