On the road with Sophie Matterson
When I got the call from Australian Geographic to track down Sophie Matterson and...
Under the theme – Because of her, we can! – NAIDOC Week 2018 will be held nationally from Sunday 8 July and continue through to Sunday 15 July.
As pillars of our society, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have played – and continue to play – active and significant roles at the community, local, state and national levels.
As leaders, trailblazers, politicians, activists and social change advocates, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women fought and continue to fight, for justice, equal rights, our rights to country, for law and justice, access to education, employment and to maintain and celebrate our culture, language, music and art.
They continue to influence as doctors, lawyers, teachers, electricians, chefs, nurses, architects, rangers, emergency and defence personnel, writers, volunteers, chief executive officers, actors, singer songwriters, journalists, entrepreneurs, media personalities, board members, accountants, academics, sporting icons and Olympians, the list goes on.
In conjunction with Davenport Community Council I set out to create 28 portraits and a documentary film celebrating the women of community. Switching between studio lights and high powered film production lighting it was possible to capture photographs and interviews at the same time, enabling the best use of time for production and the community members involved.
The film production changed the way I think about a lot of things. As the film had to quick and punchy within a limited timeframe, the concept had to be scaled back to one question.