AWESOME young filmmakers at work in Punmu      

Digital media artist Mat de Koning kicks off a two-week residency in Punmu today for AWESOME’s regional community development program ‘Punmu Stories.’

Mat will work with the young people of Punmu Remote Indigenous Community over three two-week residencies in 2008 to create a film entirely produced within the community that celebrates the rich cultural and environmental diversity of the Punmu and Kunawarritji communities.

The young people of Rawa Community School have been recording various footage over the year and as 2008 draws to a close, they will be working on editing and deciding upon what their final product will be.

Sound technician Leonard Rudeberg will accompany Mat over the next two weeks in Punmu to record the school band to use in the soundtrack for the film.

‘I was blown away at the musical integrity many of the students displayed. The high school boys jam everyday and have written an album’s worth of original songs,’ said Mat.

‘They are role models for many of the primary school students who have also taken to playing an instrument.’   

When the soundtrack and filming is completed, Mat will edit the film with some of the students to create the finished product: A film that is 100% produced in the Punmu community that expresses the young people’s ideas and showcases their many talents.

Punmu Stories works to address key community outcomes of increasing numeracy and literacy, education retention and expression of identity through storytelling and film-making.

Punmu Stories is a partnership between AWESOME Arts and the Rawa Community School and is proudly supported by Festivals Australia and the Foundation for Rural  & Regional Renewal

The Punmu Stories film will be celebrated in Perth with a special screening at the AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things in November this year.