Phil Crawford Rites of Passage Interview

Phil Crawford Rites of Passage Interview

A raw, uncensored film made with a message of hope and inspired by the real life experiences of the young people involved in the making of this powerful feature-length drama Rites of Passage has been directed by award-winning film-maker Phillip Crawford and is six interwoven stories showing the risk-taking, disappointment, joys and love that come with growing up.

Shot on cameras ranging from 16mm, Super 8, digital SLRs, Handycams, Infrared Black and White as well as iPhones, for the past three years community arts organisation Beyond Empathy (BE) has been working with this young extraordinary talent to make the thought-provoking film.

Each of these young participants has their own real story from battling homelessness, alcohol or drug abuse, living in public housing or coming from families that have seen disadvantage and hardship. With frankness and courage, these young people have dipped below the surface of their often tough exteriors to reveal what's going on inside their lives in Rites of Passage.

None of these young people have acted before yet their performances are personal and profound. Their authenticity blurs the line between fact and fiction, with the making of the film their rite of passage.

'As a youth worker for over 25 years, I have had the humbling experience to meet extraordinary people – all that have gone through hardships others would imagine impossible to cope with but somehow they have this resilience that I find inspiring. Some of the pain in adolescence happens when you realise things aren't going to turn out exactly as you had hoped and talking about the stuff that hurts can help" said Director, Phillip Crawford.

'One of the most significant things I realised as a youth worker involved parents – when young people go through difficulties, if they have at least one parent who hangs in there and tries to find ways to talk to them, they are more likely to have a -safe base' to explore the trials of adolescence. The stories in this film hopefully encourage the conversation between young people and their parents to talk about life and growing up. There are never simple answers but staying in the conversation can be a lifeline".

Rites of Passage has become a platform for the young participants – some are now working in film and media with one young man cast in the first series of Redfern Now. For others, it has been the stepping stone to seek career advice and help for drug and alcohol addiction.

Rites Of Passage Background

Rites of Passage is a joyous film of quiet optimism and beauty that is changing lives and opening the hearts of everyone that sees it. In late 2012 BE conducted a highly successfully crowd-funding campaign to raise money for post-production. A target of $25,000 was reached in just 10 days, eventually raising $30,950 over the month-long campaign.

BE is a not-for-profit community, arts and cultural development organisation that creates art projects in Australia with people living on the margins of their communities to tell their stories and engage with new futures. We love art and we hate disadvantage!

Rites of Passage
Release Date: Adelaide (November 27), Alice Springs (December 9), Bowraville (October 28), Brisbane (October 24), Canberra (November 20), Coffs Harbour (December 11), Darwin (December 7), Gold Coast (November 18), Hobart (November 6) Illawarra (October 17, November 4 and 28), Lismore (November 24), Logan (December 2), Melbourne (October 20), Perth (October 28), Port Macquarie (December 4), Sydney (October 30) and Tamworth (November 13).
Website: www.ritesofpassage.org.au

Interview with Phil Crawford

Question: What inspired the concept of Rites of Passage?

Phil Crawford: Beyond Empathy works with people who have experienced hardship and uses the arts to give them opportunities for change. We think that change often takes time. That is why our projects go over a few years. When we thought about doing a film project with some young people who had experienced hardship in the Illawarra (NSW) and we knew we wanted the project to go over a few years, it seemed obvious that we would be working with these young people while they were growing up - so making the stories for the film about growing up, and the challenges that brings, seemed the right choice.


Question: What should audiences expect from Rites of Passage?

Phil Crawford: The young people are not experienced actors so their performances seem really "real" in a way you don't often see in drama films. Audiences often say they find the film very "relatable". If they are young, they recognise the issues that they and their peers think about. If they are older, the film reminds them about what it was like to be young.

People also say the film is "moving". Although the stories are sometimes "raw" and "tough" as the characters grapple with life, the film has a great sense of humour and optimism as well.


Question: What values do you hope audiences take away from Rites of Passage?

Phil Crawford: Interesting question! The main one would be "empathy". Thinking about the kinds of struggles that we all can face and finding what we all have in common.


Question: Can you talk us through the most difficult moments of filming Rites of Passage?

Phil Crawford: Trying to keep a handle on the stories when there was no script was a challenge. Add to this the issues created by filming over a period of three years. The cast and crew of young people participating in the project were not getting paid, so they worked on it when they wanted to. Sometimes they lost interest for a while. All kinds of things happened that changed what we were planning to film on any given day. But these limitations added to the film. Some of the images in the film would never have been got if we didn't have the freedom to film anyway, even when all our plans seemed to be falling apart.


Question: How did Rites of Passage differ from other projects you've worked on?
Phil Crawford: I have been working on these kind of projects for over 10 years. Rites of Passage was the first feature length drama film.


Question: What was the highlight of working on Rites of Passage, for you?

Phil Crawford: The highlight for me happens now when you see the young people involved in the film standing up to introduce the film and answering questions about it and running discussions and workshops. They can be really proud of what they have done.


Question: Can you share with us, a success story, from one of the teenagers who feature in Rites of Passage?

Phil Crawford: Success if a funny term. I think they are all successful. They all have done a great job at what they have done in the film. It is true that Elias, one of the young people, was seen by a casting agent and got a role in the TV series Redfern Now, a feature film "Around the Block" (soon to be released) where he appeared alongside International star Christina Ricci, but I think the young people who have got themselves through the next day, took the next step in building their confidence, went and talked to someone about a course they wanted to do, are equally as successful. And change is not a simple thing. You don't make a film and then everything becomes rosy and easy in life. Life and its challenges are still there. I am proud of the ones who have tried to make a change and who have ended up slipping back into their old ways as well. Sometimes it takes a few attempts to make permanent changes that other people might consider "Successes".


Question: What conversations do you hope Rites of Passage inspires parents to have with their teenagers?

Phil Crawford: It can sometimes be hard for parents and teenagers to talk. Teenagers are trying to make their own way in life. Trying to create their own opinions and attitudes and values. Having a film like Rites of Passage can allow parents and teenagers talk more generally about feelings, drugs and alcohol, grief, date rape drugs, domestic violence, risk-taking and a whole range of other conversations.


Question: Who did you make Rites of Passage for? Is there a specific audience that you had in mind?

Phil Crawford: You know, this is a great question, and I will give the honest answer. The audience was not the most important consideration when we were making the film. The most important consideration was the young people who participated in the project. If we tried to concentrate on a particular audience we probably wouldn't have made a film with non actors, or a film with six interwoven story lines, or a film where the young people operated the cameras. So many of the decisions we made were about the experience for the people who helped make it. That's not to say we didn't want the film to be seen. But we already had so many constraints around what we were doing that trying to imagine how we make the film a better film for a teenage audience, or a 20 something audience, or parents was just not something that our little team could get our heads around. We did assume that we would make a film that would be "different" to what you normally see. And we tried to make that a feature or a strength of the film, not to try and hide it. So I guess we were making the film for an audience who would appreciate something "different", something they haven't seen before, something original.

Question: How can Australians support the Rites of Passage project?

Phil Crawford: Come and see the film. We are touring the film around the country. Check out the screening dates at www.ritesofpassagefilm.com.au If we are not coming near you, contact us and tell us where you are. If we can get enough people interested, we will bring the film to your town.


Question: What's next for you?

Phil Crawford: My colleagues in the Illawarra have started talking about a couple of new films made in a similar way through community projects. One will work with people who have severe intellectual disabilities and another will work with children and young families, telling stories about childhood and making an animated film.


Rites of Passage
Release Date: Adelaide (November 27), Alice Springs (December 9), Bowraville (October 28), Brisbane (October 24), Canberra (November 20), Coffs Harbour (December 11), Darwin (December 7), Gold Coast (November 18), Hobart (November 6) Illawarra (October 17, November 4 and 28), Lismore (November 24), Logan (December 2), Melbourne (October 20), Perth (October 28), Port Macquarie (December 4), Sydney (October 30) and Tamworth (November 13).
Interview by Brooke Hunter