ABC ME to Debut Kaleidoscope Project Films

ABC ME has slated the premiere of Viv’s Silly Mango, Gugu naGogo, Namaste Yoga and Yaz Queens, films from the Kaleidoscope Project, for November 20.

The joint ABC and Screen Australia initiative supports and showcases Australia’s next generation of filmmakers. Each of the films debuting this month explore what life in contemporary Australia is like as a young person from communities often underrepresented in media.

Viv’s Silly Mango, from creators and producers Mary Duong and Rae Choi, explores friendship, music and self-discovery through an intersectional Asian-Australian lens. It is directed by Rachel Maxine Anderson.

From Taku Mbudzi, Gugu naGogo explores intergenerational and cultural relationships and struggles between a daughter, mother and grandmother through the eyes of Gugu, a 12-year-old budding astronomer living in a small town far removed from Zimbabwe, where her Gogo lives.

In Namaste Yoga, creator Ravi Chand draws on his own life experiences to tell the story of Shiv, a 10-year-old boy who is ashamed of being Indian. When he gets into a fight at school, the only way to avoid suspension is by doing mandatory lunchtime yoga classes.

Yaz Queens, created and directed by Lara Köse, explores the relationship dynamics between 11-year-old Yaz and her father after eight years of living apart in different countries. Their cultural differences play a part in their struggle to relate, but they find a shared love of music, which helps them to bridge the divide.