Hot on the heels of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's announcement that asylum seekers
would now be sent to Papua New Guinea, comes the screening of an acclaimed film
that is set to touch the hearts of theatre goers in Castlemaine.
The critics
have raved about Mary Meets Mohammad, which screens at the Theatre
Royal next week for a strictly limited season.
Filmmaker Heather Kirkpatrick
will attend next Thursday night's session at the Theatre Royal and answer
questions from the audience after the film.
The feature-length documentary
took two years to make, is centred on Tasmania's first asylum seeker detention
centre, `Pontville`, on the outskirts of Hobart.
The film tells of Mary, a
local knitting club member and staunch Christian woman, who is not welcoming of
the 400 male asylum seekers from Afghanistan.
Mary unexpectedly finds herself
in regular contact with Mohammad, a 26-year-old Muslim, after her knitting club
donates beanies to the asylum seekers in detention.
The elderly woman has
many of her prior beliefs challenged as her relationship with Mohammad
deepens.
Mary Meets Mohammad was one of four finalists for the
'Outstanding Documentary Talent Award' for 2013. As a finalist, it had its
premier screening in Adelaide in late February at the Australian International
Documentary Conference.
Executive director of the conference, Joost Den
Hartog, summed up the film as: "This is an extraordinary and gripping piece of
documentary filmmaking."
The Tasmanian Times said: "Miss this ...
and you are mad. Certifiably so. It's a stunner. The most beautiful story. So
evocative, so powerful. So utterly, fully, human."
Heather said she decided
to make the documentary after seeing television reports of the hostile response
from the Brighton community during the Immigration Department's public meeting
when the Pontville detention centre was announced.
"When I came in contact
with the women at the local knitting club at Brighton, I felt their diverse
views on asylum seekers, was somewhat representative of the Australian community
at large.
"I found a strong main character at the club with Mary, who
strongly disapproved of the asylum seekers coming but was curious enough to want
to see inside the detention centre.
"This event and Mary's regular visits
which followed, provided fascinating scenes for me to film, over the 16 months
of production."
When Mohammad was released from detention, Heather observed
an astoundingly deep connection develop between him and Mary, which became the
strength and focus of the story.
"I hope the cross cultural and cross
religious challenges they come to meet will resonate with audiences both here in
Australia and worldwide."
For a preview of the film, see the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBxXvXLOwSU
And for session times and tickets contact the Theatre Royal on 5472 1196 or visit http://www.theatreroyal.info/html/s01_home/home.asp
