Young people from urban
The 30-minute film Burn and accompanying website will be shown to young people across
“This was a potentially risky project because there were very real tensions between some of the ethnic groups that we cast from,” Vadiveloo says. “But our Community Prophets model works because the process is collaborative�the cast guides the film and their identities are never threatened. In that environment young people quickly realise they have more in common than they thought.”
Burn is a film and interactive project that uses improvised scenarios to engage urban youth and help them to consider the consequences of their behaviour.
The story centres on a group of youths who commit a typical juvenile robbery offence, which escalates into violence. It covers themes such as youth violence, and its common precursors, alcohol and illegal drugs, as well as public-space policing and legal responsibility in situations of group behaviour.
The cast of 11, plus two production trainees, were recruited through youth services across
While carefully directed, the cast worked without a script and improvised the way scenes unfolded, based on what they felt was real and believable.
“What distinguishes this drama from other Australian television is that it uses the real dialogue and rhythms of young people on the street – it wasn’t created by screenwriters or actors trying to represent young people. And because there’s nothing manufactured about it, young audiences really respond to it.”
An initiative of Legal Aid NSW, Burn has already changed lives, with one cast member, Ali Haidar, landing a lead role and six others appearing alongside him in a new feature film.
Vadiveloo also created the groundbreaking Us Mob series,
[release from Community Prophets]