A Big Heartstarter for Youth
By Terra Sword
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| Before becoming involved in the Big hART film project, Nathan Broadrick, then 18, was unemployed, living on the streets in Lismore, and had little idea where he wanted his life to go. A year down the track and Nathan now describes himself as a "new person". He's now living in Sydney, has a full-time job and is persuing a career in film. "I wanted to do acting for years and as soon as I tried it with Big hART I loved it - I just knew it was what I wanted to do with my life," Nathan said. "The project has changed my entire life. I've moved to a city, and already had a few acting jobs. For the first time ever I'm doing what I've always wanted to do with my life and that's the best feeling in the world. I would never have realised I could do it without Big hART." |
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| Nathan was put in contact with Big hART, an arts-based organisation working with disadvantaged youth in rural and regional communities, by Juvenile Justice. Nathan was involved in making a two-part film with local young people, with help from Big hART mentor Rachel Ward. The film was screened in Lismore last Thursday night - an exciting, but confronting, experience for Nathan and the other young people involved. "I talked about some really personal stuff in the documentary, and it's hard to see that up on a big screen, but it's still been the best experience of my life," Nathan said. "We all talked about experiences living on the streets, and how we tackle every day issues to survive. It was great to be able to openly discuss those issues, and the support from the Big hART team was just amazing." Around 20 local teenagers took part in the Big hART film project. The film will screen on SBS in 2004. This story was found at www.echonews.com/849/index.html |
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