Unsung Stories
Do you have a story from your life that you want to share?
Unsung Stories is looking for Chinese Australian storytellers with something important to say, who want to help unify Australia by sharing a heartfelt, challenging or treasured story from their experience living here.
We want to make our country a better place for everyone who calls it home – those who were born here and those who have joined us from overseas. Sharing our stories helps us understand each other, shows us what we have in common, creates connection between us and brings us closer together as an inclusive and multicultural society.
We're looking for personal stories that have the power to change people’s hearts and minds, stories that capture something from your life that can affect and influence other Australians – allowing others to see into your world, to walk in your shoes, feel how you feel, and to make a leap of empathy and understanding.
It can be whatever kind of story you want to tell – funny, sad, heart-warming, heartbreaking, we just want them to be an honest, authentic account of your life – or a moment from it – that speaks to the truth of your experience as a Chinese Australian.
We are looking for storytellers, not filmmakers, so entrants don’t need to have any filmmaking experience. As Chinese Australians we want to hear your story, whether you have 1st, 2nd or 10th generation Chinese ancestry. All you need to do is record yourself telling your story directly to camera. It can just be you, or can include family or friends, as long as they’re connected to the story. And make sure it’s under 10 minutes long.
Submissions open September 29, 2022, and close on January 22, 2023 (Chinese New Year)
Once submitted, a selection of stories will be chosen by a diverse committee of prominent Australian filmmakers, industry leaders and cultural trailblazers from all backgrounds. These shortlisted storytellers will be flown to Sydney for the 2023 Unsung Stories Gala event, where their stories will be presented in front of a live audience and streamed around Australia. All the stories submitted will then be housed in the online public archives of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts for future generations to be able to view, making their story a vital and enduring part of Australian history.
Unsung Stories Committee member, writer, cook & TV presenter Adam Liaw says “Chinese Australians have contributed hugely to the Australian story since even before the gold rush, but our own stories have often gone unsung – or even deliberately erased. Filmmaking is all about digging into the truth of our societies and ourselves through storytelling, and I’m extremely proud to be involved in this brilliant initiative between AACTA and NFACR to tell the real stories of Chinese Australians that are being told all around us, every day.”
More information can be found on the AACTA website at aacta.org/unsungstories. This includes terms & conditions, useful tips on storytelling and a links to upload your story. If you have any questions please contact Sam Buckland, Director of Programming and International Engagement at AACTA, on program@afi.org.au.
So grab your smart phone, laptop, tablet or camera and share your story with us!
Presented in partnership with the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations