Griffith’s history and continued appeal for Italian migrants has been explored in an award-winning film looking at their experiences on our farms.
The film was titled ‘88 days on Australian farms: a journey through dreams, hopes and thoughts of young Italians in Australia’.
The Best Short-Form Feature was created by Michele Grigoletti and Silvia Pianelli from the Migrantes Foundation, and explored personal stories of Italian migrants working on Australian farms, with a focus on Griffith.
“The reportage help us understand why they have made that choice, where and with whom they live, how they feel, what they think about their future and what they expect from a country like Australia,” Mr Grigoletti said.
The documentary portrays the experience of many thousands of young Italians who left Italy to endure agricultural labour such as fruit and vegetable picking.
“It was excellent to hear that the majority of Italian migrants had such a positive experience in coming to Griffith,” Mr Grigoletti said.
“I know Griffith well and I know a lot of families there and reminds me of my home town in Italy. What I like about Griffith is it showed me hard work really pays off. I can see there is a difference in cultures, backgrounds and religions all living together and working harmoniously in a beautiful town.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Multiculturalism Ray Williams announced the winners of the 2017 Premier’s Multicultural Media Awards.
“I congratulate the winners for reporting on these important stories that often remain unheard in mainstream media,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Mr Williams said the winners demonstrated outstanding reporting on multicultural affairs. “One of the great strengths of our harmonious multicultural society is the variety and quality of our multicultural media outlets who serve their communities,” Mr Williams said.
Last year, 20,000 young Italians arrived in Australia on temporary visas, exceeding the number of Italians that arrived in 1950-51.
The video is part of the research “Young Italians in Australia: a journey, from temporary to permanent”(Giovani Italiani in Australia: un viaggio da temporaneo a permanente).
- This story first appeared in the Area News.
