Sixteen students from Wellington High School have recently had a taste of the exciting world of filmmaking, and the results of their efforts were on show when the short films they made were screened.

The special event at the Wellington High School hall on Monday, September 7, started with a free barbecue, followed by the 6.30pm screening of the eight short films that document the stories of role models within the local community including Paul West, Megan Humphries, Uncle Joe Daley, Mick Peachey, Marsha Hill, Tara Stanley, Pauline Wicks and Deanne Towney.

The project began as a filmmaking workshop proposed by Sydney-based First Nations’ filmmaking non-profit “Show Me The Way”, Wellington High Aboriginal Education Officer Georgette Flick told Dubbo Photo News prior to the screening.

“Sixteen students worked together in pairs, interviewing eight local Aboriginal heroes,” she added.

“The kids learned how to work the cameras and helped with a little bit of the editing, and they designed the interview questions.”

After some initial hesitancy, all of the students threw themselves into the project, she added.

“They weren't confident enough that they had the ability to be able to do this. We had little yarn ups with the crew in the morning, and they explained it all, and the kids were like, ‘Oh, yep, I could actually do that', and then they really got into it,” Georgette explained.

The stories shared with the students are very important ones that everyone needs to hear, Georgette said.

“One of our stories, an Elder speaks about how close her child became to being a child that was removed from her custody, and it's those stories that our students need to hear about,” she said.

“People might think that’s what happened to Aboriginal people hundreds of years ago, but that was like 60 years ago. Still in our lifetime. The students now know someone who's affected by that,” she added.

All equipment the students used in the filmmaking program was supplied by Show Me The Way, said Joy Roberts, Wellington High’s Aboriginal Learning and Engagement Centre Coordinator.

The experience was special for everyone involved, but especially the students.

“They absolutely loved it. Some of them were very scared about doing it, but then said afterwards that doing it was so amazing,” Joy said.

“They said, ‘I never knew that about that person’ or ‘I never thought I could use a camera’,” she added.

”They really stepped out of their comfort zone and were so happy in the end that they did it.”

The opportunity to participate in the week-long Show Me The Way program came through the local Primary Health Network, Georgette explained.

Everyone involved in the program at Wellington was eagerly awaiting the film screening, in particular the students who, as special guests, hosted a Q&A during the formalities.

Other special guests invited included the Show Me The Way crew, those local legends interviewed for the film series, Primary Health Network representatives, and NSW Education officers.