Falling for Sahara is a movie directed by Khoa Do. It mainly focuses on 3 African boys, Ramsey, MJ and Benjam living in the housing commission flats in Flemington. The boy’s loyalty and friendship is tested when they’re all seeking attention from the same girl, Sahara. This movie also displays how the boys overcome racism. Personally I didn’t not find this story engaging, I felt like it was just like another typical story about racism. I thought that the acting was presented very poorly and it was hard to understand some scenes as the characters were talking way too fast and mumbling too much in between lines. However, I found that the camera techniques and editing were done very well as it helped us to see the character’s reactions and different views of things.

I think that Khoa Do was trying to send a message to the viewers of this movie telling us not to be racist against people. This was demonstrated really well and was very convincing because during the movie we see how the characters struggle to fit into the Australian community because of their culture. Some positives of this movie are the friendship and connection between the boys. I also found it smart of the director to choose real refugees, although they needed more practice and needed to be more experienced in acting to capture my full attention and engage me.

I would give this movie a rating of two and a half out of five.  Even though there could have been more improvements made to this movie I recommend people to watch it to understand the lives of some refugees in Australia.

The 2011 film ‘Falling For Sahara’ directed by Khoa Do, depicts the lives of three African refugees in Melbourne. Benian, MJ and Ramsy live in commission flats, the same flats in which they call home. The love they all have for football strengthens their relationships. Their relationship becomes complicated as they all fall for the same new girl named Sahara.

Khoa Do, born 1979, Saigon, Vietnam, is a film director, screenwriter, professional speaker and philanthropist who received the Young Australian of the Year Award in 2005. Khoa was awarded the Young Australian of the year for his leadership and will to inspire others on issues that affect our community.

The movie gives a great insight into problems faced by not only refugees but many other people around the world and also Australia. The characters chosen in the movie showed what refugees in today’s life and how they deal with it, but the acting was the only low for me as they were not experienced and most of the time you could not understand what they were saying. It sounded like mumbling.

Improvements can be made on the acting and maybe a little bit on the lighting also. If the actors practiced a bit more, they could have given the movie a good flow to it, with clear spoken language and facial expressions to go with it. Lighting could also be better as sometimes the screen was dark and you couldn’t see clearly making it hard to see what they were doing.

Rating:  3 STARS

Khoa Do the director of ‘Falling for Sahara’ illustrates the lives of three young refugee boys, all of which who are of African descent, in Flemington, Australia. Ramsy, Beniam and MJ spend their days at the housing commission flats, a place they call home, where it resembles the life in which they are only competent of receiving. Their devotion of football helps to tie them closer together and belong within the Australian community. Loyalties are alienated and friendships are tested as they constantly compete for the affections of the same girl named Sahara when she arrives into their flat.

‘Falling for Sahara’ highlights and explores the issues of racism, love, friendship, family expectations and cultural barriers. ‘Falling for Sahara’ demonstrates some of the challenges of being a victim of racism.  Regardless of the low budget production, the film intended to show the audience the lifestyles of refugees living in Australia and how they can be affected by the views and beliefs of others in society, this being racism.

I personally do not enjoy these types of films, ‘Falling for Sahara’ being one of them as most of the characters were boring and were poorly scripted, acted and presented. I find that the plot-line is tedious and stereotypical as it displays a typical story of racism in Australia. However, the filming and camera techniques were exceptional as it really shows the characters from various different angles and views. Most of the script I found was not necessary and hard to understand as the majority of the characters were mumbling. I failed to connect to the characters as they were not engaging and they all have a weary story behind them.

I would give this film a rating of one and a half out of five. The film lacked creativity and originality. Improvements I would make to this film are by having an unanticipated and more interesting plotline, better and mature scripting and different locations of scenes.  I would change up the characters as it was too majorly based on only African background descents, bringing in different cultured people will give this film more interest.  Overall I dislike this film and would not consider watching it again.

The 2011 independent film, ‘Falling For Sahara’ directed by Khoa Do depicts the dilemmas three young African refugees encounter. Best friends, Ramsy, Beniam and MJ all seek the affection of the same girl, Sahara, as well as facing clashing ideas of belonging, culture, racism and love. Living in the housing commission flats in Flemington, the lives of each of the boys are explored as well as Sahara’s.

‘Falling For Sahara’ was a film that I found had both positive and negative aspects. The editing I found seemed well done but the dialogue and camera angles could have been improved. The camera appeared to be shaking at time which distracted me from the plot and made the film lose some of its professionalism. The acting I found to be very mediocre, I could tell that they lacked experience and I found it hard to understand each of the characters’ stories. All in all, it is to be expected since it was an independent film. In addition, I thought that the dialogue could have been greatly improved. The dialogue between the characters felt superficial and including the mediocre acting they made it difficult to convey the message they wanted. I also thought that they could have improved the plot. It was very predictable and dull, I wanted more drama and suspense, something that I think could attract a wider audience.

Although there were many negatives about the film, there were some positives. The editing was done well considering that it was a low budget film and there weren’t any scenes that I thought were unnecessary to the central plot. At times, there were scenes which I thought felt genuine and all depictions of violence were done well and realistically. I enjoyed the themes and problems the characters went through as it felt realistic as to what real refugees would have been faced with.

Overall, although there could have been many improvements made to the film I liked it and enjoyed watching it. I recommend to people watching it, that they should watch it twice to fully understand the film because the first time watching it can be confusing and difficult to understand. I do recommend people to watch the film just to get a glimpse of life as refugees in Melbourne and I give ‘Falling For Sahara’ 3/5.

The Victorian Police have agreed to hold an inquiry on race – related issues within their own ranks to settle the case of discrimination.

African youths have claimed that they had been victims of racism and discrimination, saying s they experienced racial profiling, arbitrary stops and searches, assault and racial abuse by the police. However, the suspected police officers have denied the claim and said that they were stopping them for legitimate policing reasons.

The Victoria Police plan to review police “field contact” practices – or street checks on people – and police cross-cultural training and plan to make their findings and changes to procedures public.

Arnold Bloch Leibler public interest law partner, Peter Seidel, said previous reviews of police conduct and race-relations had failed but this case has sparked the inquiry and should lead to change. He said that the announcement of this inquiry is a turning point which will help both sides, particularly the minority groups.

After the Victorian Police caused a racial dispute Peter Seidel mentioned that previous talks about police conduct and race relating incidents were dropped and that this one will be discussed and some action will be taken place to resolve this issue. “Peter Seidel, said previous reviews of police conduct and race-relations had failed but the inquiry sparked by the current case should lead to change.”

Being a citizen of a country where police are discriminating is sickening. The Police should be law abiding citizens out there to protect our country and set a good example for the rest of us. Instead they arrest innocent men based on their ethnic appearance and continue to deny the accusations made about them.

This issue and how police are discriminating to Australia’s citizens isn’t a pleasant thing to experience or even hear about. It is such a shame this is being dealt with now after years of racial disputes. “The announcement of this inquiry is a watershed moment in Victoria’s history which will benefit both Victoria Police and the community generally, particularly minority groups,” Mr Seidel said.

 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/victoria-police-settles-race-discrimination-case/story-fnat79vb-1226580236268

By Dat and Sarah

Police Pay Cash to “Bash” Victims

Summary

• Police force and four African-born men and one Afghan who claimed they were beaten, falsely imprisoned or racially abused by officers in northern and western suburbs.
• According to court documents, police were accused of bashing and threatening to shoot Abdullah Abdi in 2007, when he was 15.
• ”If you want to f— around with the police, this is what you get you f—ing black c—,” Abdi alleged he was told. ”I’ll f—ing shoot you, you black c—.”.
• Four of the five were charged over the incidents that gave rise to them suing police, but the charges were either dismissed by magistrates or, in one case, a charge of assaulting police was dropped
• In 2006 Ahmed Dini was standing outside the Flemington Service Station when police arrested his friend, Ghafoor Wakil, for robbery and damaging a police car. Later on the police claimed that Mr Dini ran at them. They arrested him for hindering police and attempting to assault police. However Mr Dini claimed the police officer ran towards him and hit him in the mouth with a torch, causing injuries requiring stitches and dental surgery. Mr Wakil claimed a police officer punched him repeatedly in the head and stood on his back.
• Robert Koua, suspected the police beat him with a torch and sprayed him with capsicum while he was handcuffed.
• “You black c—s are all criminals. Go back to your own country.”
• Mr Matiang also claims police threatened to capsicum spray his mother if she walked out of the house.
• ”Without accountability, police brutality continues unchecked.”
• Victorian Government ensures complaint investigation is done by an independent civilian agency
• ”black c—”

Thoughts and Feelings

I think it is wrong for police to ‘bash’ people.

The police are meant to be to protect us and our country not to physically punish them.

Police should not be using foul or racist language. It shows that they are not responsible to protect people on the streets and should just talk politely.

The police shouldn’t physically abuse people because of their culture, religion or background.

The police should treat everyone fairly.

Police should be charged for this kind of behaviour or should be thrown to jail.

If people are doing the wrong thing or if the police have cuffed their hands then they should be mature and let the police deal with it not the actual person who cuffed them.

They have no right to threaten someone for no reason.  

Physically abusing people is against the law

He had no evidence of him doing a robbery so he should have any reason of cuffing him.

 “How does public opinion and action affect refugees and migrants in Australia?”

If the public think it is wrong for police to physically abuse victims then the government should do something about it. ”If you want to f— around with the police, this is what you get you f—ing black c—, I’ll f—ing shoot you, you black c—.”. If the police are using this kind of language I am pretty sure the public wouldn’t want this kind of behaviour in their streets and around them. The public think that police are there to protect them and help them in many situations but by being racist and abusing victims, this does not help and protect them at all. There was evidence that the victims were being threatened. ”Get on the floor, you f—ing black c—. You black c—s are all criminals. Go back to your own country.” The police saying to victims that they are “black” and are all “criminals” is very wrong. It’s like saying if I am white then I am not a criminal. The police are being very racist and the Government should certainly be trying to stop this and the public agree with this. If the Government want their country to be happy then they should be stopping this nonsense because the police are behaving very poorly. ”Without accountability, police brutality continues unchecked.” The public do not agree with this quote because they feel like they are being in danger with this kind of language going around in streets. The Police could get away with this situation and the people will be afraid and unsafe around the police.

The Victorian police are discriminating against black people by treating them unfairly. They were regularly stopped, questioned and searched and even beaten by the police just because they were black. Samantha interviewed a man from Somalia who said he was stopped every second day for riding the train or walking through the streets. He said he was happy with the results because this was starting point in improving the Victorian Police.

The case against police officers and the state began about five years ago. After dozens of complaints from young African men. In today’s settlement police acknowledged that any policing involving with racial discrimination is completely unacceptable.

We feel very ashamed and disappointed in the Victorian Police Officer’s actions towards the African people because they shouldn’t be treated differently just because of their skin colour. Their job as a police officer is to in force the law and make sure that people’s Human Rights still remain but instead they are making people feel unsafe and too scared to go out in public.

How does public opinion and action affect refugees and migrants in Australia? People’s opinion of being dark skinned is that black people should be treated differently because of their skin colour. Due to this the police are treating them badly, by stopping them and questioning them for no reason. “I was pretty much stopped almost every second day for just riding the train or walking through the streets of Flemington.” This is affecting the way Africans act in public and how they present themselves because they scared of constantly being stopped and searched or beaten. “They alleged police were stopping them for unwarranted searches and questioning.” This is showing us how the police are discriminating against black people.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-18/police-agree-to-new-procedures-to-combat-racism/4524770
By Cassy and Rodina

The article “It’s my f—ing country: racist rant caught on camera” was about a woman who yelled insults and racist outbursts at a man with an African descent on a train. Other commuters on the train stood up to her and defended the man. The woman became surprised by the responses of the other passengers and backed down.

2. Give your thoughts/feelings on the issues the article raises.

Our thoughts on the issue the article raised are that we support the way the passengers responded to the racial outburst. We were shocked and ashamed towards how she spoke to other people living in Australia because of their colour. We don’t condone her actions and not Australians act this way, as Australians we are proud of the reaction of the other passengers. This shows that we are a non-racist country.

3. Respond to the focus question. Within your writing, you should refer to at least 3 quotes and explain their importance in relation to the topic.

“How does public opinion and action affect refugees and migrants in Australia?”

Australians’ actions affect the refugees and migrants in Australia because if they show a negative opinion towards a particular race or religion it can be caught on camera and spread through media, giving Australia a bad and negative reputation. This reputation that is seen by foreigners can influence then not to move to Australia.

–          “it’s my f—ing country” this rant by an Australian woman was caught on camera, and put online resulting in other people from different countries to adopt a bad view of Australia.

–          “This is not the Australia that she represents, and none of this shit should be remembered after this.” said by a passenger on the train. This shows that a racist woman shouldn’t be seen as an Australian representative. A majority of people do not agree with her.

–          “If this is your country, then I don’t f—ing want to be here.” This shows what refugees or migrants might think, because of the bad reputation of Australia. They might see all Australians as racist and feel unwelcomed.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/its-my-fing-country-racist-rant-caught-on-camera-20130412-2hp76.html

By: Jenny, Crystal and Monika

Hello all! I want to make this a more regular medium for communication between classes and the rest of school. After the rigours of ‘Identity and Belonging’ we move into a film unit on the independent creation “Falling for Sahara”. The film explores the ideas of being a refugee, falling in love as well as male comraderie through friendship and sport. We begin this unit by examining some real-world articles connected to refugees and migrants. The students will be providing some insight into what the stories mean to them.

Jimmy’s Life:

One beautiful morning, Jimmy had just woken up in bed. The blinds were open and then Sun was shining so brightly that the shadows created from Jimmy’s bed slowly crept underneath. Jimmy was an overweight boy who lived alone and was not very popular. Jimmy woke up and walked to the kitchen, taking his time as he was still very sleepy. He struggled to reach the cereal box for breakfast but occasionally retrieved it and poured himself some milo in a nice warm bowl of soy milk. Jimmy had school that morning, and he had just realised that the bus was arriving in five minutes. Jimmy rushed up stairs, rummaging through his clothes rapidly looking for his school uniform. His school uniform was not washed, but Jimmy chucked it on and ran outside for the bus only to realise it was one kilometre past the stop. Jimmy’s head dropped in disappointment, so he started a long walk to school.

Jimmy’s school was fifteen kilometres away from his house, and for a young fat boy to walk this far it took a lot of courage and hard work. The streets that Jimmy had to walk were the most dangerous roads in the city of Brooklyn. As Jimmy was walking through the first few blocks of the city, a group of gangstas started staring at him, laughing at him and calling him a fat bastard. Jimmy took it in but kept on walking with his head down. Jimmy’s problem had only just started and he knew it would escalate from here. Jimmy was starting to get scared, shaking and crying as he continued to walk down the road. As Jimmy passed a very dark alleyway, he took a look into it only to see the school bullies pointing at him like they were serial killers. Jimmy quickly made a run for it but the bullies caught up, punching him, kicking him, twisting his arms and hitting him with poles and sticks. It was a pretty horrific belting as Jimmy was left on the floor struggling to catch a breath of air and bleeding so fast.

The only thought on Jimmy’s mind was to get to school on time, so he slowly crawled and progressed onto walking. Jimmy met and old homeless person who was also fat, so he gave the poor man a few dollars. The old man thanked Jimmy and asked him what was wrong. Jimmy descriptively explained his situation and the old man was astonished. The old man gave Jimmy a lesson his was about to remember for the rest of his life. The old man said, “Never let anyone feel more powerful than you, never let anyone change who you are, never let anyone get the better of you because when you do, that is when you start to feel miserable like now. You are you and will always be you, you belong in this world as much as anyone else and deserve anything you want”. Jimmy’s face picked up the biggest smile in his life ever, and when he got to school later on he told the teachers what had happened. The teachers immediately reacted and the bullies were expelled.

Jimmy stayed at the same school, achieving the highest grades and he was never bullied as the teachers protecting him. Jimmy was still overweight, but he joined a gym and was a member for two year. He became the hottest boy in the school and got all the girls. The most important thing about Jimmy’s life is that he never gave up, even when he was at the darkest of his times, he kept on pushing on. Jimmy is still has the same personality but has not stopped achieving his dreams.

THE END, by Daniel Paunkoski of 10J