Northern Rivers Community Gateway (NRCG) has launched Voices in Light, a new youth-led short film created in Bundjalung Country for the UN 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
Filmed in the Northern Rivers with local young people, Voices in Light follows a group of young teenage girls as they create a large shared mural together in nature, using colour, movement and storytelling to explore themes of safety, courage, connection and respect.
The project is a partnership between Northern Rivers Community Gateway and creative production collective Daughter Collective, and was developed to offer a consent-first, art-based space for young people to speak about their experiences, hopes and boundaries in the context of gender-based violence and healthy relationships.
‘At Northern Rivers Community Gateway, we hold a gentle but firm belief that everyone deserves to live free from gender-based violence, and that nurturing and listening to young people is essential to building that future,’ said Northern Rivers Community Gateway CEO Jenni Beetson-Mortimer.
‘Voices in Light gives local young people a creative, supported way to talk about safety, respect and what they want their futures to look like. It is about listening to them, not speaking for them.”
Throughout the film, interviews are short, optional and held in quiet spaces beside the
canvas. Each young person was able to choose how they appear, if at all, with options for audio only, hands or back-of-head, or full face.
Nature is used as visual poetry and a calming environment, supporting young people to create and reflect while feeling grounded
and held.
Important conversations
‘We wanted to build a day that felt calm, safe and genuinely youth-led,’ said Kimberley Smith, Trauma Counsellor at Northern Rivers Community Gateway. ‘Art became a vehicle for important conversations about respect and safety, without putting anyone on the spot.’
Following local screenings, Northern Rivers Community Gateway will make the film and supporting discussion guide available to schools, services and organisations across the region.
We invite educators, youth workers, community organisations and media outlets to use Voices in Light as a conversation starter,” CEO Jenni Beetson-Mortimer said.
‘It is a reminder that prevention work can be hopeful, creative and grounded in
young people’s strengths.’
NRCG encourages anyone moved by the film who may need support to contact
1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or local specialist services.
The film can be viewed on YouTube below:
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