UnLonely Film Festival 6
Two Sands
As Garang struggles on his first day at high school in Australia, memories of being lost in South Sudan are triggered. When past and present collide, Garang must find a way to bridge the gap between where he is and where he’s come from.
Consider This
Watch this video to explore the film’s meaning and major themes a bit more. Talking with others about a shared arts experience can enrich our perspectives. Share your thoughts in the comment section, below!
Meet the Filmmaker
What is their why?
Two Sands is based on an incredible true story from Kook’s childhood in South Sudan.
“Kook and I met in 2012 at Aranmore Catholic College’s Intensive English Centre where Kook was a student and I was teaching animation. During that time Kook told me an incredible true story about when he got lost in the wilderness as a boy. We made a short animation about it and I always thought it would make a great live action short, if we could afford to film in South Sudan!”
“Three years later I was working in France with homeless refugees and Kook’s childhood story of being lost kept playing on my mind. As people told me about their refugee experiences, the image of Kook as a child separated from his tribe felt very resonant. This gave birth to the idea of weaving flashbacks of Kook’s story of being lost into a film about feeling lost in a new country. By keeping flashbacks short and abstract, I felt we could use places in Perth to stand in for the South Sudan locations.”
“When I got back to Australia I asked Kook if he’d like to make that film together. Kook said “Yes, I’m excited to have the vision of what I went through in front of me on screen, so it will make me and other people from Sudan feel truly welcome in Australia. It’s something I survived and learnt from and I want to share with people.”
Poppy van Oorde-Grainger is an artist, filmmaker and producer and the founding director of not-for-profit production company Same Drum. Poppy first gained national recognition in as winner of the Fremantle Print Award and later the Australia Council Kirk Robson Award for leadership in community arts and cultural development.
Her work has been broadcast on Nickelodeon, SBS and ABC and presented at international festivals and galleries including London International Festival of Theatre, Japan Media Arts Festival and Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. Most recently Poppy directed, co-produced and co-wrote Galup for Perth Festival 2021 and Ngaluk Waangkiny for Community Arts Network, in partnership with ABC.
Join The Discussion
Have you ever experienced a time when you had to move from your hometown to a new location? How did you keep the connections you had there alive?
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my family moved all the time, so I wrote letters to all my friends and a few I have kept for 50 years.