One of the coolest things about putting new content online is that people start to send you notices and info about new projects coming up! Yay! Yes, sometimes people even send me promo items. That being said, there are a few amount of promo items I get that I don’t like. And at times when I get a fair amount of them, not all of them I end up writing about. Which means that a) the ones I do write about I really like and b) I know that the web is a wild and woolly place and that the awesome projects I don’t get to write about will be championed elsewhere.

It gets even cooler when people learn that I live for opening the door on real life. While fiction has its place, it’s non-fiction that truly transports and guides towards noticing, questioning and reinterpreting the world around us.

That being said… here is a little bit about one documentary I was contacted about recently called The Lives of Mt. Druitt Youth. As I do love documentaries more than most things, I was chuffed to see that this particular documentary is about shedding light on a place that stereotypes tend to darken and view negatively instead of truthfully. While as we all know that stereotypes do tend to exist for a reason, we should also know that they rarely present the whole story. And when it comes to specific cities, neighborhoods or places, linguistics tend to sully things allowing fear to gain traction solely on a name… Something that gangs, criminals and other not-so-nice people tend to capitalize on.

From his email, Saad notes the sypnosis for this new 60 min long documentary:

Come with Saad as he explores the face of Mount Druitt never seen by outsiders. A look into the various lives of youth across this misconceived suburb that has built up a notorious reputation of crime and drug’s. Saad unravels life stories that go against all the stereotypical branding of the suburb, as the young youths tell of their experiences in regards to Money, Drugs, Crime & Social Conflicts whilst growing up in an area looked down upon by many. An intimate Journey that aims to change the perspective of any viewer.

You can check out the Facebook page for this doc over here. There’s also more information on the film plus links to interviews and press over at Wikipedia. Adam’s documentary is available for sale over on the documentary’s website, and there are several clips other than the above over on YouTube.

While I haven’t personally seen this doc in its entirety, I wanted to share a bit about it as I think that what Saad has done at 23, documenting his local community and fighting stereotypes is well worth applauding and supporting. Imagine what could be accomplished if more youth decided to open up the curtains behind what’s really going on in their communities beyond the negative press.

Need more documentaries? You can now watch PBS’ series Independent Lens online! Need more photos? Go check out the