Thug life: Director Abe Forsythe skewers racism with comedy in Down Under.
ROASTING RACISM: In Down Under director Abe Forsythe uses comedy to ridicule the racism behind the Cronulla riots.
When Abe Forsythe first saw the footage of the 2005 Cronulla Beach riots he was in Britain and could scarcely believe his eyes.
A violent clash between Muslim and Aussie youths, the prolonged confrontation served as a flashpoint for the growing sense of post-9/11 unease about Muslims in the community, even those who had peacefully lived here for decades.
Forsythe was both homesick for Sydney, where he was born, and sickened by what he saw. Was this Australia? he wondered.
In his cutting satirical comedy Down Under, Forsythe pits a carload of Aussie rednecks against a carload of Muslim thickheads to expose the obscenity of violence and prejudice that fuelled the fighting.
The eyes have it: one of the remarkable promotional images for Down Under.
Eager to use the power of comedy to drill into issues such as peer pressure, bigotry, and ignorance, Forsythe had no idea the film's release would be so timely.
The film's incendiary subject matter has resulted in a torrent of online abuse, yet Forsythe insists the movie is reaching out to increase understanding, intending to temper the debate and inform conversation, not inflame shouting matches.
Here he discusses the Down Under in detail, admits to its limitations and his hope that it does some good. He also discusses the creative help he has received in promoting the film and the sad lack of resources he had to market it, which remains an on-going problem for Australian film.
The film screens as the Centrepiece Gala at MIFF 7pm tonight (Saturday, 6 August) at the Comedy Theatre and as an open-caption screening at 7pm at the Kino. Down Under opens nationwide Thursday 11 August.
Click play to view the interview
Click play for a trailer for Down Under
