Executive Producer Mark Ella and Director Producer Julie Nimmo launched the screening of Short Black Opera's documentary last week.
Speaking to , Executive Producer and Opera enthusiast Mark Ella says "We are good at art, we are good at sport and we are great at Opera - we've got to tell our stories."
The documentary takes us on an emotional journey behind the scenes of the rehearsals of
Mark Ella says, "When it comes to our culture, emotions mean a lot."
Pecan Summer is an opera based on the story of Yorta Yorta Soprano and member of the Stolen Generations, Deborah Cheetham.
Cheetham was sadly taken from her family and adopted by a non-Indigenous family.
tells the story of how her people who lived and were born on Dhungala (Murray River) made a historical decision and refusing to live under the conditions of abuse and slavery forced upon them during European settlement and colonisation.
Deborah Cheetham and Mark Ella at the launch of the cinematic premiere of the first Indigenous Opera Pecan Summer-ACMI Source: SBS Radio Living Black
Julie Niimo said before she set off on the journey of recording the documentary that she wasn't ready for what her ears were about to hear. She said 'I couldn't believe how powerful and emotional it was all going to be'.
Julie's Grandmother was taken as a child and she points out 'That with twenty years of being a reporter and covering these stories, nothing has touched me as much as when I heard their story through the song. It's incredibly emotional'.
'The Secrets of Pecan Summer' premiered on Feb 4 on #NITV and #SBS TV. Watch the documentary below or at .
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