A SPECIAL film screening of ‘Sapa’ in Newhaven on Saturday night raised funds for a Sri Lankan man of that name and his family, a group of young Australians returning the kindness he showed them during their visits to his homeland.
Saturday’s gathering at the Phillip Island Board Riders Club promoted socially conscious travel and was sponsored by the State Government’s FReeZA program supporting the running of safe youth-friendly events that are alcohol, drug and smoke free.
A group of young Victorians met Sapa in 2018 after arriving in Sri Lanka, with the film in his honour made during a return visit there last year.
Sapa was the tuk tuk driver for those on the original journey, transporting the then teenage Aussies throughout their trip and welcoming them into his family home to eat.
One of the group, Leyton Bowen, spoke about the inspiration for the film and fundraising efforts for Sapa who lost his tuk tuk as a result of the pandemic.
“Sapa didn’t have much but still gave us as much as he could; it taught us a valuable lesson when we were 18 and we wanted to give back,” Leyton said.
A driving force behind the film, Bryden Banks, said the second trip was made possible through a fundraiser that won support from local businesses that contributed to a raffle.
“The intention was to buy him a tuk tuk and we put a film together from that trip to share that story,” Bryden said.
“We’re lucky to have a lot of creative friends from the music and arts scene who have come together to put on this event.”
Another member of the group, Monique Scalzo, spoke of what socially conscious travel is.
“It’s travelling with a purpose rather than just to the next tourist site,” she said,
explaining the Aussies realised they have a privileged background and wanted to do something of value.
YMCA was involved in the Sapa film screening event, holding the FReeZA funds and allocating a staff member to assist, but wasn’t in charge of organising the evening.
Jerrie Liberati represented YMCA, being responsible for coordinating the FReeZA program on the Bass Coast, explaining that she worked with the group of young friends who were in charge of the event.
FReeZA is based around music, art and culture, with all its events curated by young people.
“That’s why we’ve collaborated with these guys, because they had this cool idea to do a film screening,” Jerrie said.
The diverse evening included a welcome to country and smoking ceremony conducted by Steve Parker and live music from ‘Soulutations’ and ‘The Fillmores’.
