Rites of Passage

Not many films are as honest and raw as this. Not many films would care enough for the underprivileged, unappreciated, ignored society we're too quick to label in Australia's poor suburbs. What this film does is question our roles as parents.

While the kids go through a series of self discoveries, though journeys they're not even aware they're on, we see their lives are heading for a place that is a bleak, hopeless and destructive. There's no guiding light for them here. Life is it's greatest teacher and the movie, to it's wonderful credit, doesn't do it in a sentimental way but in an intimate, truthful approach we see and feel them find out for themselves. It doesn't come without costs. Not everyone comes out of it unscathed.

The cast mostly comprises of real kids in similar situations and circumstances the movie presents and Director Phil Crawford does a terrific job in cutting the fat and passing no judgement on their actions-rather he presents it just as fact.

Kudos must go to everyone involved with this film. It experiments with shooting styles that on paper you may question but on this film it succeeds. A brave, fearless piece of film-making that deserves to be seen as a counterpoint to how most Australian films potray us to be.

Houso's shows us a kind of over the top satire of this community but if you want to dig deeper you couldn't ask for a better tour than this little gem. Great work.

A riveting social commentary about adolescence, life, and survival filmed in a meaningful and powerful way. Raw yet poignant tales entwined with innovative filming techniques keep you spell bound as this film follow several story lines simultaneously.

Kudos to all the participants for capturing the angst and experimentation so often attributed to adolescence, that has developed a deeply moving narrative and fabulous film.

So wonderful to receive the breath of fresh air that comes from seeing a film that hasn't caved in to commercialism and Hollywood crap.

Well done to you all, would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to gain further insight into surviving adolescence in our complex and often confusing contemporary society.

genius ! Unscripted & so achieves poignant reality within each scene by using cinematographic techniques to grab the viewer and pull them into the life of each young person. Rites Of Passage is Well worth watching - after all, we've all been teenagers & these guys are no different. At it's simplest, Rites is Local kids growing through their circumstances. This movie has immense positive impact in the lives of the young actors - and this is beautifully conveyed to those who watch it. Weather you identify with a character, or just knew someone like them, Rites Of Passage will make you remember good times, & bad, awaken your empathy, and if you are anything like me, it will linger in your mind for years and drive you to question some of your own choices.

Outstanding film about young people - recommended viewing for anyone working with young people - it gives a detailed and moving insight into the way that young people think and what motivates them. Well made by young people who know their subject matter and how they want to portray it. This film was shown to a regional youth mentoring organisation with everyone providing quality feedback and appreciating the opportunity to gain an insight into the young people of today and how this knowledge can be used to help support them on their journey into adulthood. A sincere thank you to those involved in producing the film - and congratulations on producing such a great film.

It took me a while to get into this film because it is so different to the adult-scripted movies I'm used to watching. But I found this to be an excellent 'off-the-cuff' film made by the adolescents who star in it, as they present facets of their varied lives in a very natural way. Handhelds, no forced acting or awkward forced scripting. A young man reluctantly came to its screening on his 17th birthday, yet by the end of the film he applauded enthusiastically and praised it and started a long conversation with the film makers. To me, one measure of success of any film is its ability to stimulate people of all ages to connect with others to share life experiences, turning them into meaningful conversations with each other, which builds community. I also enjoyed hearing about the life- changing impact that the making of this film had on its young makers and stars. A movie with heart, worth watching and sharing in conversation!