Draft:Streets of Colour

After being blamed for the death of his best friend in a racist street fight, Terence "Tez" Hadid, a young drug dealer struggling with addiction, loses custody of his young son. As he confronts the consequences of his actions and the pressures of crime and prejudice around him, Tez must attempt to rebuild his life before losing his chance at fatherhood forever.

• Rahel Romahn as Terence "Tez" Hadid
• Veronica Cloherty as Madison Hopkins
• Elliott Giarola as Kyle Madden
• Simon Elrahi
• Athiéi
• Thuso Lekwape
• Peter McAllum
• Peter Maple
• Drew Pearson

The film was produced by Skycross Entertainment in association with Frankendipity Enterprises and Rishi Raj Films. It was written and directed by Ronnie S. Riskalla and filmed in Western Sydney.

The story draws inspiration from Riskalla's personal experiences growing up in Mount Druitt, Western Sydney, and addresses themes of multicultural identity and racism within Australian society. In an interview with FilmInk, Riskalla explained his motivation: "The idea for the film came from my personal experiences suffering at the hands of racism as a child, all the way through to my adult life."^[3]

Riskalla spent approximately seven years developing the project, navigating a complicated financing process, a tough shoot and a lengthy post-production period.^[4]

Streets of Colour premiered in Sydney at the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace on 26 June 2023, before receiving a national theatrical release across Australia. The film attracted strong audiences at early Sydney screenings including the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, Casula Powerhouse and Actors Centre Australia.^[5]

The film's national cinema run included screenings at HOYTS Mt Druitt, HOYTS Bankstown, HOYTS Penrith, Parramatta Riverside, and Gala Cinema Warrawong in New South Wales; New Farm Cinemas in Brisbane, Queensland; Cinema Nova and Village Fountain Gate in Melbourne, Victoria; and The Backlot in Perth, Western Australia.

The film was distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Screen Inc. It later became available on digital platforms including YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

Streets of Colour was used as a tool for social and legislative change in New South Wales. A special screening of the film, accompanied by a question and answer session, was held at the Parliament of New South Wales Theatrette on 20 September 2023. The event was co-hosted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Dr Joe McGirr MP (Independent Member for Wagga Wagga), and representatives of the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek communities of Australia through the Joint Justice Initiative.^[6]

The screening was held in the context of the proposed Crimes Amendment (Nazi Symbols and Salutes) Bill 2023, with the aim of examining the issues raised by the film as a strategy to impose greater legal restrictions against neo-Nazi behaviour in New South Wales.

Michael Kolokossian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia, stated that banning neo-Nazi groups, their symbols, and salutes across all states and territories is one step toward overcoming divisive attitudes.

Michael Gencher, Acting CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, noted the ongoing need for conversation about racial vilification and offensive behaviour towards minority communities.

Dr Joe McGirr emphasised the importance of education and awareness, co-hosting the screening with the hope of reminding audiences that the atrocities committed under Nazi banners must never be repeated.

The Q&A panel included cast and crew from Streets of Colour alongside special guests to explore the themes of the film and the implications of the new Crimes Amendment Bill.

Streets of Colour received mixed to mainly positive reviews. FilmInk critic Erin Free gave the film a strong review, describing it as a stunning depiction of an Australia not frequently seen on screen, and praised lead actor Rahel Romahn's performance.^[7]

Film Matters Magazine praised the film's depiction of complex issues including interracial relations, community, generational trauma and grief, noting that its fast-paced nature worked well with the story being told.^[8]

Streets of Colour received several industry recognitions following its release.

At the 13th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA Awards), presented in February 2024 for films released in 2023, the film was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Indie Film, alongside Limbo, The Survival of Kindness, A Savage Christmas, Monolith and The Rooster. The award was won by Limbo, directed by Ivan Sen.^[9][1]

The film was also nominated for Feature Film Production of the Year at the Screen Producers Australia Awards (SPA Awards), held on 21 March 2024 as part of the Screen Forever conference on the Gold Coast, competing alongside Carmen, Foe, Limbo, Shayda and The Royal Hotel.^[10][11][12]

Streets of Colour was selected to screen at the Lebanese Film Festival Australia, a festival celebrating Lebanese Australian cinema and culture, screening on 26 August 2023 at HOYTS Bankstown, followed by a Q&A session with the director and cast.^[13]

The film was also screened in Adelaide as part of the Port Adelaide Diversity & Inclusion Film Festival (PADIF) at the Odeon Star cinema in Semaphore on 26 August 2023.^[5]

A special screening was also held at the Parliament of New South Wales Theatrette on 20 September 2023, co-hosted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the Joint Justice Initiative, in support of the proposed Crimes Amendment (Nazi Symbols and Salutes) Bill 2023.^[6]

Following the film's release, Riskalla was invited to speak at panels on independent filmmaking at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and the Flickerfest Film Festival.^[4] He also secured a Directors Attachment placement on The Correspondent, directed by Kriv Stenders, known for Red Dog and Australia Day.