Award Winning Documentary Screened at USQ Springfield

University of Southern Queensland (USQ) staff, students and the local community spent their lunch hour watching an award winning short documentary at USQ Springfield campus today (31 October 2007).

The room was silent during the 30 minute film, Nigger Lovers, which details USQ academic Stephen Hagan's fight to have the word ‘Nigger' removed from a Toowoomba sports ground.

The documentary was co-produced and co-written by USQ academics Dr Daryl Sparkes and Stephen Hagan and was directed by Stephen's wife Rhonda Hagan.

Dr Sparkes said Nigger Lovers had received national acclaim following its release earlier this year and was recently awarded an EnhanceTV Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) award for Best Documentary Short Form.

'ATOM is an independent, non-profit, professional association for Teachers of Media, who established the awards to promote, encourage and reward the work of Australian screen and media practitioners,' Dr Sparkes said.

'It has also been judged a finalist in the Inside Film (IF) Awards and has been nominated at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals, as well as film festivals in Germany, Spain, New Zealand and Hawaii.

Created on a budget of $120,000, Nigger Lovers also examines the history behind the use of the word ‘nigger'.

'It never really struck me why this word was so hurtful to black people until I realised that being white, I will never be called a ‘nigger',' Dr Sparkes said.

'When I spoke to all the people who had been, such as tennis legend Evonne Goolagong - Cawley, I realised that this is a despicable word used to degrade them and nothing else.

'Perhaps the hardest part of making the film was interviewing the leader of the Australian Ku Klux Klan, a man who goes by the name of ‘Der Fuhrer'.

'This group had been sending Stephen hate mail and death threats for years so we decided to track them down.

'I spent three hours with this guy and felt physically ill after having to listen to his rant of hate against blacks, gays, Jews and all foreigners. What he says in the film is absolutely horrific.'

The film could receive further accolades shortly with the documentary also nominated for an Inside Film (IF) Award to be presented at the Gold Coast on Friday 16 November 2007.

Media Contact:  Jo-Ann Sparrow, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 4119 or 0428 102 979