Well respected Mackay community member and educator, Seini Willet, acted for the first time in her life when she took the role of one of the central characters in Black Snow.
Playing Isabel’s mother, the South Sea Islander woman who turned 50 this year said she was humbled by the experience.
“I always say to my students that when there is an opportunity to - give it a go - and so I thought it was time I followed my own advice!” she said.
“And I loved the whole thing! From behind the scenes to seeing what it actually takes to run a production – it was amazing!
“I loved the script and how they weaved the South Sea Islander history into the storyline.
This was the main reason I wanted to be part of it, to show our history because there are so many people who don’t know much about it.”
Seini recounts how, even though it was her first time on-set, all the crew made her feel welcome and accepted.
They had an acting coach that helped them all connect and showed them how to draw from real life experiences.
“Everything you see on the screen is real - real tears, real emotions,” she said.
“The emotions are real because we were so connected, we became like a family.”
The producers went to great efforts to portray a true reflection of culture and characters, using accurate music, language and words.
“It was all done so respectfully, and I feel honoured to be able to share our culture and have our rituals on-set,” said Seini.
“It was all done in a safe environment, all in a collaboration and in a beautiful setting – I feel so honoured to have been part of it.”
