Krunal Padhiar’s first feature length documentary on a group of inspiring young Indigenous people has received international acclaim. His studies in Social Work at ACAP University College are helping him become an even more effective advocate.
Krunal Padhiar is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and a Master of Social Work student at ACAP University College, and he thinks those two things go naturally hand in hand.
Krunal has spent much of his adult life documenting the experiences of people who have been displaced or are in indigenous communities across the globe.
He believes an ethical filmmaker needs to employ many of the skills that are taught to social workers, so for him, it made sense to pursue both.
“The reason why I wanted to study social work was to be more informed on a professional level about engaging with vulnerable people and families, and the kind of protocols that I could implement to strengthen my practice in documentary filmmaking,” he said.
"Making a feature film can often be a deeply solitary experience, so the classes at ACAP provided valuable opportunities for reflection, processing and discussion. This was especially helpful because filmmaking and social work practice share many similarities. However, the key difference is that in documentary work, the stories shared by individuals and families are then made public."
His two worlds will collide in February when he screens his debut documentary feature film Voice to his fellow students and teachers at ACAP University College campuses across Australia.
It won’t be the film’s first screening; that was at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), an accomplishment that took Krunal and the Indigenous youth group, Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) who were the subjects of the documentary and participated in its production, completely by surprise.
“The participants were speechless initially when I called them to say we’ve got in,” he said.
“And having community attend from all over Australia to advocate, support and show solidarity was the most meaningful part of the production and screenings.”
Krunal said more than 200 community members attended the screening, many of whom travelled all the way from far north Queensland.
The film went on to be the joint winner of the Intrepid Audience Award and was screened at Hawaii International Film Festival, Native Spirit Film Festival and Garifuna Indigenous Film Festival.
People-centred filmmaking
Making the documentary was never in Krunal’s plan, but changing directions has been a constant theme in his life.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts at home in the UK, Krunal quit his job in 2016 to spend a year in France documenting the refugee crisis impacting Europe in the wake of the Syrian civil war.
“Through that experience I learned a lot about working with vulnerable people and what it means to preserve their dignity and support them in a way that is person-centred,” he said.
Krunal eventually found himself in Cairns, working with a group of First Nations men on a project highlighting men’s mental health in the state’s far north.
That’s when he came across DIYDG, a grassroots First Nations community youth group advocating for their community.
An initial plan to include them in the documentary, to highlight their collaborative community work with the men’s group, turned into a project of its own when Krunal heard they were planning a trip across Australia to the Northern Territory and was asked to join them.
“I got into this bus and we travelled across country and I filmed for 10 days, and upon reflection I realised this documentary needs to stand on its own,” he said.
“I think their perspective and story was important in the context of The Voice referendum which was taking place at the time because it was grounded in the lived experience of a grassroots organisation who work in crisis and intervention with youth on the ground in regional Australia.”
Social work journey
Krunal is now one year into studying his Master of Social Work at ACAP University College in Sydney where he hopes to develop skills that will allow him to continue to engage with communities in a safe and trauma-informed way, though he’s not ruling out a career in social work itself.
“I’d like to actually integrate my social work and the documentary-making,” he said.
“Through my work at ACAP I see where I could strengthen my practice, and so it’s really developed my self-awareness, critical reflection and growth in a professional way.”
Krunal chose ACAP to study because of its offering of smaller classes and more personalised education, alongside its affordable cost for him as an international student.
“I’m one year into completing my masters at ACAP and it’s been amazing and quite empowering,” he said.
“It is such a supportive environment, and all the lecturers are amazing, they all have their own unique skill set that I acknowledge and respect.”
Interested in a career that cares? Explore at: ACAP | Accredited Social Work Courses