Afghan cameleers New band members

important today, from the refugee situation and war in Afghanistan to racism and the stolen generation in Australia,” director Jolyon Hoff told The Weekly.

HE Wahidullah Waissi, Afghanistan Ambassador to Australia, described Watandar as “a new view of Australia’s multicultural society and its rich history, as well as a genuine perspective on the situation in Afghanistan and its humanitarian catastrophe.”

Forty-two-year-old Muzafar has had an eventful life.

In 2005, when he was 17, he left Pakistan and returned to Afghanistan to work with the UN campaign to disarm tens of thousands of irregular troops.

This dangerous work took him around the country and he became one of the first young Afghan photographers to document his nation’s progress emerging from the ashes of war. He donated his photos to promote education, women’s rights, social justice, and strengthening democratic institutions.

He was the first Afghan photographer exhibited by the United Nations in Afghanistan. His solo and joint exhibitions have been held in Afghanistan, the Republic of Korea, USA, UK, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia. To learn more about Muzafar, and see his work, go to www.muzafar.net

The Watandar soundtrack was composed and performed by Lennox Head locals Headland. Watandar My Countryman is on at The Regent Cinema, Murwillumbah, at 6 pm for 6:30 screening, on Tuesday, June 6.

There will be nibbles in the lobby before and a Q&A with the filmmakers after.

By Madeleine Murray

DO YOU play an instrument? Would you like to play in a band?

The Tweed Coast Band, a 30-strong group that has been making music for more than 30 years, is looking for musicians.

The band plays a range of styles including jazz, swing, pop, rock, Latin, movie themes, marches and Christmas carols.

Tweed Coast Band president Marcel Mangelsdorf said new players on all instruments are welcome to come along on a Saturday morning and have a play. There is no audition process, anyone can just join.

“The Tweed Coast Band is seeking local musicians who love playing and performing to join our band,” Marcel told The Weekly.

“Whether you’re an experienced player, someone with a basic ability or looking to dust off an old instrument, this is the perfect opportunity to rehearse with a group of friendly, like-minded locals.

“We have members ranging from 25 to 90 years old. We are looking for new players in all sections of the band.

“Regardless of your age or ability, we welcome everyone to come along and see what we are about.”

Formerly known as the Twin Towns PCYC Band, the band reformed in 1996 and performs regularly at the Tweed Men’s Shed Market and South Tweed Sports Club, as well as special community events including Anzac Day, the

International Blind Bowlers Competition, Veterans Day and local church events.

Catch the Tweed Coast Band’s next performance at the Murwillumbah Showground Market from 9am on Sunday, June 25.

The Tweed-based band rehearses every Saturday from 10am to 12pm at South Tweed Sports Club. For more information, email tweedcoastband@ gmail.com

By The Regent Spotlight

THIS YEAR Redgum’s iconic song I Was Only 19 turns 40. The eponymous ‘Frankie’ who ‘kicked the mine the day mankind kicked the moon’ is Frank Hunt, the father of Brett Hunt —- singer-songwriter, actor, writer, and educator. His one-man, multiple-character play Dusted Off is a tour de force of script and song and weaves spellbinding stories of an Australian veteran family over several generations.

The performer has a close relationship with the Northern Rivers and recounts a pivotal time 20 years ago when he drove north for the first time.

“I packed up my van and left the city,” he says. “It was a tough time. The van broke down in the middle of the night on the way, but I made it to friends in Mullum in the end. I spent many months living in a garage, working stuff out, writing, and then ended up making my next album — most of Corrugated Road was dedicated to the people I met there, and that time in my life is so important to me.”

In between albums, Hunt tours Dusted Off relentlessly around Australia, performing for schools, civic and regional communities. He has performed at the National War Memorial, The National Vietnam Veterans Museum, and countless theatres across the country. He says, however, that it is not a play about war.

“It’s a story about love and family,” he says.

“It’s about the resilience of going through intergenerational trauma, and ultimately, and the ties that bind us — family, comradeship, friendship. It’s my honour to tell these stories and I’m so happy to be able to return to a place I love to share them.”

Dusted Off is storytelling at its most authentic and is at The Regent on Sunday, July 16.