Stranger in My Skin - Ray Cotti (Everyday Brave)
Ray Cotti was born black but brought up white. He has three mothers: an adoptive mother, a foster mother and the biological mother he didn't know. It's little wonder he's felt confused for much of his life. But recently Ray has been on a journey of self-discovery, searching for his or...
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| Format: | Streaming video |
| Language: | Undetermined |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia,
2002.
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| Online Access: | A Kanopy streaming video Cover Image |
| Summary: | Ray Cotti was born black but brought up white. He has three mothers: an adoptive mother, a foster mother and the biological mother he didn't know. It's little wonder he's felt confused for much of his life. But recently Ray has been on a journey of self-discovery, searching for his original family and his cultural heritage. Ray was born to Aboriginal parents in western New South Wales but adopted at a young age by a Swiss German family in Sydney. Growing up in a European culture, he thought of himself as white. Then at the age of eight, Ray was removed from his adoptive family following a change in social policy regarding Indigenous children in non-Indigenous families. After living in a series of institutions, he was placed in foster care. His foster father was Aboriginal, his foster mother Karen is white. By the time Ray was in his teens, confusion about his identity was taking a devastating toll. He was rebellious, often in trouble and felt suicidal. It was Karen who helped him seek out his biological family in the hope that it would ease his inner turmoil. A series of reunions followed and Ray was welcomed into a large extended family, where he began exploring his Aboriginal identity. Filmed over two years, this program joins Ray on his search for belonging as he finds his mother then his father, and meets other relatives for the first time. Now twenty-five, Ray has a young family of his own with his partner Rebecca, an Aboriginal woman he met at Tranby College in Glebe. He works on a local employment scheme associated with the land council in Port Macquarie and is an active member of the indigenous community. His journey is far from over but Ray Cotti is finally at home in his own skin. A Film Australia National Interest Program in association with Macumba Media Enterprises. Produced with the support of the National Council for the Centenary of Federation and in association with SBS Independent. Copyright - 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Executive Producer: Mark Hamlyn Producer: Rod Freedman Director: Darlene Johnson Writer: Darlene Johnson DOP/Cinematographer: Roman Baska, Robert Humphreys, Paul Warren Narrator/Presenter: Darlene Johnson Featured People: Ray Cotti. |
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| Item Description: | Title from title frames. In Process Record. |
| Physical Description: | 1 streaming video file (26 min.) |
| Playing Time: | 00:26:00 |
| Format: | Mode of access: World Wide Web. |