Girls’ journey on screen

A new documentary following the journey of Pilbara Girl and Kimberley Girl contestants will start filming in the region this week.

Barefoot Catwalk is a factual observational film about the journey of young indigenous women from Hedland, Karratha, Roebourne, Wickham, Newman and surrounding communities.

Series producer Jodie Bell said the eight-part series would provide an intimate window into the Pilbara and Kimberley Girls’ lives, communities and culture as they prepared for the 2016 program.

“The girls’ journey starts before Pilbara Girl, so that’s why we wanted to talk to the girls in their communities prior to starting workshops this week,” she said.

“It’s important to look at where the girls come from … and then we follow their progress throughout the program.

“Their video diaries will provide a platform to express themselves freely and reflect on their journey to the finals and beyond.”

Ms Bell said Barefoot Catwalk was more than a show about a beauty pageant. Rather, it told the story about young women fighting the odds to make a better place for themselves and their communities.

“We see huge changes in some of the girls and where they end up,” Ms Bell said.

“Life is not always easy but there are ways around that and hopefully we can show that.”

Ms Bell said through interviews with mentors and Pilbara Girl founder Kira Fong, the audience also gained an appreciation of all the logistics behind a program like Pilbara and Kimberley Girl.

“It will show how much goes into these programs, which often gets unrecognised,” she said.

“It showcases the region as well … we tend to think of the Pilbara in terms of mining … and this gives us a chance to showcase the towns and the people in a much different light.”

The Barefoot Catwalk documentary, produced by Goolarri Media, is due to air on the National Geographic channel next year.

“This will give it such a widespread distribution — it will go international and that’s really exciting,” Ms Bell said.

Throughout July, Pilbara Girl entrants will participate in a series of workshops focusing on personal and professional development, leadership, deportment and grooming.

The first heat event will be on July 15 and finalists will complete another round of workshops in October before the winner is crowned in Broome on October 7.