Submitted by Anonymous on March 29, 2004 - 7:59pm
The word is getting out as the first documentary to profile the USAFL just aired on ABC Asia Pacific. On the evening of March 20th, with an audience in Hong Kong, Jakarta and Tokyo the world finally saw how Australian Rules Football has taken root here in the United States.
"Play On", a production of USFooty, tells the story of how Australian ex-pats and sport loving Americans have imported Australian Rules Football to the United States.
The airing of the documentary marks a milestone for filmmaker Mark Wilcken who has worked on the film for over three years. While researching a project on the Australian outback, Wilcken stumbled across the USFooty website. Remembering his own interest in the sport from the days ESPN aired highlights, Wilcken was amazed to see how the sport had grown in the US. An innocent call to founding president Paul O'Keeffe and then president Rich Mann set the wheels in motion for what would eventually become "Play On: The Story of Australian Rules Football in America". With over 70 hours of footage and countless hours editing, the final cut of the documentary was completed in July 2003.
Wilcken continues to search for venues to air "Play On" across the country and around the world.
For more information, click here.
- Mark Wilcken
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