Jessica Mauboy has traded in her microphone for her acting hat, playing the protagonist in Stan’s new original film, Windcatcher.
The 34-year-old singer plays Aunt Cressida in the film, which centres around Percy Boy (Lennox Monaghan), a First Nations kid who is given the gift of seeing Lost Souls – a concept, Jessica says, “we don’t ever get to see” portrayed.
“I think for First Nations mob and particularly for Aboriginal culture, we don’t ever get to see that and we don’t get to see it in this light,” Jessica told Chattr during an interview before the film’s 28 March release.
“And so this [Windcatcher] is going to be very important and such an insight of a young boy and how he deals with it.”
Lennox Monaghan, Windcatcher.
Mauboy continued, saying that the spiritual practice was “something that we rarely speak about in public.”
“We do speak about it to our mob and our circle of mob that do go through that experience,” she said. “And being passed on that ability to do so is a huge deal.
“It’s something that I am extremely proud for young mob to do.
“I think when you come out of the community, there’s a sense of lost belonging. There’s a sense of disconnection and a struggled connection because you want to live in a Western World, but you also want to remain connected to your culture and what you believe in.
“It’s a lot of weight to carry.”
Growing up in Darwin, NT, Mauboy says she has a very close connection to her familial roots and admitted that “it should be taught that you can have both worlds.”
“I think this film will be able to show that it is possible,” she said, before describing Windcatcher, as “incredibly heartwarming.”
“It’s got such a warmth…and it has a lot of hope,” she said.
The Stan Original Film Windcatcher premieres 28 March, only on Stan.