Puskás and the South Melbourne Hellas

Through the story of Ferenc Puskás, we hope to educate Australians about the life and ordeals of Greek migrants and their families in Australia in the 80s and 90s. We also want to do three other things: (1) challenge community attitudes (here and overseas) concerning migrants and refugees; (2) show today’s migrants and refugees that they can make a contribution to their new communities; and (3) show that sport can provide an important source of pride and release for those who are not part of mainstream society. In light of increasing fear and xenophobia, these issues demonstrate the importance and benefits of multiculturalism, and why it should it should continue to receive broad support (here and overseas).

We want to engage with all Australians concerning the place of migrants in Australian society, how they struggle to adapt to their new country, and their potential to contribute to Australian society. The film will enable people to understand that: (1) migrants can contribute constructively to Australian society; and (2) multiculturalism is healthy and constructive.

Short-term and medium-term outcomes: foster pride among the Greek migrants and their descendants; show new migrant groups that they can ‘make it’ in their new countries; provide an historical record showing other Australians that migration and multiculturalism are positive, constructive things worthy of ongoing and increased support; and show politicians and other community leaders (here and overseas) that today’s migrants (for example, Sudanese in Melbourne and Syrians in Hungary) can contribute successfully to their new countries. and communities, and that migration is a positive institution.

Long-term outcomes: increased empathy for migrants and refugees; reductions in the levels of xenophobia, racism and intolerance; and national and international policy change.

Influential members of Melbourne’s Greek community have been providing advice and encouragement to our team. We also hope to build relationships with sporting bodies such as Football Victoria.

For any viewer concerned about migration and migrants, we want our film to film to cause such concerns to be questioned. We want our film to spark discussion about the constructive and beneficial elements of migration. In short, we want to change behaviours and attitudes. For Greek migrants and their families, we want the film to engender a sense of pride in respect of their achievements. For newer migrants and their families, we want them to see that they too can overcome obstacles and make contributions to life here. We want the film to provoke thought and discussion. Ideally, such thought and discussion will lead to concrete action – action, for example, to preserve historical records, to contact a politician, to create a new football competition, to provide funding to a group of Sudanese youths to play football.