Inspired by the launch of an after-dark basketball competition set up for underprivileged kids in central Sydney, this film follows the ascent of the Woolloomooloo Allstars, a raggle taggle bunch of unlikely champions hailing from one of the city's most notorious housing estates.

Woolloomooloo, once a slum, and converted to a public housing estate in 1973, hosts a small, tight-knit yet troubled community riddled with the typical ills of low socio-economic areas. Yet the area, which is bordered by Sydney's glittering harbour is now surrounded by multimillion dollar real estate. The local kids grow up in the shadow of the city's skyscrapers, in a tiny pocket of poverty adrift in affluence. Despite the gentrification around them, their little world is rife with crime and drugs leaving them extremely vulnerable to bad influence.

These kids, as young as 5, roaming the streets of their little village at all hours of the day and night are already leading precarious lives. Without proper guidance and role models they could easily be sucked into the generational cycle of poverty, handout mentality and dysfunctionality which has already wracked their families. The basketball initiative, specifically run at night, was designed to keep them off the streets and get them involved in something constructive.

Though it was the basketball that first attracted us to Woolloomooloo, we soon realised the colourful local characters and this unique neighbourhood were fascinating beyond the scope of a mere sporting event. So while the competition became a main narrative thread of Playing in the Shadows, we ultimately hoped to create intimate character portraits set against the dramatic backdrop of this tiny old world village in the heart of the big 21st century city. Working as a two person team on camera and sound, shooting in an observational style over the period of a year we were able to capture an intimacy impossible with a larger crew.

A long tradition exists in documentary, of turning the lens on the underprivileged, but we wanted to take this film far beyond a mere voyeuristic glimpse inside a housing estate, or a feel-good story of troubled kids overcoming their traumas. We really strived to get a kid's-eye view of the world of Woolloomooloo and find out what it is like to grow up battling adversity in such a distinctive area.

What are the dreams of these young people? Can the opportunities and distractions provided by the basketball competition help stop them from succumbing to self-destructive habits or following in the footsteps of bad role models? Can the cycle of family and community dysfunctionality be broken by addressing a new generation?

It was a fine line capturing the reality of the kids' lives in the darkness and danger of the housing estate, whilst also celebrating their youthful idealism, and the spark and charisma which will lead to brighter futures. We believe exposure to the tougher life many Australians still face in the so-called 'Lucky Country' will be both eye-opening for individual viewers and crucial to maintaining social conscience within the wider community. It is also important to show that productive inspiring things do emerge from situations commonly perceived as unredeemable. We are documentary makers committed to giving the marginalized a voice and challenging stereotypical notions of what it is to belong to Sydney's urban underclass.

Thus despite some uneasy subject matter, generated by community issues and the individual life challenges many young people portrayed are facing, the overall perspective of this film is one of creative vision and unique achievement in the face of deprivation and adversity. Ultimately we hoped to be able to document the positive impact programs like night basketball competition had on the kids' lives, and definitely to encourage funding for more.

Throughout filming, the greatest inspiration was the irrepressible spirit of the young people who socialise together regardless of their wildly different ages and backgrounds. We fell in with a crowd of kids stretching from 8 to 18, of Turkish, Chinese, Aboriginal and Anglo heritage who, having grown up together, run around the streets skating, blading scootering and raising chaos, oblivious to their differences.

To capture these kids and their lives, against the dramatic backdrop of Woolloomooloo with all its natural beauty and social problems made for a complex and insightful experience.

Sascha Ettinger Epstein and Marco Ianniello

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