BACKTRACK BOYS

Director Catherine Scott’s documentary follows three of the boys (Russell, Tyrson and Zac) on a cross-country journey as they travel to rural shows with Bernie’s dog jumping team.

The boys at Backtrack usually arrive traumatised, with anger issues towards women and teachers. As Sarah Mills (both a woman and teacher) notes of the tiny, cowboy hat-wearing, cigarette-smoking Russell: “Little Rusty, ready to bite, ready to fight, ready to run amok.”

Tyrson comes from a family of drug addicts and alcoholics. In the program, he immerses himself in volunteer work and talking with the boys who feel uncomfortable talking to a psychologist. We watch as he regains a sense of his own potential. “I’m not just a fuckhead, like people thought I was,” he says.

The eldest of the three, Zac, originally came from Alice Springs, but drifted east to Gunnedah in NSW as his family fragmented. He acts as mentor and big brother for the other boys and is at the stage where he hopes to get a job. “A meaningful one,” hopes Shakeshaft, obviously proud of Zac’s growth. Zac, in turn, just wants to make the Backtrack team proud.

The dogs (“the right dog will pick the right kid”) fill a void in the boys’ lives left by abuse, absentee parents and fractured families. The dogs are trained to scale huge jumps at the same time as the boys are learning discipline and other life skills. “You never don’t let the dog get over the jump,” says Mills. “If you have to push the dog over to get the positive memory, you do it.” In much the same way, Shakeshaft and his team never give up on the boys, some of whom can’t avoid self-sabotaging and being sucked back into an unforgiving legal system.

Filmed over two and a half years by director, cinematographer and producer Catherine Scott, not only is ‘Backtrack Boys’ a thoughtful mediation on Australian youth and (at times) a complete tear-jerker, but it's also a striking-looking film. The aerial shots of the wide Australian landscapes, red and brown, serene and peaceful, are contrasted against the turmoil of the boys.

It’s impossible not to become emotionally invested in the story of the Backtrack team and Bernie Shakeshaft, his unconventional but deeply caring style, and the fractured young Australians he’s helping to heal.