Family Footsteps - Series 2 (ATOM Study Guide)

People from over 185 different countries have made Australia their home. Our multicultural identity is based on their sacrifices and contributions. But many Australians know very little about their family's cultural history and have never visited their parents' or grandparents' homelands. This gap often creates tensions between the migrant parents and the next generation.

December Films, the makers of Family Footsteps, were most interested in telling the stories of individuals whose families came from countries where their lives would have contrasted in significant ways with their lives in Australia. The successful applicants, Joanna Kambourian, Andrew Paul, Laetitia Lemke and Kevin Taing were keen to discover what lives they may have lived if their families had not migrated to Australia.

In the second series of Family Footsteps, Joanna travels to Armenia, Andrew to Uganda, Laetitia to Tonga and Kevin to Cambodia. With very few possessions in their backpack, they are forced to leave their Australian ways of life behind. They live with a mentor of the same age and gender. They are expected to deal with the issues of everyday life as a local rather than as a tourist.

Family Footsteps is an honest and revealing account of their decision to come to terms with their multicultural identity.