NIA'S SONG is an animated film, illustrated by award winning artist Anita Lester, with associated interactive components. It focuses on the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather, music and memory, and explores how it can be healing to give a painful memory a shape - in words, art or music, and share it with others - rather than keep it inside. NIA'S SONG encourages young people to engage with elders’ stories and memories with respect and sensitivity, empowering them to take a role in safeguarding cultural heritage across generations. With its beautiful music and imagery, the audio-visual format delivers the story in a vivid contemporary way that resonates with both children and adults. The themes of pain and loss are universal inviting awareness of our shared humanity and the importance of empathy and tolerance.

 

As a child and adult psychologist who has worked with people who have experienced migration, loss and trauma (and has delivered workshops, both locally and overseas, on Understanding Trauma) I know that painful memories, not shared with others, can haunt like a ghost. One of the difficulties of traumatic memories is that they are often nonverbal – indeed we know that the part of the brain responsible for creating language-based memory is not functioning properly during trauma. So, there is an essential therapeutic importance in giving painful memories a shape, in language, music or art.

 

We also know that telling the story of these memories, communicating and sharing them with others helps us manage our past. It’s important to share memories, even sad ones, with the younger generation. For if these memories are not shared, the stories, and the people they belong to, will be forgotten. The Papa in NIA'S SONG is overjoyed to hear his sister’s music played to an audience. It was only then he knew her memory would not be forgotten – as her song, her musical footprint – was the only thing left of her in the world.