PATHFINDERS
noun: A group of people who forge ahead to find the best way to travel through an unknown area. A thoughtful and committed group of people who are the first to do something and that makes it possible for others to do the same thing.
MITCH TORRES
When she walks into a room, you don’t have to be looking to know she’s arrived.
Mitch Torres carries a strong presence, which to me seems like a blend of sheer determination and a vision beyond the here and now., “I have a vision about building a ’good life’ this entails working from my own truths of how I view the world, and looking for meaning in what others are doing that can be used here in our community for building a better world. It means building a life that takes into consideration my family, my community, my neighbours both immediate and further i.e. this amazing ‘living library’ we all call mother Earth."
This extends to being a part of a global community who knows that what we do locally has effects globally. Mitch wants to step more fully into the role given to her upon entering this lifetime, as a steward for the red dirt country she was born from.
"I will use my gift of storytelling to shake people up and help them lift the veil off – so that they see the possibilities of other ways of living based on equality, equity, understanding diversity and embracing that, being brave to step out on a limb in to new waters.”
A descendent of the Djugun, Yawuru and Jabirr Jabiir people from her father’s saltwater side and the Gooniyandi Nyikina, Walmajarri people from her mother’s freshwater/desert side, Mitch has grown up with a lot of interesting experiences, familial, political and cultural, which helped her become the woman she is today.
She has succeeded in roles including, SBS TV presenter, ABC TV journalist, actor, director, producer, researcher, scriptwriter, playwright, and broadcaster and is now joint owner of a Production Company – Wawili Pitjas – with her sister and Producer Eileen. Two recent successes for Mitch are her family cooking show Kriol Kitchen on NITV and writing and directing Jandamarra’s War.
Aware of the sacrifices her family made for her as well as the love, lessons and laughs, which have contributed to her character, strength and resilience. She recounts one story about her grandfather, “he was a real bushman, with a fantastic intellect. He knew the power of information, and the power of knowledge, and how it can free you from your shackles, of your mind or your environment”.
It seems obvious now, that this was a lesson Mitch took to heart and one of the greatest drivers to make films that tell compelling stories about Aboriginal people, culture, history and resilience.
As individuals, we are all doers (the Torres family), she says. “We will not sit back and wait for other people to change our lives. We change our lives.” We keep our independence and cultural spirit strong by defining our own future.
Which is exactly what she continues to do. ...CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT?
LEARN ABOUT BIG SPIRIT KANTRI