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Bernie Shakeshaft is the rule-breaking jackaroo who takes a chance on three boys on a direct path to juvie when he brings them aboard his legendary dog-jumping team.
Backtrack is the youth program run out of Bernie Shakeshaft’s shed on the outskirts of Armidale. It’s a place for troubled kids to safely continue their education while learning trust, support for one another and to have faith in a world that has forgotten them. When Shakeshaft recruits Zach, Alfie and Rusty to join him on a cross-country journey with his famed dog-jumping team, it’s the last chance for the three boys to halt a quick journey to jail and prove to the world that they are more than just delinquents with no future.
Director Catherine Scott (Profits of Punishment, MIFF 2000) embedded herself for two years in this world and has crafted an inspiring and heart-warming coming-of-age tale. Backtrack Boys is a film about a generation of young Australians from the fringes of society eager to become more than their circumstances would suggest.
