Sitting in a crowded Malatang restaurant on George Street after the world premiere of ONEFOUR: Against All Odds at SXSW Sydney, my cousin Ranier (a certified ONEFOUR fanatic*) and I sipped our broths. It was time to debrief.
We discussed the inevitable stank face you make when listening to ONEFOUR's music. We talked about director Gabriel Gasparinatos' aesthetic choices. Then, my cousin mentioned a clip of a Chinese restaurant seen in the film.
"That's like," he slurped his soup, "three streets away from our house," he said, smiling.
There was something about Ranier's comment, and the joy of seeing our suburb on the big screen, that struck me. It felt special, and made me reflect on what we'd seen only an hour earlier — a group of Pacific Islander men from 'the area' finally telling their side of the story. They were in control of the narrative, for what feels like the first time in a long time.
Seeing the colour graded streets of places we had walked by a bajillion times before, a strange feeling had washed over me in the cinema 42km from my home. It wasn't something I found myself feeling very often.
I felt seen, and in this room full of people, I felt like I belonged.
It's an all-too-familiar story, one told all over the world — ONEFOUR 🤝 NWA. The story of ONEFOUR's frequent police profiling in Against All Odds was echoed in real time, with the overwhelming presence of authorities at their SXSW Sydney premiere.
Against All Odds isn't just the story of ONEFOUR, though. It puts an entire area (and subculture) of Sydney that is often misrepresented or ignored in the spotlight. Chatting to BuzzFeed Australia, director Gabriel Gasparinatos says that he wanted to showcase "the massive cultural movement of arts and creativity" in Sydney's western suburbs.
Gasparinatos and Against All Odds producer Erin Moy hope the film marks the beginning of a long-awaited shift in Australian storytelling — one that gives attention to Western Sydney's immense talent.
"I think it's been so awesome that this community's finally getting its chance to really showcase the career potential that exists there," Gasparinatos says.
ONEFOUR continues to be a catalyst for conversations on modern day censorship and the breath of fresh air in Australia's wider music scene. So, please, if you're reading this...open the vault and drop an album*.
Against All Odds premieres on Thursday, October 26, 2023. You can watch this tale of perseverance, family and red hot trill beats on Netflix.
What's your favourite ONEFOUR song? Share it in the comments below.