Conversations With My Immigrant Parents Returns For A Second Season Of Inspiring And Challenging Stories

Thursday, 11 March 2021, 8:14 am
Press Release: RNZ

Conversations With My Immigrant Parents is a podcast and video series where immigrant whānau have conversations they normally wouldn’t, crossing barriers of language, generation, and expectation. Co-hosts and producers Saraid de Silva and Julie Zhu travelled Aotearoa meeting families from different countries, sitting in as they spoke to each other about love, disappointment, what home means to them - and where home really is.

"The second series of this project was such an exciting undertaking, and after two seasons I still feel like we've only skimmed the surface of the migrant stories that are present in Aotearoa," says de Silva.

"Julie and I have learned so much about so many different diasporic communities, and through doing this work, have also learned more about ourselves and our own families. This is what we hope the podcast offers to listeners - a greater understanding of others and also of themselves."

Zhu says funding for series two came through during lockdown, which saw the production team and talent work through an unusual and tumultuous time, which comes through in the storytelling. "Compared to the first season, our 2021 release is a bit more sombre, reflective of the anxiety experienced by us as creators, as well as by the whānau we spent time with."

"What we really want is for the series to be a useful contribution to the conversation of how we treat people, and what systems are in place that encourage us to be dismissive of communities outside of our immediate circles."

In the first episode, out today, Saraid and Julie along with sound recordist Joey Siasoco, meet Judah Seomeng and his sons Tafara and Pako, who have settled in Wellington, after immigrating from Botswana to Nelson. The episode discusses this family's experience in Aotearoa and covers themes of isolation, integration, and grief.

This series is made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Innovation Fund. A new episode will be released every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, at rnz.co.nz/conversations and a cutdown version every Thursday on Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan on RNZ National.

Episodes

Episode 1: 11 March
Judah, Tafara, and Pako: Not Your White Boy
From Botswana to Nelson to Pōneke, Judah and his sons Tafara and Pako have experienced multiple communities. They talk about fruit picking, single dad life, and dreams in different languages.

Episode 2: 18 March
Anique, Navin, and Sushani: Independence Is Great But It’s Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be 
When 11 year old Anique left Sri Lanka she thought it’d be temporary. Almost two decades later she talks with brother Navin and mum Sushani about guilt, obligation, and what freedom really means.

Episode 3: 25 March
Alby and Lina: VIP 
After four years studying in Dunedin, Alby has just moved back in with his mum Lina in Naenae. The two of them discuss Lina’s career, Alby’s grief, and who our lives are lived for.

Episode 4: 1 April
Nadmea and Juliana: Red Chicken With The Big Wings 
It took Juliana eight long years to gain residency after moving here from Brazil. She and her mum Nadmea discuss New Zealand’s flawed immigration system, second chances, and Tinder-ing in your 50s.

Episode 5: 8 April
Avi, Eva, Cinta, and Cindy: Side By Side 
Sisters Avi and Eva sit down with their daughters and talk about white men who travel to Indonesia, the fetishisation of Asian women, and leading parallel lives in Whangārei.

Episode 6: 15 April
Donally and Alfredo: My Dad Is My Mum 
In Kirikiriroa, Donally and her father Alfredo discuss parenting that contradicts society’s expectations, how Filipino men are expected to ‘get on with it’, and life after tremendous grief.

Episode 7: 22 April
Halima, Hirini, and Kirihika: Homesick On The Marae 
Arriving from Fiji, newly-wed Halima Stewart headed straight to Tapu Te Ranga Marae where she raised three kids with husband Bruce. She talks with her two youngest about navigating different cultures.

Episode 8: 29 April
Shayma’a, Mayssaa, and Mahmud: Something Far Greater Than This 
How do we search for something we’ve never seen? The last episode of the series sees the Arif whānau reflect on their years in Aotearoa and dream of a better future.

About the team

Julie
Born in Xi’an, China and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, Julie is a filmmaker and storyteller committed to championing marginalised voices and stories. She directed short documentary East Meets East for Loading Docs in 2017 and has created content for Māori Television, The Spinoff, TVNZ OnDemand, and RNZ. She currently co-directs and co-hosts podcast and video series Conversations With My Immigrant Parents for RNZ.

Saraid
Saraid de Silva is a Sri Lankan Pākehā writer and creative based in Tāmaki. She started working in theatre in 2013, writing and performing in award-winning theatre shows such as Cult Show (2018) and Drowning in Milk (2017-2019), has written for various websites including The Spinoff and Ensemble Magazine, and currently works across the mediums of radio, theatre and television. She co-directs and co-hosts Conversations With My Immigrant Parents, and will graduate from Auckland University’s Masters of Creative Writing program in 2021.

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