The No Apologies documentary starring Westfield Matildas Kyah Simon and Lydia Williams is aired on Foxtel’s NITV at 9.30pm Wednesday night.
The No Apologies documentary starring Westfield Matildas Kyah Simon and Lydia Williams is aired on Foxtel-s NITV at 9.30pm Wednesday night.
In their own words, Simon and Williams told Girls FC what it was like to have a film crew following them through the World Cup and what they thought of the doco …
Lydia No Apologies is the story about two Indigenous girls who have made the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.
That was pretty much the build-up of the film, but it follows both Kyah and I with how we grew up and ultimately how we got to represent Australia.
The crew filmed our families, football teammates, and friends. They also found out about our culture and what it means to us, with both of us doing interviews and playing—there was a lot of effort put into it.
The crew was great. Usually the only time they would follow us was during training or games. They would call us if they needed an interview or to ask us who else they could interview. They were never intrusive. I think they actually spent more time with our families than with us.
Seeing myself on the big screen was definitely different from being on the news or a quick interview that might get shown on TV. For starters, there were more than five people watching in the room.
Also, the film was something that was more deep than just an interview about football or the World Cup. It showed my family and how I grew up, which not many people get to see.
The final product was awesome. All I knew is that they were interviewing Kyah, me, my family, and filming our training and games.
So I thought it was going to be a more footballing orientated film, but it was about our heritage, how we grew up, and the path on how we got to represent Australia. I really didn't know what to expect when I walked down the stairs for the film, so seeing it was amazing because it surpassed all expectations.
I think Ashley [the director] told us he had footage from both our families that had Kyah singing and me playing the drums, separately of course, and that he was going to put on the film and somehow interlink it.
I'm kind of glad that didn't make the cut because that was so embarrassing. I just look back at the footage of me when I was growing up and can't help but be relieved they didn't put some of it on the film, haha.
Some of the funny moments didn't actually come from us but came from our families and our Westfield Matildas teammates.
Ashley and the crew interviewed some of the girls who knew us the best or the longest and some of their responses were quite funny in regards to us.
I think KK said: "She just pulls out these crazy saves with her long arms; she's a freak".
Also, Ashley told me he had enough footage from training and games of the squad picking wedgies that he could've made a whole film on that, haha.
Kyah I was contacted by Ashley early last year and he proposed doing a documentary on Lydia and me.
He thought it would be a great idea to do a story on two Indigenous girls from completely different backgrounds who both love the game of football, which inevitably brought us both to play for the Westfield Matildas.
And what better year to do so, with the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany that very year?
That's where the journey started. Ashley and his team travelled from Perth over to Sydney to get some footage of what my life is like at home, as well as an insight into my family. He also did so with Lydia in her hometown Kalgoorlie.
They then kept a close eye on our preparation leading up until the World Cup and travelled with us over in Germany and got a view first hand of the tournament, how the team functioned, and obviously witnessing from our points of view what we thought of the experience.
Lydia and I were more than happy to have a chat with them when needed.
Little did Lydia and I know, Ashley and the crew were doing way more than we thought, finding out each town-s history and capturing footage that I don't even remembering seeing of the beautiful German views.
They caught every bit of possible footage from funny comments, our personal experiences, family and teammate insights, the disappointment of getting knocked out in the quarterfinals … I think they got it all. That was the easy part, and then the editing came into play.
Lydia and I knew that they got all the footage needed, but had no idea what the end product would look like. I was excited to see what had come of it and hoped that all Ashley and the team's hard work had prevailed, because of course Lydia and I had the easiest jobs.
After watching the film, it definitely met all my expectations, if not exceeded them. Ashley and the team did an outstanding job and I'm really honoured to be a part of this project. It's not every day that someone captures every emotion and moment of your first senior World Cup.
I'm hoping that someone will get a hold of it and the message that shines through the documentary will really be sent out to the country and touch a lot of people's heart, mainly young Indigenous Australians who haven't yet considered aspiring to chase their dreams. Some of them don't even realise they can have dreams!
I couldn't be more thankful to Ashley and I'm so pleased with all the hard work and efforts they have put in to make this happen.