Story

After the deaths of his parents, Percy Boy Collins (Lennox Monaghan) lives with his elderly grandfather, Pop (Kelton Pell), his Aunty Cressida (Jessica Mauboy) and his mentally unstable Aunty Prue (Lisa Maza). Money is very tight, and Percy Boy desperately needs a new pair of shoes, but they can barely afford their bills, let alone new footwear. Percy Boy is saving every cent he earns for a new pair of running shoes, which he’s hoping will help him win the school carnival.

Percy befriends a new classmate, Keithy (Max Turner), when everyone else makes fun of him. Keithy promises to be one of the best friends Percy Boy has ever had. When Percy loses a race to one of the biggest school bullies, he and Keithy enlist the help of Daisy (Coco Greenstone), who has exceptional organisational and coaching skills.

Together, Keithy and Daisy do everything they can to help Percy Boy raise funds for new shoes and improve his speed. They also help Percy Boy navigate some difficult situations, including the death of his beloved grandfather.

When the day of the school carnival finally arrives, a natural disaster threatens to derail all their plans. Percy Boy, Keithy and Daisy quickly learn that there are things much more important than races and running shoes.

Themes

Bullying; divorce; death of parents; family breakdown; bushfires; mental illness; discrimination; bereavement and poverty

Violence

Windcatcher has some violence. For example:

• Daisy shoves a boy.
• Students shove and push each other.
• Some boys shove another student’s head down a toilet when he doesn’t have money to give them.
• A character says, ‘I could punch everyone clean in the mouth’.
• Percy Boy and Keithy watch a Kung Fu movie on TV, which shows people fighting.
• School bullies gang up on Percy Boy and attack him in a locker room.

Sexual references

Windcatcher has some sexual references. For example, a man wolf-whistles at the female fire chief. Later, when she’s presenting a bushfire awareness plan in the school, the man’s younger brother gives the same wolf-whistle in the classroom.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in Windcatcher.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Windcatcher.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in Windcatcher: Vegemite.

Coarse language

Windcatcher has some coarse language, including ‘fatty’, ‘dummy’, ‘idiot’, ‘choker’, ‘slowpoke’, ‘Shut up!’, ‘You’re useless’, ‘You stink’, ‘bloody’, ‘sook’, ‘crappy’, ‘stupid’, ‘Percy Girl’ and ‘Daisy Boy’.

Windcatcher also has some crude humour, mostly relating to farts. There’s also a comment about ‘number 2s’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Windcatcher is an Australian drama that tackles several serious themes in a sensitive way.

It’s a family movie about the power of friendship in overcoming obstacles. It’s likely to be most enjoyed by families with children over 10 years. We recommend parental guidance for children aged 9-10 years.

These are the main messages from Windcatcher:

• Continue moving forward, no matter what obstacles life throws in your way.
• Learn from your experiences.
• Always keep your heart open.

Values in Windcatcher that you could reinforce with your children include friendship, teamwork, compassion, empathy, courage, understanding and perseverance.

Windcatcher could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of things like:

• stealing what doesn’t belong to you
• bullying others
• blaming yourself for things that you can’t control.