The Tea Leaf Reader

THE tea leaf reader is a short film inspired by what life can be like for the thousands of Tasmanians living with illiteracy and the resilience it takes for them to overcome the barriers of learning to read and write as adults.

One such person was my grandmother who like most people who cannot read and write, always kept it hidden, in fact I didn’t know about it until later in life.

The story is centered around Mia, who lives a nomadic lifestyle on the north west coast of Tasmania with her daughter Esme. From childhood Mia has learnt the art of tea leaf reading which has become her skillset in life. But while Mia is a natural storyteller she is also illiterate and the film explores what it can be like for someone living with illiteracy.

While my grandmother was a post war migrant, I found the barriers she faced that led to her illiteracy, is similar to many Tasmanians in the present day. That is when they fall behind in their education, their literacy skills are affected.

It took me some time to get my head around how to tell Mia’s story as I have always taken the ability to read and write for granted. But this isn’t the reality for almost half of Tasmanians. At every stage of the filmmaking process I had these people in mind and Mia’s story had to feel truthful.

Through the film I wanted to show that while Mia is illiterate she is also highly perceptive and resourceful. In a way it is because Mia is illiterate that her observational skills have become heightened which in turn has made her a good reader of people and situations.

In my research for the film, I engaged with 26Ten, an organisation that seeks to improve adult literacy and numeracy in Tasmania. One of the literacy coordinators I met with said to me: “I hope your film removes the stigma surrounding illiteracy.”

If The Tea Leaf Reader can help audiences empathise with those people who cannot read and write rather than judge them, then I think it’s a great start.

The Tea Leaf Reader was developed through Wide Angle Tasmania’s GRiT program, which was funded by the Tasmanian Community Fund and tells stories of everyday Tasmanians showing grit in their lives.

Image:  Mia (Sara Cooper) and Esme (Mae Williams) in The Tea Leaf Reader by Elli Iliades