As soon as the Australian Story credits began to roll, Pastor Ossie Cruse was on the phone with filmmaker Toni Houston.
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"Uncle called me straight afterwards," she said. "I think he was probably as overwhelmed as I was that we actually got the film on television."
Over the phone, they talked about the immediate reaction of the viewers.
“It was totally buzzing on Facebook, it was just so fantastic,” said Ms Houston.
“There was so many people in communication with each other, networking, sharing their stories, reaching out to Uncle Ossie and his family from all over Australia.”
Ms Houston started the journey of documenting Pastor Cruse, his family and his community three years ago.
Her footage provided the ABC's premier bio-pic program with material to make their latest episode, Peacemaker.
"I've always loved Australian Story, so it was a real privilege for me," Ms Houston said.
"It was so moving to see the sensitive way they stitched it all together."
But compressing three years worth of research into a 30-minute program meant that some stories couldn't be included in the program
"I have five terabytes of media about Uncle, so a lot of stuff obviously didn't make it to the show," Ms Houston said.
"Really, I could make 10 documentaries on him with what I've got on my computer."
Pastor Cruse and Ms Houston only saw the finished episode when it aired on television.
During their phone call they discussed what wasn't shown in the program.
"He was delighted with the breadth of what was covered, but we also talked about things that didn’t make it," Ms Houston said.
"Many of the people that were interviewed, including elders, people involved in Bundian Way project and his family members just didn't make the cut, and that's always hard."
Pastor Cruse's work with local police and Indigenous inmates also had to be edited out, two community engagement projects of which he is particularly proud.
"The problem is he's done so much through his life," Ms Houston said
"He agrees his story is very complex, and the ABC tried to look at as many angles as possible."
Ms Houston is thankful that Pastor Cruse's story has now been given such a prominent platform.
"It's given him a national audience which is so important because it's a huge Aboriginal story" she said.
"I have to give a huge thanks to Uncle Ossie for sharing it with me and trusting me with it."
Peacemaker aired on ABC on Monday night at 8pm. Repeat screenings will air on ABC channels. The episode is also available on ABC iView.
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