I'm in the Union

MUA IDOL: Adelaide wharfie Viron Papadopoulos has taken out first prize in the MUA Working Class Idol competition.

The 30 year old Patrick supp and freelance film maker is an honours graduate in film studies at Flinders University and has worked on documentaries and films for the past 10 years (including the Working Lives series for ABC TV, McLeod's Daughters and the Secret Life of Us). He has also taken out awards for short films in state festivals.

“People's work is their life,” said Viron. “That goes for wharfies especially. There is a culture that goes with being a waterside worker. It's iconically Australian.. That’s one of the things that made me want to work on the waterfront. And it's what really made me want to be involved in the establishment of the union film unit.”

Viron has filmed the MUA delegation to Cuba and Los Angeles with idol runners up, Sydney wharfie Cooper Silk and Geelong wharfie John Teague.