Adam Goodes has said the booing saga that overshadowed the final years of his AFL career turned the football field into a place he hated.

Key points: Adam Goodes said the football field used to be a "safe place", but that this changed when the booing began

Adam Goodes said the football field used to be a "safe place", but that this changed when the booing began The dual Brownlow medallist speaks candidly about why he stepped away from the game in the film The Australian Dream

The dual Brownlow medallist speaks candidly about why he stepped away from the game in the film The Australian Dream His former teammate Michael O'Loughlin said he hoped the film would spark more conversations about race

The 2014 Australian of the Year and dual Brownlow medallist has spoken candidly about why he stepped away from the game in The Australian Dream, which has premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

The film, written by Stan Grant and directed by Daniel Gordon, documents the story of the racism endured by the Sydney Swans player in the final years of his career.

"Football, for me, was a place where I got accepted for being a good footballer," Goodes said in the documentary.

"It didn't matter where I came from, it was a safe place that helped me break down barriers."

The film is the first time Goodes has spoken in-depth about the toll of the saga. ( The Australian Dream )

Goodes quit AFL in September 2015, following three seasons of continuous booing and racist slurs.

The release of the film comes a month after the release of The Final Quarter, which documented the media coverage of the events leading to Goodes's exit from the game.

Unlike The Final Quarter, The Australian Dream features interviews with Goodes talking about his reasons for stepping away from the game.

He said the booing controversy changed his view of the game.

"It [the football field] actually became a place I hated to walk out onto."

The film also focuses on the backlash when Goodes called out a 13-year-old girl for calling him "ape" at the MCG.

"People would say, 'Oh, you're just a big sook.' But let me put you in that situation. Let me question you about who you are as a person.

"It's fun, and a laugh for you … you can boo me and feel happy about yourself because you're part of the crowd that did that. But deep down there were people in that crowd booing me because of my Aboriginality."

'Adam paid the price' for race conversation: Stan Grant

Grant said the documentary had been a few years in the making.

"[Goodes] was reluctant to give his story because that was such an intense period, and to be the subject of national conversation can be a debilitating thing," he told the ABC.

But he said the footballer was on board with the concept of the film, which took Goodes's story and "cast it against 200 years of history", so it was not just what had happened on the football field but the context in which it happened.

"With all of that in mind, he felt he could take us on a journey, back to what he went through, the pain, the courage, the dignity, the impact, take us into his family story, and also take us up to today and where Adam is and what he wants to do with the rest of his life."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 47 seconds 1 m 47 s Journalist Stan Grant said the controversy prompted a wider conversation about racism.

Grant said the booing controversy "opened up a space for us to have a conversation" that Australians often turned way from.

"Sadly, Adam paid the price," he said.

"This is something that is still a wound, it's still a wound within the nation. It's an ongoing conversation about treaties, about recognition, about politics, about our history and truth-telling."

'There's a lot we have to get right'

Goodes's former Sydney Swans teammate Michael O'Loughlin told the ABC he hoped the film would spark a conversation "and educate as well".

"I can only talk from my experience when I was watching the film with my three children and how sad and upset they were," he said.

"But then, having that conversation about the things that their Uncle Adam went through was tough, but it was one that we needed to have.

Michael O'Loughlin played with Adam Goodes at the Sydney Swans. ( Supplied )

"Hopefully that will spark others. I mean, empathy towards people and the way we care about one another. We live in an incredible country, but there's a lot that we have to get right."

The booing saga sparked a vicious national debate about racism in Australia, which was reignited following the release of the dual documentaries.

The AFL and all its 18 clubs issued an apology in June this year for its "failures" during the period.

The ABC will air The Australian Dream in February.