Directed by Vivien Mason

Synopsis: A colourful stop motion animated documentary exploring how a passion for craft helps four makers overcome adversity. A carer finds purpose in knitting and making yarn. A health worker starts a men’s knitting circle. A new Tasmanian inspires others by teaching ceramics, and an arts worker sews old textiles to create new items and new hope for a sustainable future.

Director’s Statement: Handmade Happiness began as a documentary idea when I read a newspaper article reporting the medical benefits of crochet on mental health. I was fascinated. Although I can’t crochet I love to make things by hand and I had no idea that handicrafts could actually make you healthier. Through the film I share stories from four Tasmanians who have found that handmade pursuits have enriched their lives and helped them to overcome adversity. The documentary interviews were completed as audio recordings which I have illustrated with stop motion animation. Each interviewee is represented by a textile character who lives in an abstract world of craft materials. Documentary animation gave me a wonderful opportunity to share the creative passion of each maker using the materials that they love so much. The time and care that went into animating real textiles, fibres and craft tools is an invitation to the viewer to perhaps start a craft project themselves.

Directed by Rebecca Thomson

Synopsis: Sally is a clown, Amanda is a nurse, and they are fierce friends bound together by the most awful shared experience – both caring for a child who is very sick. For Sally and Amanda having someone else who understands what it is to reside in perpetual grief, battle against bureaucracy and having to pre-pay your child’s funeral, makes the experience a little less lonely. Realising the value of this connection Sally and Amanda decided to start a podcast where they share their beautiful friendship with the world – honest and raw conversations about the daily struggles of being a carer, plentiful gin sampling and finding a laugh in the face of darkness.

Director’s Statement: From the moment I started listening to the podcast Gin In A Mug, recommended by a friend, I was hooked. I fell in love with the hosts Sally and Amanda, who discuss with such candour, heart and often humour, the many challenges of caring for a child with a life limiting condition. It’s a tough subject, and one that a lot of people just don’t know how to talk about, or whether they should be talking about it. I felt huge admiration for Amanda and Sally for creating this public platform to have those difficult and deeply personal conversations, and judging by their reviews and feedback it seems many other people appreciated it too. In listening to their story it became abundantly clear to me that Sally and Amanda represented the theme of ‘grit’ in spades, and I really loved that part of their ability to survive came through their friendship, of having someone else who understands, and through their ability to find laughter and joy in tough times.

So, I approached Amanda and Sally about making a film together, and I am very grateful they decided to trust me to tell this story with them. There were many and varied challenges in making the film including trying to tell a complex story involving two different families in a short format, telling a visual story about two women having conversations, filming vulnerable people during a pandemic, and of course telling the story respectfully and in a way that reflects the spirit of these wonderful women and their own special type of grit.

Director: Tom Chapman

Synopsis: Jarred by the loss of his closest friend, a farmer on Tasmania's remote West Coast, begins to mentor at-risk local youth. In an area renowned for its poverty, low literacy and high suicide rates, Stafford Heres is determined to provide opportunities for kids who have few. Eden Alone Surpasses Thee explores his relationship with the land, loss and the young men he takes under his wing.

Director’s Statement: I first met Stafford whilst filming a commercial video about his kelp, my morning spent gripping white knuckled onto the back of his 4-wheeler. What struck me most (aside from the wet sand flicked up by the bike tyres) was his empathy. Whatever I said, Stafford listened. Actively. We got to know each other — me, a freshly arrived, naive mainland townie — him, the gnarled generational west coast farmer — and despite (or perhaps because) of our differences, we spoke with an openness only strangers can.

Over time we found our focus shift to mental health and suicide, to the horrors of depression and friends who didn’t make it through. ‘Stay chatty’, his bumper sticker read — and so we did — with Stafford speaking of his passion to help the youth of the area, be it as a friend, a football coach or a mentor.

Northern Tasmania isn’t dissimilar to where I grew up in New Zealand. I understand the socio-economic challenges of the region and know how important the role that Stafford plays in the community is. I felt it fit perfectly with what Wide Angle were looking for in the Grit series of films, pitching it primarily as a project about connection.

Making ‘Eden Alone Surpasses Thee’ was one of the most special experiences of my career. Crew became family, as over five days we shot from dawn to dusk in some of the most remote and beautiful areas of Tasmania, the weather remarkably matching the mood of each scene almost exactly as intended. A week on the west coast in Autumn without rain. Can you believe it?!

Ultimately ‘Eden Alone Surpasses Thee’ is about connection. Connection to place, to people and to passions. It’s about one man’s attempt to give back to the community in the most special way possible — by providing others with hope.

Director: Matthew Newton

Synopsis: The story of how a small team of scientists and volunteers are working together to bring a brilliant little bird back from the brink of extinction.

Director’s Statement: I’m really interested in conservation science and story-telling. The OBP’s are a great little bird and there is an incredible effort from a whole community of people to secure the birds future.

The brief for these films was to explore a ‘wicked’ problem faced by Tasmanians. In this case the wicked problem is extinction, when we loose a species we are all much less for it.

The brilliant solution to this comes from a community of people, both professional and volunteers that have banded together to ensure the continued existence of the wonderful Orange Bellied Parrot.

I think the story of the Parrot People as I call them, ultimately is a story about how when a community of people work on a common goal they can achieve amazing things. This is a relatively small community of people that are managing to keep a critically endangered bird from going extinct. Isn’t that fantastic!

Directors: Jillian Mundy and Troy Melville

Synopsis: Milaythina Rrukani speaks to the power of language. Lutruwita was colonised and renamed Tasmania in the 1800s; original names spoken for thousands of years were changed. In Milaythina Rrukani we travel on country with Lutruwita’s First People as they talk about their personal connection to language and place. The film is about the resonance language creates, the power of speaking names on country and the connection it builds between people, land and time.

Directors’ Statement: When Lutruwita (Tasmania) was colonised, just over 200 years ago, every place and geographical feature, including all the rivers, islands, hills, plains and lakes had First Nations names.

By and large Colonists ignored these names, choosing to replace them with names reflecting English places, people and narratives – erasing First Nations history, connections, stories and more.

In the past few decades through research, advocacy and determination, often in the face of cruel and demeaning criticism, there has been a reawakening of First Nations language.

We wanted to create a film that documents a time when we are starting to see an expansion of those First Nation names in Lutruwita – respecting and reflecting the story of this land and the oldest living culture on the planet.

The film aims to show the truth and power of speaking Aboriginal place names on country. We hope audiences reflect on their relationship with the country, that we live, work and play on for just a short time.

GROVE OF GIANTS - Documentary

Director: BREE SANDERS

In the Huon Valley, sits a Grove of Giants - the largest stand of old growth blue gum's in the world. These towering ancient trees are at once stunning, dramatic and scheduled to be destroyed. Can a passionate team of climbers and scientists prove it’s worth as a powerful carbon sink before time runs out?

Director statement:

I first met Jen & Steve working on a film set in early 2022. I was genuinely amazed by their climbing skills and the way they could ascend so high in some of Tassie’s giant trees. We had many conversations over those days in the forest. I heard about their organisation, The Tree Projects and how they had their own unique way of trying to protect forests in Tasmania through community engagement, science and photography.

There is a long history of conflict between loggers and communities wanting to protect forests in Tasmania. In a way, Jen & Steve are operating on the fringes of that battle, personally meeting with politicians, logging agencies and subtly chipping away… On that note, according to Jen’s “Tasmania's Forest Carbon” released late 2022, most of the biomass removed from a forest when it is logged is turned into woodchip. And a staggering 60% of a forest’s biomass is waste and burnt on-site in scorching fires that destroy everything and release carbon directly into the atmosphere. When I heard these stats, I was absolutely horrified… I knew logging was a terrible thing, and that native forests needed to be protected for so many important reasons, but after reading Jen’s report, and learning how important native forests are in helping us mitigate climate change, I was inspired to call Jen and Steve and ask if I could film them.

I very much enjoy observational documentaries. I don’t particularly like setting up scenes, I want the action to happen, and to be amongst it, capturing it as it unfolds. When Jen & Steve mentioned they’d organised a large group of volunteer climbers to help undertake a carbon study of logging coupe DN7B, or as they call it, ‘The Huon Valley Grove of Giants,’ I knew it’d be the perfect opportunity to depict the incredible scale of this forest and the length people go to in the hope of protecting it. The Grove of Giants is still scheduled to be logged in 2023, hence I felt the urgency of needing to document the carbon survey and share this story. I spent 5 days camping onsite with the tree crew, camera in hand, and accepted the fact that I’d spend the next few months in post trying to form the story.

One of the biggest challenges when creating this film was attempting to be restrained in sharing the stats that hooked me into making this film. The whole process has been a very steep learning curve and I’ve had some incredible support and guidance along the way. Very close to picture lock, I heard Aman Mann speak at AIDC, and he said “make people feel something, don’t tell them.” That’s when it all finally clicked, and I realised Franziska, my EP, had been trying to tell me that for weeks.

I want this film to encourage the audience to seek out more information and visit these incredible trees. If these forests aren’t experienced in person or through film and photography, then they are just hidden within indifferent shapes drawn on logging maps and we are much less likely to want to save them.

GREY POWER - Documentary

Director: LARA VAN RAAY

Sometimes the best way to fight depression, anxiety and guilt is by getting active. Or for some - it’s by getting arrested. Meet four of Tasmania’s retired professionals who are making noise about issues close to their hearts; proving that getting older doesn’t always mean staying safe or slipping into invisibility. In fact, sometimes, it can bring with it great power.

Director statement:

One of the main things I wanted to do with this film was highlight how many fantastic older people are out there, standing up for serious causes and putting themselves on the line. One person I met years ago said “I have no mortgage, I have no kids at home, I am retired - if I can’t get out there and protest, then who can?” This really struck me and is counter to the boomer stereotype out there.

This film is the tip of the iceberg highlighting the wonderful older people dedicated to making this world a better place. It is a homage to them, and to having the courage and conviction to go way out of your comfort zone and take action, in the face of anxiety, depression and guilt. These emotions can overwhelm and the antidote is to do something - anything, and this film is about that.

The technique used to make the film is to interview in audio first off, to get an authentic and cost effective base story. Then once the audio is edited, to then write a shooting script to go along with that. It’s not my usual conventional way of making films, but it’s fun to play around with not having anyone address camera directly.

I got to work with some great cinematographers with this film and pulled in resources from a lot of the filmmaking community. I also got to work with some fabulous artists to make the music - which I absolutely loved.

That’s filmmaking at its best - loads of people working together - and uplifting unheard voices in the process.

A HARMONY OF UNBROKEN VOICES - Drama

Director: LUCI REID

A woman, buried under the weight of seeing her rural hometown fractured by new money, greed, conservatism and brutal histories captures death in a box. She listens as death sings to her of all the exquisite, unheard voices that weigh the cost of change in an unfair world.

Director statement:

Our stories, in our own voices, for our own people.

I have watched Tasmania, Lutruwita throughout my life. I have seen so many aspects of this place represented in cold ways that speak to progress, colonialism, conservatism and destruction of the land. I have watched mainlanders come and examine us my whole life. How they filter us through foreign eyes for digestion far from where the stories have been lifted, praised for their blunt interpretations. We don’t get enough opportunities to tell our own stories, stories about our brilliant outsiders, about all the beautiful and extraordinary, unusual colours, the deep pain and trauma that binds us in this sometimes cruel and always achingly beautiful land.

We are constantly diluted and ignored by systems that see us as second rate, hicks. It wasn’t until the land here became valuable that suddenly, we are an exclusive commodity. We are for sale, I watch again as my people, my beautiful people are cast aside, excluded from the fire sale of our home. We are made to beg and swear allegiance to real estate agents, revolving door politicians, to agencies who participate in and profit from our subjugation.

I wrote ‘A harmony of unbroken voices’ for the people I love, for my talented, beautiful friends, for people who have tasted hurt, injustice and exclusion. For those who have lost so many people, who have lost so, so much. For all the beautiful friends and family I have lost to suicide and addiction. For the years I lost trying to rise up out of the same cruel cycles. Only to have to sit quietly in the shadows cast by towering new buildings we are not welcome in. Tasmania, Lutruwita is in desperate need of truth telling and that must start from the beginning, an eternity before this land was invaded, brutalised. It has to continue throughout time until this very moment. There has never been a more important time in history to speak truth, no matter how hard it is for many to hear.

I wrote ‘A harmony of unbroken voices’ because I do not see my life; the unusual, original and achingly beautiful lives that surround me; represented in authentic ways. I wanted to show my home, to show the totally weird and wild people around me in all their splendour, colour and drama. The process of making this film has also raised a lot of questions about equity, specifically, in regard to funding and creative opportunities here. For those living in the north of the state and even more remote areas means you have less access to collaborators, professionals, services and support. This was evident in the lead up to AHOUV when I had to pivot from my first project because of a lack of crew. I was able to scrape through this film, only because I was able to do almost everything myself. At first it hurt like hell, then Alita Graziano came on board and helped me to bring the project to life. This film exists because of the people that were there when all others faded away. This short film is unusual, it is colourful, and unconventional because Tasmanians are also. I am so proud of that fact, I am so proud of myself and the extraordinary people who came when I asked for help. We have managed to create a crew almost entirely of women, Tasmanian Aboriginal people, varied ability people, queer people, people struggling with their mental health, poverty etc. This is who we are at our best, a bunch of sweary chain smoking weirdos. I have never been more proud of my people, of the place where I was born and shaped.

THE TEA LEAF READER - Drama

Director: ELLI ILIADES

Mia has always lived a nomadic lifestyle, never letting anyone too close. Moving around the north-west coast of Tasmania, she has become very good at avoiding her past. When her daughter starts falling behind at school, however, Mia has to face the shame she has been running away from.

Director statement:

​​The thought of telling a story of illiteracy as a drama felt very challenging to me. I couldn’t comprehend what it would be like to live without being able to read or write. I had always taken it for granted and it had become a part of my identity as a screenwriter and filmmaker. It is for this reason that creating the film, THE TEA LEAF READER, has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding journeys for me as a filmmaker.

The research I did was facilitated through the brilliant educators and coordinators at 26TEN who guided my understanding of the factors that affect illiteracy as well as its impact on people’s lives.

Their interest in the film stemmed from their own passion for literacy and I admired their work and its importance in the Tasmanian community.

The development of the character Mia was inspired by research and the memory of my grandmother, who I learnt later in life, was illiterate. But like most people who cannot read and write, it was something she always kept hidden. While she was a post war migrant, I found the barriers she faced growing up that led to her illiteracy, correlated with many Tasmanians in the present day who have also faced barriers in their lives, which contributed to them falling behind in their education.

Through creating the character Mia, I wanted the audience to be drawn into her mind and empathise with her. While Mia is illiterate, she is also insightful and resourceful. This is because many people I have known who are illiterate are skilled, hard working, and manage their own businesses. The reasons for illiteracy can be social, economic, or medical. These were important factors to consider when developing the character of Mia.

Landscapes and seascapes are a feature of the film and inspired the cinematography. Being close to nature was important in highlighting Mia’s intuitive and independent nature. The travelling shots of rivers and her car allude to her nomadic lifestyle and pursuit of freedom.

The use of voice over is integral to the story as the audience is transported into Mia’s rich inner world. Mia’s voice over replaces dialogue during scenes where she feels powerless or vulnerable. The voice over conveys Mia’s propensity for storytelling.

One of the literacy educators I met with said: “I hope your film removes the stigma surrounding illiteracy.” If this film can help us empathise with those people who cannot read and write, rather than judge them, it is a great start. Those people, like my grandmother, have nothing to feel ashamed of.

ALONE TOGETHER - Documentary / Comedy

Director: DYLAN HESP

Follow Dylan Hesp, a self-proclaimed big deal television actor with plenty of friends, on a comedic quest to understand loneliness. In this insightful and hilariously awkward documentary, Dylan goes on friend dates with strangers, gets offended by expert opinions, and even tries cuddle therapy to understand the true impact of social isolation.

Director statement:

As a comedian and filmmaker loneliness is a theme that I’ve been accidentally exploring through my work for a long time. For whatever reason I’ve always been fascinated by people and our connection, or disconnection, from one another.

A little over a year ago this fascination sparked a desire to better understand the issue of loneliness, and what I found really surprised me. Not only was loneliness considered by experts to be a problem of epidemic proportions, but most shockingly, no one around me was talking about it. Think about it, when did you last talk to a mate about loneliness?

It’s fascinating to me that in a society that is becoming so proactive in encouraging discussion around mental health, that we still aren’t ready, or perhaps equipped, to talk about social health. Loneliness is a silent killer. It’s having an immense impact on our communities, but sadly the stigma surrounding the issue seems to be preventing us from creating a conversation.

It’s obviously hard to say “I’m lonely” and sadly I think insecurity or a fear of vulnerability can easily lead us to ignore this issue. The simplest action being to assume it’s an issue for ‘lonely people’ and not for you or I. After all there’s no way that I could be lonely, could I?

This thought became the key inspiration for Alone Together. A Comedic documentary following a fictional overly insecure Dylan Hesp, that just can’t acknowledge he’s lonely. Even when everyone around him is making it abundantly clear that he is. I think it’s very human to ignore the signs around us, or to push them into the ‘too hard basket’, and I really wanted to create a film that comedically explores that tension and hopefully encourages reflection.

Alone Together is a very silly documentary about a serious issue. A light hearted satire on connection, identity and documentaries themselves. My hope is that as people follow Dylan’s journey from a friend date with a real stranger, to a cuddle therapy session experience, that they too will be encouraged to contribute to the conversation around loneliness. Oh, and they better bloody laugh too.

LONG MAY SHE RAIN - Documentary

Director: BEN WINSPEAR

In the post industrial landscape of Queenstown lies a river with millions of years of history. The last hundred years of gold fever, migration, poetry and acid rain have all left their traces.

Long May She Rain explores a town's next phase of human-environment interaction, hearing from those that choose to live inside, and love, a place like nowhere else on Earth.

Director statement:

This film is a short documentary exploration into the relationship between the remarkable people and landscapes of Queenstown Tasmania, with a particular focus on the Queen River, one of the most graphic reminders of human intervention in the area. Our aim is to create a work free of judgement, in which those with the greatest acquired knowledge have the chance to speak. As the single largest force in the state’s economy for over 100 years Copper Mines Tasmania has brought both wealth and damage. Now the place and the people of the West believe they are entitled to more than just shame and judgement of the industrial past, for which they were not as individuals personally responsible. This film gives them a chance to educate us, celebrate their resilience and ingenuity, and display genuine grit in the face of ever present change and upheaval.

Our intention is to give the locals who have lived through and alongside the river the chance to describe their reactions to its changes, history, and potential future. The team accompanied local artist Chris Wilson, who gathers minerals from old mine sites for use in her artworks, on a field trip to learn about the history and processes at work in the landscape, and visited and spoke with staff at the Galley Museum, which has extensive photographic and archival material. We also spoke with a representative of Vedanta (the current mine operator) about the historic, legal and environmental legacies, and potential future of the Mt Lyall mine in preparation for the interviews.

Our interviewees included river guides, artists, residents, elders and recent arrivals, who all have passionate and informed opinions and information. As 93 year old Bern told us “most important are the facts.”

To represent the way that humans and the landscape have worked on each other, we initially gathered a range of images from the area, focusing on repeating patterns in nature, from macro to micro, the startling colours and shapes formed by mining processes, minerals brought to the surface and forms and colours present in the river and surrounds. Historic maps were also photographed for their graphic potential with the kind consent of the Galley Museum. These images, processes and textures were then projected into a purpose-built installation housed in the Queenstown Memorial Hall, which became the backdrop for the interviews. As a further stage, the recorded images of the interviewees were then taken out on location, projected on natural surfaces around the river, and filmed again.

As Alex Moss, our projection designer said “I have learnt a lot about the area and the processes, but also now know how much left I have still to learn.” If we can instill this experience into the hearts and minds of the audience, then we will have succeeded in our aims.

Go to the SCREENINGS Page for more info on our 2023 Regional Tour