DOCUMENTARY
I first leaned into the genre of "film" while in high school, creating numerous home-made movies with my best friend. Now, my love for film only continues to grow as I have turned to documentary making during my university studies and beyond. Some of the topics that I have covered include drink spiking culture, life as a female tradie and how seafarers feel working at sea. Below are some examples of my work in this documentary medium.
From Dawn 'til Dusk
"From Dawn 'til Dusk" is a personal history of the remarkable Dawn DeRamirez, an ex-circus performer turned poet! Dawn now lives in Bomaderry with her husband of over 40 years after a life of circus performing and touring around the globe. She first began her life in the circus as Buffalo Bill's knife throwing assistant around Australia before jetting off to Europe where she met her husband, the circus chef. This story uses archival footage to bring her tale to life. It is a truly inspirational story that emphasises how mysterious and wonderful life can be... And it also really helped me find my passion for video storytelling.
SPIKED
"Spiked" is an investigation into drink spiking culture in the Illawarra region achieved through personal accounts and experiences of drink spiking by 5 local men and women. Their stories are at times confronting and unnerving as they reveal how they were spiked and their experiences during that time. Their stories show how "drink spiking" can have many negative long term impacts as well as dire immediate repercussions. Drink spiking is a global issue but we tackled it locally after seeing a resurgence of reports about drink spiking in the area on social media. It is an educational documentary about the dangers of drink spiking alongside the emotional stories being told.
Rocco's Handover
"Rocco's Handover" is a short video I created for ABC Illawarra about a young boy receiving his new 3D printed hand from University of Wollongong students for the first time. It is a lovely little local story showing personal strength, family resilience and student generosity.
The (Fe)male Trade
"The (Fe)male Trade" was a great story to film with some incredible women working a highway bypass on the NSW South Coast. Its aim was to investigate how women felt in a male-dominated trade and to educate/inspire other women about the possibilities of work in that sector. While these women made up a small percentage of workers on the site they showed resilience and motivation like no other. This film was used in part of an online journalistic investigation into the employability of students studying at University vs TAFE.