Who doesn’t love the Knitting Nannas? Who also doesn’t love a good film?
Artist and filmmaker Rani Brown has combined both of these wonderful things in Courage For The Long Haul, a film that documents social movements that are evolving in response to environmental concerns.
In her work Ms Brown traces the interconnecting threads of personal and environmental and political concerns and the stories of those advocating for change.
Courage For The Long Haul shares insights from two women, co-founder of the Knitting Nannas Against Gas, Clare Twomey and former Community Liaison officer for Lock The Gate, Annie Kia, who have both been key players within a dynamic social movement in the Northern Rivers NSW.
‘They discuss processes that united a community beyond political affiliation to help protect our life support systems on Earth,’ says Brown. ‘They talk about their roles within a movement of untold thousands, and what sustains them for the long haul against global corporations and the governments who are doing their bidding.
Brown, who lives in the Blue Mountains, has spent a lot of time in the Northern Rivers making anti-mining films, and in 2014 made an award-winning film about yarn and protesters, called Knitting Nannas.
For this film she enlisted the help of friends and filmmakers David Lowe and Eve Jeffery of Cloudcatcher Media, who worked collaboratively with Brown to create the key interviews in the film.
Brown says as a filmmaker, independent storytelling is key to her work and an antidote to the monopoly of mainstream media. ‘I am thrilled to screen the film as part of BBFF and to bring a local story of positive social change to the visiting international audience.’
Courage For The Long Haul by Rani Brown (Frogmouth Films), screens at the Byron Bay International Film Festival, in the Byron Community Centre, on Friday October 25 at 5pm.
