Local filmmakers Terry Melvin and Laura Brearley have done it again with their beautiful new film Walking in the Woodlands.
The film features interviews with walkers in the Western Port woodlands. Ed Thexton, president of the South Gippsland Conservation Society, movingly describes them as a rare example of a lost world that is never coming back.
“It’s a reminder, as you pass through it, of the wonder that must have gripped those first Europeans. The woodland is a beautiful place to be. The visual aspects makes it really accessible to a lot of people because you can see so far through the open spaced trees.
“The really great thing – it’s still got goannas, it’s still got bandicoots. Here it is - lumps of land that still has the faunal population. It’s almost unheard of.”
The film features interviews with walkers in the Western Port woodlands. Ed Thexton, president of the South Gippsland Conservation Society, movingly describes them as a rare example of a lost world that is never coming back.
“It’s a reminder, as you pass through it, of the wonder that must have gripped those first Europeans. The woodland is a beautiful place to be. The visual aspects makes it really accessible to a lot of people because you can see so far through the open spaced trees.
“The really great thing – it’s still got goannas, it’s still got bandicoots. Here it is - lumps of land that still has the faunal population. It’s almost unheard of.”
The star of the film is the woodlands itself. Terry Melvin expertly cuts between close-ups of botanical wonders – wildflowers and orchids – to stunning vistas through light-dappled forest with views down to Western Port.
“Our woodlands aren’t grand,” Catherine Watson says. “There’s no soaring mountain ash. It’s messmate and what some people would think of as scrub. When you first arrive you think there’s not much here. Then the birds return. They start calling. You see the flash of a blue wren. You recognise a sundew orchid. You start to see it with fresh eyes. It seeps into you.”
Neil Rankine says he experiences something different every time he comes into the woodlands. “I’m sometimes joined by somebody who has expertise in a particular area and I’ll be learning about orchids that rely on certain fungi and only open for three hours a day. The fact that those things exist and they’re so inter-connected with everything under my feet.”
“Another day I’ll learn about vines climbing trees and the birds in the trees and the way everything depends on everything else.
The soundtrack features original compositions by Laura Brearley and Rosie Westbrook with music by Laura, Brian ‘Strat’ Strating, Lyndal Chambers and Mal Webb.
The new film is entered in the Bass Coast Short Film Festival, to screen in Wonthaggi on January 28-30.
Terry and Laura’s earlier short film, The Cost of Sand, about the impact of sand mining on Bass Coast’s remnant coastal forest, was selected for the international Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.
“Our woodlands aren’t grand,” Catherine Watson says. “There’s no soaring mountain ash. It’s messmate and what some people would think of as scrub. When you first arrive you think there’s not much here. Then the birds return. They start calling. You see the flash of a blue wren. You recognise a sundew orchid. You start to see it with fresh eyes. It seeps into you.”
Neil Rankine says he experiences something different every time he comes into the woodlands. “I’m sometimes joined by somebody who has expertise in a particular area and I’ll be learning about orchids that rely on certain fungi and only open for three hours a day. The fact that those things exist and they’re so inter-connected with everything under my feet.”
“Another day I’ll learn about vines climbing trees and the birds in the trees and the way everything depends on everything else.
The soundtrack features original compositions by Laura Brearley and Rosie Westbrook with music by Laura, Brian ‘Strat’ Strating, Lyndal Chambers and Mal Webb.
The new film is entered in the Bass Coast Short Film Festival, to screen in Wonthaggi on January 28-30.
Terry and Laura’s earlier short film, The Cost of Sand, about the impact of sand mining on Bass Coast’s remnant coastal forest, was selected for the international Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.