Wind & Sky Productions‘Memories of War’ project is underway
Wind & Sky Productions is delighted to announce the launch of the ‘Memories of War’ project web site.
Report of the First Week of December 2014
By Lucinda Horrocks 12 December 2014.
On the morning of the 3rd of December Jary and I woke blurry eyed, well before sunrise. At 3:30am we drove through a dark and silent Ballarat to Main Road, towards the glowing beacon of Sovereign Hill’s mining tower which after dark is always lit from below, where we joined a procession of cars in the otherwise empty street heading towards the museum’s entrance. At the brightly-lit reception, smiling staff in period costume ushered us, the blinking and the bewildered, into the museum’s 19th century streets.
So it started at 3am on the third of December. And it didn’t stop until Sunday the 7thth. In a special week, we got to celebrate many events to do with projects we have worked on over the last five years. Trust me, weeks like this are unusual.
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Event: Eureka Stories
Stories of Eureka
On December 3 1854, in Ballarat, a group of gold miners clashed with the local authorities in a bloody encounter which influenced the course of democracy in Australia.
We’ve been busy at Wind & Sky creating four digital stories about people connected to the Eureka Stockade for the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E Ballarat).
Come help us celebrate the launch of our films and the 160th anniversary of Eureka. There are a series of events on the actual anniversary day the 3rd of December and on the weekend of the 6-7 December.
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Wind & Sky Productions on Culture Victoria
27 June 2014
Wind and Sky Productions has launched two stories on Culture Victoria: ‘Bull Allen’ and ‘Savoy Ladies Group.’
Report of the Savoy Ladies Group Film Launches
29 April 2014
Article by Lucinda Horrocks. Photograph by Samantha Dinning.
One of our favourite things is to meet audiences at film screenings and Q&A events.
On Thursday the 13th of March and Saturday the 29th of March Lucinda, Jary and Sam had the great pleasure of showing the ‘Savoy Ladies Group’ to the community of Myrtleford and Melbourne in two special screenings.
The History of the Savoy Ladies Group
By Samantha Dinning.
Rural women in Australia have a long history of collectivity, of joining together to face problems, to offer support and to provide service to their communities.
In a small sub-Alpine pocket of North-East Victoria, among ancient gum forests and granite rock, a group of women have offered vital friendship and support to each other every fortnight for the past 30 years. Comprised of women with Italian heritage based in the Myrtleford district, The Savoy Ladies Group, has been, and today is, an important part of a community that has faced both prosperity and hardship. Their story is one of friendship and solidarity and is an example of the strength of both migrant communities and women in rural Australia.
The North-East Victorian Migration Story
By Samantha Dinning.
The fabric of contemporary Australia is layered with many cultural threads, some of which have greatly shaped our regional and rural histories. Migration in North-East Victoria has transformed the region’s industry and culture, bringing with it a richness and diversity that tells its story through food, wine, festivals, language and the many stories that new and old migrants share. These stories speak of struggle, persistence and community – of the joy of possibility and reward and the hardship and pain of leaving family and friends; of the strength of newfound friendships and of settling in a sometimes-unforgiving environment. They relate the difficulty in learning a foreign language and the growth of unique cultural identities, such as the Italian communities of Myrtleford and the King Valley.
Savoy Ladies Group Film Launch – Media Release
25 February 2014
The Italian heritage of the women of North-Eastern Victoria is celebrated with the launch of a short documentary film produced by Wind & Sky Productions.
The ten minute film ‘The Savoy Ladies Group’ follows Rosa Volpe, the group’s president, as she tells the story of Italians in the North-East, tobacco farming, women, family and friendship.
The Ballarat National Theatre Film – Media Release
22 November 2013
The Ballarat National Theatre celebrates 75 years of history with the online launch of a short documentary film produced by Wind & Sky Productions.
The film features core members of the Ballarat National Theatre, past and present, and reflects on the significance and history of the company.
The Ballarat National Theatre
Entertaining Audiences Since 1938
Info
Client: Ballarat National Theatre Company
Produced: 2013
Length: 12.26 minutes
Links
The Ballarat National Theatre Film – Media Release
The Ballarat National Theatre Company
History of the Australian National Theatre Movement
Article: Ballarat National Theatre Celebrates its 70th (2008)
Gertrude Johnson in the Australian Dictionary of Biography
This short documentary explores the history of the Ballarat National Theatre through the eyes of past and present members and asks why community theatre is relevant today.
The Ballarat National Theatre (BNT) was founded in 1938 and has been putting on live performances continuously since then. This film reflects on the history of the company and the impetus given it by being the first regional branch of Gertrude Johnson’s famous Australian National Theatre Movement. Through the perspective of core members of the BNT community, past and present, we celebrate the significance of this unique company. We revisit the original location of the Little Theatre, a favourite venue from the 1950s to the 1980s, and take a look behind the scenes at the 2013 season of the company at the SMB Courthouse Theatre in Ballarat. As we witness the ongoing commitment of those involved, the film explores what makes community theatre special and makes a case for another 75 years of performances.
Please Share
The film is free to share, watch, copy, distribute and embed for non-commercial purposes under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND conditions. If you would like to embed the film in your web site, visit the YouTube version of the film and follow the embed instructions under the ‘share’ tab.
If you do embed or link to our film, please drop us an email to let us know. We love to hear about how our films are used!
Credits
- Written and Produced by:
- Jary Nemo and Lucinda Horrocks
- Production Company:
- Wind & Sky Productions
- Directed and Edited by:
- Jary Nemo
- Music by:
- Lucinda Horrocks
- Executive Producers:
- Julian R Oldfield, Wendy Hall and Brian McLelland
- Players (in order of appearance):
- Savannah Clark, Doug Sarah, Sonja Kinnersly, Julian R Oldfield, Mary-Rose McLaren, Hedley Thomson, Katrina Hill, Fergus McLaren, Linda Ogier, Alexandra Meerbach, Christine Holmes, John Daykin, Simon Carroll
- Plays Mentioned or Featured (in order of appearance):
- Mr Pim Passes By, 1940, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, 1938, Duet for Two Hands, 1948, The Crime at Blossoms, 1947, The Heiress, 1959, Look Back in Anger, 1959, Private Lives, 1959, Come Back Little Sheba, 1962, The Crucible, 1975, Summer of the 17th Doll, 1980, The Chiltern Hundreds, 1963, Long Day’s Journey into Night, 1972, One Boy’s War, 2013, Theft, 2013, Twelve Angry Men, 2013
- Interviews and Research:
- Lucinda Horrocks
- Lighting, Camera and Sound:
- Jary Nemo
- Images courtesy of:
- Gary Hunt, The Australian National Memorial Theatre, The Gold Museum
- ‘One Boy’s War’ excerpts courtesy of:
- Matthew Heenan, Mary-Rose McLaren
- SFX supplied by:
- freesfx.co.uk
- With thanks to:
- David Battersby, Yvonne Downing, Peter Freund, Elizabeth Hardiman, Katrina Hill, Candice Holloway, Robert McVitty, Peter Nethercote, James McLaren, Claire Muir, Sally Read, Robert Taylor, Paul Tracy, Tim Tracy, Roger Trudgeon, Peter Tulloch, Frank Van Straten, the Australian National Memorial Theatre, Ballarat City Council, the Gold Museum and Federation University. A very special thanks to all members of the Ballarat National Theatre community, past and present.
- Financed by:
- The Ballarat National Theatre Company Inc.
- Distribution License:
- Free to distribute online under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND conditions, all other use requires permission.
- Copyright with:
- © Wind & Sky Productions Pty Ltd and Ballarat National Theatre Company 2013.
- Dedicated to:
- Julian Oldfield, celebrating his commitment to the Theatre as its longest serving President, from 1999-2013.
What's New
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‘Out of the Closets’ a Semi-Finalist in UK Lonely Wolf International Film Festival
Melbourne Gay history movement documentary makes it to semi-finalist round in London film festival.
‘Harbour Lights’ wins Best Documentary at US Film Festival
Australian history film ‘Harbour Lights’ wins Best Documentary award in US Film Festival.
‘The Missing’ wins a Commendation in Victorian Community History Awards
Wind & Sky and partners Federation University, Australian Red Cross and Ballarat RSL receive a commendation in the 2021 Victorian Community History Awards.