THE short film Dreamweavers – Gidja Walker OAM, by award winning filmmakers Heather Forbes-McKeon and Yanni Dellaportas, will be screened as part of the 2024 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.
The 21-minute short by the Mornington Peninsula-based filmmaking duo was one of 50 chosen from 160 entries.
Forbes-McKeon, co-director, creator and producer of the Dreamweavers series, says that she and Dellaportas were privileged to make film about Walker who is “known as an icon for her work and knowledge as an ecologist, ethnobotanist and Mornington Peninsula Indigenous advocate”.
“Gidja combines her immense environmental knowledge alongside traditional owner’s relationships with her local environment,” she said. “She works tirelessly for the protection of natural environments far and wide while balancing work and voluntary commitments with her creativity as a painter. Her time in nature and creativity reflects her deeply spiritual self which is also expressed through her love of family, friends, and a great sense of fun. “Gidja Walker is a Mornington Peninsula based ecologist and ethnobotanist who has worked for years protecting its earthscapes. Gidja overcame discrimination in a male dominated profession.”
Forbes-McKeon said Walker mentors young women who were entering the world of nature-based learning and is an advocate for traditional owner custodianship. “Over many decades, Gidja has contributed professionally and informally as a consultant and advisor to many government bodies and community-based organisations,” she said.
“In 2006 she was a recipient of the prestigious Prime Minister’s Banksia award for the Back from the Brink endangered orchid species recovery project.”
Forbes-McKeon and Dellaportas have together made five short films, including the Dreamweavers series about three Mornington Peninsula-based women who have all suffered adversity and inspired others in the community. Dreamweavers the event premiered the short film series in October 2023 at the Rosebud Cinema to a sold out audience and involved a Q & A with the women subjects of the films and was hosted by Rosie Batty AO. Net proceeds from the event were donated to Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s Refuge Bayside.
The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival website states that it was ranked as the top Melbourne film festival and most anticipated Melbourne film festival by Time Out for 2023. Google ranks it as the world’s 15th best documentary film festival.
“The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival aims to feature the freshest and most innovative documentaries from around the world, from short docs right through to feature length, award winning films. MDFF is quickly rising to become one of the most well-respected and thought-provoking festivals in the world. Curating features from the world’s biggest and most prestigious global showcases, Melbourne Documentary Film Festival provides a leading platform for the most inventive creative nonfiction films of today,” the festival’s website states.
Dreamweavers – Gidja Walker OAM, screening on Sunday 28 July at Cinema Nova, Carlton, is included in a session of international documentaries. Details: cinemanova.com.au/films/mdff-shorts-session-7