WEOFF: Action to Impact

The four films in this session will take you from Australia to Panama on a journey to find out about ways that people are taking action to protect nature around the globe. Dive in to hear about the work being done to protect the black cockatoos in Western Australia, discover how ultra runner Erchana Murray-Bartlett is empowering the next generation to fight for a greener future, explore the subtle beauty of restored environments, and follow the journey a young Indigenous person from the shores of Panama’s Guna Yala Comarca.

🪶 Black Cockatoo Crisis (1h14)

Directed & produced by Jane Hammond 

Black Cockatoo Crisis looks at the plight of our special cockatoos and what we can do to stop these threatened species disappearing forever. This is a story with a Western Australian focus but a universal theme. The world’s biodiversity stands at a crossroads with more than 1 million species currently facing extinction. Will we act in time to save them?

🎨 Paint The Future (5min)

Directed & produced by Ryan Kennedy

This story follows the journey of ultra runner Erchana Murray-Bartlett (@erchana_) as she hand delivers three hand drawn pictures from Alice (10 years), Ange and Mel (both 8 years) by foot, from the top of Tasmania to the bottom - Devonport to Parliament House in Hobart. Her mission? To empower the next generation to fight for a greener future. These pictures represent a natural world that the girls, and their entire generation, deserve to explore when they’re old enough to throw on a backpack and set foot outdoors on their own. However, Erchana decides to take on this adventure in the middle of winter, across Australia’s coldest State when all the elements are against her.

🍃 33 Acres, The Legacy of a Donation (3min)

Directed by Steven G. Smith

33 Acres examines the healing properties of nature. It looks at the therapeutic qualities of a

protected and restored environment. This short film is about the legacy of donating a small piece of land for a park. At the turn of the century, the area was a polluted waterway. It has since been restored and returned to its natural state. The film celebrates the subtle beauty of the New England landscape and wildlife and the impact it can have on the recovery of the human spirit.

🇵🇦 Ocean Grandmother (10min)

Directed by Paul Nicklen and produced by Paul Nicklen and Andy Mann

A young Indigenous person from the shores of Panama’s Guna Yala Comarca takes us on a journey into the heart of their community, their Ocean Grandmother. Explore the hope for a brighter future that thrives throughout Guna Yala to save the surrounding seas that all life depends on.

A panel discussion and Q&A with the following speakers will take place after the screening of the films: 

jane Hammond (Director of Black Cockatoo Crisis)

Jane Hammond is a life-long environmental activist, an independent documentary filmmaker and freelance journalist. She specializes in stories of environmental justice, action on climate change and social affairs. In 2012 she took redundancy from The West Australian newspaper and went back to university to learn the art of filmmaking. She completed a Masters of Professional Communications at Edith Cowan University in Perth doing her final units of study at the WA Screen Academy in 2016.

Jane has made three longer form documentary films and is currently working on her fourth, Black Cockatoo Crisis, which was named winner of the 2021 Brian Beaton Award for social impact. Her documentary Cry of the Forests - A Western Australian Story, released in November 2020, was instrumental in raising awareness and changing public opinion on logging in WA. After a strong social impact campaign around the film the WA Government announced in 2021 that all native forest logging in the state would end by 2024.

Jane currently lives in Perth and is building an eco-house in Margaret River.

Tracy McNamara (Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Australia’s Most Endangered Species) - in person

Tracy is the CEO of the Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species (FAME) Ltd, a national NFP with a vision to stop the extinction of any further endangered Australian species. Her passion for developing and implementing effective solutions and forming alliances with key stakeholders to further a cause has taken her on a fascinating journey. With three decades of experience, her skills in business management has enabled her to make an impactful difference

To see our full program and detailed information please go to: https://wildearthoceania.com/