Help us get to our target of $55,000.00!

Some of the cast with Imogen Thomas on location.

Wayne Blair (Jay Jay), Rhae-Kye Waites (Gem) with dog Cora, Imogen Thomas (Director), Mary Waites (Daphne), Georgia Blizzard (Heidi), Letisha Boney (Valerie), Rob Carlton (Stan).   

Photo:  Christiana Ferreira (PointShootSHINE)

We have reached our initial target... But we still need more!

Thank you to each of our initial visionary supporters for getting us well beyond our initial target of $18,000.00...  

We have exceeded the target but still require so much more to reach our micro budget of $55,000.00 and realise Emu Runner. The shoot has started and the void of unanticipated costs has began to open up... So please, dig deep and please share this campaign with your network and together we can make Gem's 'dream to run with the emus' a reality.

The more funds gained through this campaign the more we can add to the production. The amazing in-kind support from all the cast and crew, who have committed their time voluntarily, along with the generous donations of equipment and resources from the film community, needs to be mirrored by our Pozible supporters. The team at Pozible were cautious in assisting us to set our initial target, even though we believed our supporters would eclipse their conservitive estimate... and you did! THANK YOU!

The micro budget of $55,000.00 which should cover the costs outlined below in the 'How the funds will be used' info, is now in our sights... so please dig deep and we'll get there and exceed our expectations.

Welcome to Brewarrina...

Emu Runner will be filmed in and around the community of Brewarrina between the 21st of August and the 22nd of September 2017. The film will be realised with your support. The funds raised through Pozible will directly contribute towards production.

Emu Runner is a story about the impact a mother’s death has on an Aboriginal family living in an isolated community, perched on an ancient river and surrounded by sprawling plains. The story is seen through the eyes of Gem, a spirited 8-year-old girl, who deals with grief by forging a bond with a wild emu, a mythical bird of her ancestors.

Gem (Nerida Lord from the teaser 2013) Photo by Michael Gibbs

As Gem spends more time with the emu, she skips school and begins to steal food for the bird, attracting the attention of a new social worker, Heidi, who is convinced Gem's family is failing to look after her.

In nature, the male emu takes on the role of rearing the chicks. With the death of his wife, Gem's father, Jay Jay, is left to raise his three children. While Jay Jay’s commitment to his family doesn’t waver, the pressures to make ends meet and holding the family together take their toll.

The story reaches its dramatic climax with Heidi making the decision to remove Gem from her father's care, laying bare her limited experience at understanding the real motivations behind Gem’s truancy and stealing.

In the end, it is Heidi who learns from Gem, and is confronted by her own lack of preparation for a job which has responsibilities not covered by her qualifications or life experience.

Emu Runner is a story about respecting difference. It explores the underlying racial tensions in regional Australia and the importance of traditional customs in modern Aboriginal culture.

Inspiration and Creative Partnership

Imogen Thomas wrote Emu Runner in consultation with Frayne Barker. Frayne has brought to this project her knowledge of the pressing issues and challenges that come from living in this isolated community.

Frayne Barker

Frayne Barker is a proud Ngemba Aboriginal woman from the north-western community of Brewarrina. She comes from a large family and has lived and worked in her community for the majority of her life. In her early teenage years Frayne recognised the importance education played in shaping the lives and future of her people and this set her on a course to pursue an Early Childhood Teaching Degree at Macquarie University. After completing her studies in 1997 Frayne returned to Brewarrina where she took up the director position at Gainmara Birrileee Preschool, which is a learning environment dedicate to Aboriginal children. To this day she continues to run the preschool as well as being actively involved in local community groups that foster support to the Aboriginal community. She is also a member of the Aboriginal Early Childhood Support and Learning Organization. In addition, Frayne has a strong interest in film and has acted as a consultant to Imogen on her film scripts; Mixed Bag and Emu Runner.

Imogen Thomas

Imogen gained her film training at the Tisch School of Arts Graduate Film Program at New York University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts Honors degree, in Drama, from Flinders University, in South Australia. It was here that Imogen began making short films, many of which, have been screened at festivals and have received awards. At this time she also pursued a career in set and costume design for the theatre, designing celebrated productions for Belvoir St Theatre, The Adelaide Theatre Festival and Magpie2.

In 1998 Imogen was awarded the prestigious South Australian Premier’s Award for Emerging Artist of Year. This award afforded her the opportunity to undertake her Masters Degree at NYU.

Imogen’s graduating film Mixed Bag premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2008 and went on to be screened at both national and international festivals. It received the Gold Award at the Australian Cinematographer's Society Awards 2008 as well as being a finalist for the Wasserman and King Award, First Run Film Festival 2009, NYC.

Emu Runner will be Imogen’s feature film debut.

Follow this link to Imogen's Website: http://www.imogenthomasfilms.com

Location

Positioned near the banks of the Barwon River, Brewarrina is home to a large Aboriginal community. It is the traditional land of the Ngemba, Murrawarri, Ualari, Weilwan and Baranbinja people. Brewarrina was where these tribes came together to partake in important ceremonies as well as to enjoy the abundant fish that the river offered, while utilizing the stone fish traps that have been there for over 40,000 years. To this day the river continues to hold great significance as well as nourish its community.

Barwon River

Fish traps

Imogen's history with Brewarrina

In 2003, Imogen worked on an arts initiative with Ourgunya, a women’s shelter in Brewarrina. This experience introduced her to a large number of women and children from the community and placed her in a unique position to listen to their stories and gain a very real sense of their lives and personal struggles. She was confronted by the effects of unemployment and poverty on the health of the community and the lives of its members cut short. What was apparent to her, was the resilience and strength of the women who had to manage the many social problems that arise from these conditions. It was during this engagement that Imogen was introduced to Frayne Barker, Director of Gainmara Birrileee preschool. Friendships and subsequent visits to the area inspired Imogen to make a film set in this special place.

Bathurst Street Brewarrina

Mixed Bag

Before embarking on a feature length project with the Brewarrina community, Imogen made 'Mixed Bag', a short film about racial stereotyping and prejudice. From the film’s inception Frayne Barker was involved. The production also engaged the support and participation of the broader community who made up the majority of the cast and also worked behind the scenes.

Mixed Bag was completed in 2008 and went on to be screened at both national and international film festivals, receiving received many nominations and awards. For Imogen, the real mark of the film’s success was the Brewarrina community’s response, which was overwhelmingly positive. Mixed Bag was a vital stepping-stone in her journey to make a feature film.

Watch 'Mixed Bag' by going to this link: http://www.imogenthomasfilms.com/video/mixed_bag.mp4

Development to date

Emu Runner has been developed over many years through the investment of personal resources and people working in a pro-bono capacity.

Throughout every phase of the script and productions development Imogen has consulted with Frayne Barker. She has also shared the script with community elders to gain their feedback and input.

Imogen has also received extensive guidance and mentoring during the script writing process, from international screenwriters and former lecturers at New York University Tisch School of Arts, Yvette Biro and Mick Casale.

In 2012 a visual teaser for Emu Runner, of just under 2-minutes in length, was created with the a handful of people from the Brewarrina community and film professionals to garner further intertest in the film.

With the unwaving encouragement and support of many members of the Brewarrina community, Imogen made the decision at the start of 2017 to make Emu Runner. She has choosen an unconventional pathway to make the film, reaching out to many film professionals, friends and family to assist her.

Emu Runner will be made with personal funds as well as any funds raised from this crowd-source campaign.

Gem (Nerida Lord ) being filmed by Michael Gibbs, the DOP, 

for the teaser in 2012

Visual style

Emu Runner presents a child’s perspective of life in an Australian outback town and this will be reflected in the cinematic language. The mood and tone will be visceral, honest and immediate, instantly engaging the audience in Gem’s world.

Following in the cinema vérité tradition, the film will be shot on location in Brewarrina, and as much as possible, cast from within the community.

The visual style will have an observational quality, always ready to capture and respond to the impulses of the actors. A lightweight digital camera will be used to allow for mobility and flexibility during the shoot. The use of deep focus lens will also adoped to capture the vastness expanse of the landscape that the characters live within.

Overall, the visual design will be subtly sculpted from the textures and colours that exist in Brewarrina. The colour palette will be informed by the outback landscape, with its burnt red soil and the sandy yellows of the grassy plains. Washed out, sun bleached colours of the weatherboard houses and shop signs will reflect the townscape. The character of the social worker, Heidi, will sit outside this colour spectrum. She will stand out in cool icy blues and steely tone, reflecting the textures and contrast of the city she has come from.

Films that have been seminal in the development of Emu Runner include Rene Clement’s 'Forbidden Games', Carol Reeds 'Fallen Idol', Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon and Tony Gatlif’s Swing as well as the Dardenne brother’s film 'The Kid With A Bike'. In each film the director invites audience’s to experience the raw truthfulness of child’s point of view and their imaginative spirit when faced with the dramas of their lives.

With our initial campaign target of $18,000.00 surpassed in just 7 days we are overwhelmed by the incredible support thus far... but we need more...

The more funds gained through this campaign the more we can add to the production. The amazing in-kind support from all the cast and crew, who have committed their time voluntarily, along with the generous donations of equipment and resources from the film community, needs to be mirrored by our Pozible supporters. The team at Pozible were cautious in assisting us to set our initial target, even though we believed our supporters would eclipse their conservitive estimate... and you did! Thanks.

The micro budget of $55,000.00 which should cover the costs listed below is now in our sights... so please dig deep and we'll get there and exceed our expectations.

With the unwavering encouragement and support of many members of the Brewarrina community, Imogen made the decision at the start of 2017 to make Emu Runner. She has choosen an unconventional pathway to make the film, reaching out to many film professionals, friends and family to assist her.

To date, the costs associated with the development of the film have come from Imogen's own resources. 

The cast, made up mostly of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people from the Brewarrina community, and crew have committed there time pro-bono to the film with the primary costs featured above being covered by the funds raised from this campaign.

The funds raised through Pozible will be directly used toward the production with any remaining funds going toward the post-production costs. The costs are:

• travel (car hire, fuel, flights)
• accommodation (crew and actors brought in to the location) 
• equipment hire (camera and lighting, sound)
• catering
• location & set dressing 
• Emus and Emu wrangling
• costume and props hire and purchases
• insurance
• editing 
• music/sound and if anything is left... 
• cast & crew per diems.

This is a breakdown of how the funds raised will be distributed across the production.

There are significant logistical challenges in producing the film; the feature consideration is the proximity of the location from a major city and regional centres. Brewarrina is situated 100 kilometres east of Bourke and 815 kilometres from Sydney. Many of the businesses of the Brewarrina community, including the Council, local schools, the hospital and the police are all key partners in the film. The closests regional centres to Brewarrina are Dubbo and Moree, both are a four hour drive. The travel distances, the limited accommodation and associated costs, along with the proximity to supermarket services, that will feed the cast and crew, are significant considerations toward the budget. 

The film will be made working on an extremely tight budget. We are ensuring every cent is being used positively to enhance and further the film. Whilst this is a major challenge, we've planned every aspect down to a tee and know that everything we imagine is possible. Together, with your support, this film can be realised.