DOCUMENTARY
My personal documentary projects are created independently, often in collaboration with the people and places I film. These collaborations allow me to spend meaningful time within their environments and create stories that are honest, thoughtful, and human.
Returning to the Garden
Returning to the Garden follows Frédérique as she builds a self-sufficient way of life in the French countryside. Through nine years of restoring an old water mill and cultivating the land around it, she shares a vision of living in closer connection with nature, where everyday work becomes a source of meaning and purpose.
Returning to the Garden is my first self-initiated documentary project.
There are a few topics I'm especially drawn to because I believe they invite us to rethink how we live. One of them is how we grow our food. For my first documentary, I wanted to tell the story of a permaculture farm, and I was fortunate to discover Moulin Scalagrand—a paradise for permaculture and biodiversity. I spent several weeks there filming while Frédérique shared her knowledge of permaculture, self-sufficiency, and the values behind the life she has created.
Power of Community
This short documentary showcases the truly inspirational efforts of the community in the Torquay area to protect and restore their natural environment. Featuring local residents, conservationists, and volunteers, the film highlights a range of initiatives focused on tackling environmental challenges.
This project helped me discover my love for documentary filmmaking.
Power of Community was an exciting project I took part in while studying at Photography Studies College in Melbourne. It was a collaborative team project, where I worked closely with my three classmates — Risako Yamanaka, Caleb Chan, and Richard Smith. The assignment was to find an environmentally focused story along the Great Ocean Road. We connected with the Surf Coast Environment Group, which led to a fruitful and inspiring collaboration and the creation of this short film.
BTS photo credit Caleb Chan
