MDFF 2021 - BLACK SUMMER
A documentary about the 2019-2020 bushfires in Australia. Delving into the lives of the locals impacted and the affect it has had on the environment around them.
In this documentary we explore the life of people that have been affected by Black Summer, the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. The locals, throughout a series of interviews, re live these mega bushfires and help us to understand how it has impacted their day to day life, but also the long term effect it has had on their future and the environment around them. Their stories and opinions explain first hand the negative affect we, as a population, are having on the world and climate.
Interview with Writer/Director Hagyung Koo
Watch BLACK SUMMER on Vimeo on demand
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I was gravely affected by the 2019-2020 bushfires (known as Black Summer) and wanted to help out. Seeing the grievances and solidarity throughout the work with BlazeAid inspired me to make this documentary.
I wanted to give them a stage for their story so they could share this and inspire and inform others.
As I volunteered for the locals that have been affected by Black Summer for few months and have built the relationships closely, I experienced the bushfires in both indirect and direct ways.
I decided to do volunteer work because I thought it was the best way to help them directly at the volunteer site, but as time went by, I wanted to let more people know about the trauma and disasters they had been through. I wanted to help them as best I could.
It is also important to look at people rebuilding their lives after a disaster, and to pay attention to the cause of the bushfire itself, but I felt the need to talk about lives afterwards and the what future might be.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
There are lots of people here that have been personally affected by the forest fires, wether it is through personal loss or someone close to them.
Others just hear about it through the news or other media sources and it just fades into the back of their minds.
This documentary is meant to bridge the gap between these two groups and put a face and a personal experience to the bushfires.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
There are several themes to this documentary.
2 of the biggest themes are personal grievances, loss and personal strength and perseverance and the theme of climate change, which is inherently tied to the scale of these bushfires.
By letting them tell their own tale I try to tie in the personal theme of their experience into the global theme of climate change. It puts a face and experience to this phenomenon that we hear about all the time but are still so detached from.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
In fact, the script was made after filming and rechecked the interview files. When I first started filming, I was overwhelmed by so many different stories and information that I didn't know how the film would be made.
It was drafted focusing on the fact that there was an important common message among the various stories, and then edited focusing on the flow.
So in essence, the documentary was formed through their stories and experiences so they could speak out.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I received feedback from people who had been through the bushfires thanking me for sharing their stories.
Even after the bushfires, they suffered a number of disasters such as drought, flood, and Covid 19 and naturally, they were forgotten by the public and the government, which hurt them again.
In other opinions, I received feedback that the quality of the sound was not the best.
Lastly, one director gave me feedback that its sales potential to TV here in Australia is limited since ABC and SBS tend to make their own “bushfire films” as series such as <BIG WEATHER>. Within the confines of the ANZ territory, she thinks <BLACK SUMMER> has some potential as a library film or TV market outside of Australia but only with a 54-56 min version. This way it could be featured in a series of short documentaries.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I was very moved because I didn't know people would appreciate me this much. I just wanted to help them but I learned a lot in the process and I am very grateful for that.
And about the quality of the sound, I am also very sorry for this part and I wish I could learn more and do better in the future.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope that even a little more people can watch this movie and think about the people who suffered the disasters and what could happen to us in the future.
Furthermore, I would love if this could give me an opportunity to get in contact with industry professionals so I can gather support for my new projects.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Since I have no background in Australia nor professional support, I am searching for anyone who can help me to find a way to distribute the documentary together.
More specifically, at the moment a sales agent or buyer would be the best so it can be broadcast to a broad public.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope that the public will be able to think about people who have experienced disasters and live hard even after disasters. And discuss ways to help them.
I hope more people will volunteer and realise their own impact on our earth.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
"Isn't it over?" or "Bushfires can't happen in this region, can they ?" or "Aren't bushfires normal in Australia ?"
I think this last question is very important. Australia has always had a special relationship with bushfires, to the point of igniting them, to help the land thrive. This makes it so that a lot of people refute the significance of them or that they believe this is just a normal thing. We are seeing however that it has grown completely out of proportion, is starting to affect areas that normally aren't affected and is damaging the natural forestry and indigenous species in a significant way.
Would you like to add anything else?
<Black Summer> is my first feature length documentary. I have never been formally trained to make film but I worked in videography area before. I did my best to share the stories that we shouldn't forget. I hope many people can watch it and think about our environment and ways to help the communities. Thank you very much.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Asian hate as I am do experiencing it so often as an asian female in non asian countries. On 16th March, 8 dead in Atlanta spa shootings and this asian hate crime came as such a personal sadness and shock to me. I also live in non-Asian countries and suffer from racism all the time, so I couldn't accept this incident as happening in a faraway country. Thus I plan to make a documentary about the asian hate and racism.
Interview: July 2021
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
BLACK SUMMER
Length:
1:12:44
Writer/Director/Producer
HAGYUNG KOO
Looking for:
sales agents, journalists, distributors, film festival directors, producers, buyers
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hagyung.koo