Loving Grasslands
Landholders and ecologists are working in Hume City Council’s Green Wedge to restore and manage land in harmony with nature, saving critically endangered grasslands from extinction.
Interview with Director/Producer/Editor Brendan Guerin
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
While working in a Hume City Council bush crew during Victoria’s Covid-induced downturn, I was inspired to meet so many farmers and ecologists passionate about restoring their patch of degraded land. I felt there was an interesting collection of stories to be gleaned from this crucial but mostly ‘invisible’ eco-restoration work. The challenge was to find onscreen talent who were knowledgeable and articulate, with a deep personal connection to their land and a story that could unfold in a visually compelling way. In some scenes, we chose to use archival and stock footage to help support the narrative, hopefully taking viewers on a satisfying journey into Victoria's critically-endangered grasslands and grassy woodlands.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Growing up among hardy, idiosyncratic, ‘old-timers’ of rural Australia, I’ve always been fascinated by people who have forged a deep connection with land (Richard Harris’ ‘Bull McCabe’ in the 1990s The Field being an extreme case). They seem observant and considered – and perhaps a little obsessive - about their natural surroundings, able to share stories rich in detail and emotion. That’s true of the landholders and ecologists featured in Loving Grasslands, which gives the series its core strength and authenticity.
Another, perhaps unexpected, strength of the series is the focus on existential issues; how managing land in harmony with nature, rather than trying to control or manipulate nature, can potentially reverse biodiversity loss, reduce extreme fire risk in tinder-box Australia and greatly improve landscape aesthetics, farm productivity and environmental sustainability.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
My connection with rural conservation and land management speaks directly to my background of growing up on a farm in southwest NSW where I learn first-hand of the formidable weed problems farmers often face. That experience helped shape my career as I moved from farming to rural research, science writing and eventually rural marketing and video production, writing, directing and producing corporate films, short dramas and documentaries since 1997. With Loving Grasslands, I seek to give voice to the many passionate people on the frontline of this agricultural-environmental management challenge - farmers, graziers, arid land rangers, landscape managers, indigenous custodians, eco-science graduates, conservation volunteers and nature lovers everywhere.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Covid may have temporarily stopped me from physically producing, but I was still a storyteller and through this new and unexpected path, I was inspired by several Hume landholders and ecologists who were overcoming massive weed problems by restoring and managing land in harmony with nature, with Hume City supporting their work via matched funding and technical guidance. As a storyteller, I wanted to capture these Hume stories so they could be shared with other landholders and eco-restoration practitioners further afield. I figured the best way to do that was collectively – as a series of short docs, 5-10 minutes per episode. My original idea was to capture stories from across the Volcanic Plains, with several LGAs between Hume and Hamilton on the western edge of the plains, potentially contributing to the production budget.
However, after pitching to Hume, their Sustainable Environment Team agreed to fully fund the series, putting the focus on Hume’s Green Wedge, where critically-endangered grasslands and grassy woodlands can no longer be cleared and subdivided for housing. Early in pre-prod, as the series started to come together, my producing partner Christine Williams convinced me to also direct the project, given my passion and strong vision for the series. With directing experience from my work in the corporate consulting sector, it began to feel like a good fit and allowed me to immerse myself further in the creative process and ensure the commitment to honouring the initial inspiration was fully realised in the production. Shot over six days between March and July 2022, Loving Grasslands evolved to become an eco-doc web series of 4 x 10-min episodes; a meditation of sorts on humanity’s deep desire to connect harmoniously with the natural world.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
“I want to say how much I enjoyed the four stories on Loving Grasslands, I will now look at grasses in a different way and appreciate their existence even more. I had no idea that Lakey Farms existed, that the Hildebrand's owned the site of the Sunbury Rock Festival and that David the Vet - who I have a casual job with looking after the clinic’s garden - is so passionate about his environment. Thank you, I found the night very interesting and informative.” – Janiece, Hume Landholder
“Really good to hear the Loving Grasslands launch went well. The videos are great. Really nicely shot, the audio is very good and I very much like the way you had those various people tell their stories. Very nice work indeed.” – Paul, Grassland Ecologist
“Thank you for the link to the Loving Grasslands videos. Really enjoyed watching them particularly Dietmar and Susanne Hildebrand. They are well put together, informative and to the point. Having watched it, I really believe our focus needs to be on getting trees on the slopes - before seeing the result on the Hildebrand property I didn't think trees could do so well on slopes.” - Salim, Hume Landholder
“I saw Episode Four of Loving Grasslands, with Eric Stone doing ecological burning in Eucalyptus Court Reserve, and loved it” – Kate, Ecologist.
“I watched the full series and really liked the way you explored the personal connections between people and nature,” – Silvana, Environment & Sustainability Manager
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I was a little surprised at how well the series has been received by Hume City Council, its Rural Conservation Team, Landholders from Hume & beyond as well as Film & Web festival directors and their attendees. Knowing it's a niche subject, I tried to capture the engaging personalities of interviewees and their deep personnel connections to land to make the stories more accessible, and relatable to the layperson. That approach seems to have worked, with Loving Grasslands securing 18 film/web festival screenings to date, and winning 10 Awards for Best Web Series, Best Eco Work and Best Flora Documentary.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'd like to raise awareness and interest in the upcoming Loving Grasslands ATOM Study Guide that we plan to produce, market and hopefully license to the education sector (ie primary and secondary schools) in Australia and selected overseas markets.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We need film festival directors and journalists to keep supporting / promoting the series while we talk to TV & online broadcasters (eg IView), distributors, perhaps a niche doco streamer and other potential buyers regarding an acquisition.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I'd like the ongoing film festivals screenings - and their awards - to vindicate the broad appeal of the Series with a view to attracting a commission from a broadcaster, distributor or streamer to create a more ambitious standalone TV documentary featuring more eco-restoration stories, from more characters, in more disparate locations from across Victoria's vast volcanic plains.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why don't Australians love indigenous grasslands as much as trees and forests?
Can indigenous grasses help reduce the risk of wild bushfires and grassfires becoming more dangerous as Australia's climate becomes more extreme?
Should other Local Government Authorities follow the lead of Hume City Council in funding this kind of eco-restoration of private land?
Would you like to add anything else?
We are now expanding the Loving Grasslands story world with a second web series already in the planning, as well as a standalone longer-form documentary, a study guide and podcasts. Who knows, maybe grasses might just become sexy-ish after all!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are also developing several feature films including Kangaroo Island, a psychological thriller inspired by a true story of rural worker exploitation and Savage Fires, inspired by a true story of survival during recent wildfires in Western Australia.
Interview: July 2023
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
Loving Grasslands
Landholders and ecologists are working in Hume City Council’s Green Wedge to restore and manage land in harmony with nature, saving critically endangered grasslands from extinction.
Director: Brendan Guerin
Producer: Brendan Guerin
Writer: Brendan Guerin
About the writer, director and producer:
BRENDAN GUERIN was a farmer, science writer and marketing manager before producing films. Since 2000, he has made 50 TVCs, short docos Born to Swim (2010) and The Foot Reader (2011) and short dark comedy Clown Story (2005), outback drama First Contact (MIFF 2011), action comedy Beginner’s Luck (2013) and psychological horror The Disappearance of Willie Bingham (MIFF 2015; BIFAN 2016), which screened at 63 festivals, won 20 awards and licenced to a dozen distributors worldwide.
Looking for: distributors, buyers, journalists, film festival directors, sales agents
Facebook: Loving Grasslands
Website: www.gueringroup.com.au
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Hume City Council
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival Online Program (July 1st - 31st, 2023)