EFFA presents: Home Grown

Saturday 1 June | ACMI, Fed Square.

A one-day exploration of Australia on screen.

What’s happening.

From Werribee Gorge to the Northern Territory, traversing the tops of Mt Kosciuszko and all the way down to Bruny Island, EFFA presents: Home Grown invites audiences to journey across our coastlines, mountain regions, desert landscapes, cities and ecosystems.

Join us for a day of uniquely Australian perspectives on the environment, connection to country, and the fight to protect our home.

Designed to spark conversation and demand action, the program includes documentaries, animation, irreverent comedy and experimental visual art, alongside filmmaker panels, Q&As and community gatherings.

We'll finish the fest in ACMI’s Cameo Café Bar with a plant-based canape reception; meet our volunteers, filmmakers and partners and discuss "what's next". With drinks from ReWine, Naarm's refillable, sustainable wine merchant.

Spend the day with us, with an All Day Pass available (includes entry to our evening reception).

Presented by | Environmental Film Festival Australia, Australian Environments on Screen, Monash University, ACMI and DocPlay

Supported by | Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network, ReWine, Carbon Positive Australia, Rock Posters and Art Disrupt

Watch the trailer.

14:00 - 15:45 | Australian Shorts, with panel

Celebrating Australia’s finest environmental filmmakers, this shorts package and panel takes an honest, poetic and irreverent look at what it means to live in our unique environs, capturing the power of community and how ‘home grown’ stories can lead to action.

With animation, comedy, dance, documentaries and even a seagull falling in love with a drone, this specially curated shorts package highlights the joy and power that can come from connecting with the world around us.

Bird Drone | Radheya Jegatheva, Australia, 2023
A heartfelt story of unrequited love between a seagull and a human-operated drone with a limited battery life.
A CALL TO ARMS | The Samaya Wives, Australia, 2023
A dance film that traverses the landscapes of Takayna; from rugged coastline to the deep ancient temperate rainforests, exploring through movement, the embodied effects of its landscapes and the sensation of its contrasting strength and fragility.
No Distance Between Us | Vera Hong, Australia, 2018
Exploring the history and cultural significance of the Willandra Lakes Region in far-west NSW, the largest human fossil footprint site in the world.
Stories from the Smoke | Daniel Merson, Australia, 2020
A gut-punching reflection of a grandfather living in bushfire country, inspired by a First Dog on the Moon cartoon.
An Island Off An Island | Guido Pezz, Australia, 2023
An intimate portrait of life in Bruny Island, away from the distractions of the outside world.
Petrichor | Shirin Shakhesi, 2019
A vibrant sensory experience drawing you through a vivid, jewel-toned ecosystem of insects and nature.
Outpicker | Le Luo, Australia, 2023
A queer immigrant finds a sense of belonging in the Australian landscape through litter-picking.

Join us after the screening for a Filmmaker Panel, featuring Le Luo (Outpicker), Keith Thomas (Bird Drone) and Mandy King (Where The Water Starts), chaired by EFFA Committee Member, Cathy Rodda.

16:15 - 17:35 | Where The Water Starts (2021)

Australia's Snowy Mountains are the birthplace of some of our most iconic rivers - including the Snowy, Murray and Murrumbidgee - but the delicate alpine ecosystem that supports these vital water sources is being threatened.

Hard hoofed animals are trampling and endangering the viability of the headwaters of three iconic rivers. After seeing the destruction of the fragile alpine ecology first hand, Richard Swain, with the support of his wife Alison, decides to speak out.

Where The Water Starts brings together respected Aboriginal community leaders, as well as business people, a local farmer, a scientist, a former parks officer and a social historian, highlighting the importance of connection and country when it comes to protecting our planet.

Director: Mandy King, Australia

Join us after the screening in ACMI’s Cameo Café Bar for a community gathering and Q&A with Richard Swain and Mandy King.

18:15 - 20:00 | Double Feature: Water Is Life (2018) & RIVERTREE (2023)

Environmental Film Festival Australia, Australian Environments on Screen, Seed and ACMI are thrilled to invite you to this special double-feature presentation of RIVERTREE and Water Is Life.

Highlighting the resilience of community and the importance of our river and water systems, RIVERTREE and Water Is Life both offer unique perspectives on the fight to protect home.

Water is Life | Seed, Australia, 2018
Aboriginal communities fight against fracking plans in the NT, learning from First Nations brothers and sisters in the US who are suffering from the impacts of greedy gas companies.

RIVERTREE | Matty Hannon & Gary Parker, Australia, 2023
When lifelong mates Hayley Talbot and Dan Ross set off on a long-distance paddle from the headwaters of the Clarence River to the surf, they find astonishing landscapes, eccentric locals and epic river time adventures. They also discovered some big bad plans to mine the hills behind their home. A story of friendship, community and the fight to save the mighty Clarence River (Biirrinba, Boorimbah), set on Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl Country and narrated by Aunty Lenore.

Screening followed by an 'In Conversation' with Belinda Smaill (Monash University, Australian Environments on Screen) and Daniel Ross (RIVERTREE).

Get a Reception Ticket and join us in ACMI’s Cameo Café Bar for our Home Grown Reception. Meet EFFA's volunteers, filmmakers and partners and discuss "what's next", with sustainable wine from ReWine and plant-based canapes.

All the films.

A CALL TO ARMS

2022 | Australia | The Samaya Wives
A dance film that traverses the landscapes of Takayna; from rugged coastline to the deep ancient temperate rainforests, exploring through movement, the embodied effects of its landscapes and the sensation of its contrasting strength and fragility.
An Island Off An Island

2023 | Australia | Guido Pezz
For the past 20 years, Jenene and John have carried a simple life together in Bruny; an island off the island of Tasmania, at the bottom end of Australia.
This film is an intimate portrait about life away from the distractions of the outside world.
Bird Drone

2023 | Australia | Radheya Jegatheva
A lonely seagull looking for love struggles to accept that his newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with a limited battery life.
No Distance Between Us

2018 | Australia | Vera Hong
Explores the history and cultural significance of the Willandra Lakes Region in far-west NSW as the largest human fossil footprint site in the world, told through the voices of Traditional Custodians of the region.
Outpicker

2023 | Australia | Le Luo
An environmental poem and documentary about a Chinese queer woman who finds a sense of belonging in the Australian landscape, through litter-picking and queer community-building in Victoria.
Petrichor

2019 | Australia | Shirin Shakhesi
Insects are small and can inhabit hidden places, so you may not realise how many exist around you.
This vibrant sensory experience draws you through a vivid, jewel-toned ecosystem which is home to several insect and animal species threatened by population decline.
RIVERTREE

2023 | Australia | Matty Hannon
When lifelong mates Hayley Talbot and Dan Ross set off on a long-distance paddle from the headwaters of the Clarence River (Biirrinba, Boorimbah) to the surf, they find astonishing landscapes, eccentric locals and epic river time adventures.
However, their journey takes a turn when they discover plans to mine the hills behind their home.
A story of friendship, community and the fight to save the mighty Clarence River, set on Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl Country and narrated by Aunty Lenore.
Stories from the Smoke

2020 | Australia | Daniel Merson
Artistic, humourous and heartbreaking, Stories From The Smoke gives a gut wrenching insight into the lives of those living the reality of bushfires. Inspired by a First Dog on the Moon cartoon.
Water Is Life

2018 | Australia | Know Studio
With the threat of coal seam gas fracking across the country, Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network activists travel to a First Nations community in North Dakota to learn about the health implications caused by this dangerous industry.
Filmed over two years, the documentary introduces us to Kandi Mosset, a Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara woman, who shows first-hand the impacts that fracking has had on her immediate family and extended community.
Where The Water Starts

2021 | Australia | Mandy King
Australia's Snowy Mountains are the birthplace of some of our most iconic rivers - including the Snowy, Murray and Murrumbidgee - but the delicate alpine ecosystem that supports these vital water sources is being threatened.
Hard hoofed animals are trampling and endangering the viability of the headwaters of three iconic rivers. After seeing the destruction first hand, Richard Swain, with the support of his wife Alison, decides to speak out.