Meet the amazing filmmakers – 2023

Stan and Sven

Amber is a stop motion animator, director, puppet fabricator and voice-over artists based in Perth, Western Australia, who has a critical focus on storytelling and exploring unique methods throughout her animation. After spending most of her life studying, performing, directing and choreographing for theatre, she decided to explore other creative avenues with the hope of one day being able to explore her love for animation and puppets. More…

Stan & Sven tells the story of two best friends, Stan a robot and Sven a fun loving alien. Sven is on a mission to cheer up his buddy Stan who has been walking around with a frown for far too long. Sven soon realises that this is going to be harder than first thought.

Hua Parakore & Living Simply in 20 Metres

Jordan’s first feature film, A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity, co-directed with Samuel Alexander, has received over 3 million views on YouTube and continues to be shown at community events and festivals around the world. Having teamed up with Antoinette in Happen Films, the pair set out to make a series of short films that ended up becoming a second feature film, Living the Change. He is director, writer and cinematographer, as well as editor of nearly all of the Happen Films productions.

A journey of exploration into personal and global health led Antoinette to transition to work in an organic market garden and eventually to participating in the documentary film A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity, during which she saw the extraordinary capacity of film to educate and inspire. She and Jordan teamed up in Happen Films, and she brought her production and story-telling skills over from the book industry to research, write, produce, and co-direct their films.  More…

Hua Parakore was established in Aotearoa New Zealand by Te Waka Kai Ora, the National Māori Organics Authority. It encapsulates the Māori worldview in its approach to how food growers are verified as Hua Parakore, with principles that require practitioners to deeply consider such things as their connection with the land, its energy, the many species living on it, and their community. This documentary provides an insight into Hua Parakore from the perspective of one of its most knowledgeable practitioners – Jessica Hutchings was one of the researchers who helped develop the framework.

Living Simply  Tom, Sarah, and their daughter Neesa live in a 20sqm off-grid tiny house on a property on the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Instead of paying rent, they share the work of looking after the land with the owners, and both families share in the farm’s abundant produce. We were inspired by how much happier they’ve found themselves by living with less.