SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
I TOLD YOU I WAS ILL: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF SPIKE MILLIGAN
THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE
LOSING LAYLA
WALKING THROUGH A MINEFIELD
ANCIENT TRAVELLER
TORIKA'S DAY

THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE

Hope Road is a quiet Jacaranda-lined street in a white middle class suburb in Johannesburg, South Africa. Two days before Christmas in 1988, a 59 year old woman is sexually assaulted and savagely beaten in her home by a young white teenager. Her face is smashed beyond recognition. Twelve years on, the woman has still not recovered from this assault. She cannot ‘just get over it’, and time does not heal. The police bungled the investigation, the neighbours disputed her version of events, and her son blamed her for letting the perpetrator into her house. The teenager, identified from a school photo, was never charged and remains a free man.

The woman’s daughter is filmmaker Cathy Henkel, and the film is her search for some form of justice and whatever it takes to help her mother heal and move on from this trauma. The journey takes her back to Johannesburg, city of her birth, to confront the past and the present climate of violence. The police re-open the case, but they run into numerous obstacles and the filmmaker has to take matters into her own hands. What she discovers and the answers she brings back for her mother form the climax of this compelling and ultimately uplifting film.

Visit LET'S FACE, the companion web site for THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE.

lOSING LAYLA

Losing Layla is a powerful and moving video diary documentary that follows the lives of two lovers through a tumultuous period in their lives. Michael and Vanessa are in the midst of that modern-day war - when to have a baby. She's a ticking desperado. He wants to run a mile. Neither of them are prepared for the tragedy that unfolds. The film takes a dramatic rollercoaster ride through pregnancy, a difficult birth, their baby's death and the raw scenes of grief captured in the aftermath. Losing Layla is an emotional journey through the despair, the love and the beauty that arose from the depths of every parent's worst nightmare. A film by Vanessa Gorman. Produced by Hatchling Productions.

WALKING THROUGH A MINEFIELD

A dramatic story about people caught up in the conflict over the Jabiluka uranium mine in World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park, narrated by Rachel Griffiths. It is the beginning of the dry season in Kakadu National Park and the mining company, Energy Resources of Australia, is determined to begin construction of the new Jabiluka uranium mine. The protesters who descend on the region at the invitation of the Aboriginal traditional owners are equally determined to stop them. The residents of the town of Jabiru are caught in the middle. Australian soil holds an estimated 35 percent of the world’s uranium reserve. Since the election of the coalition government in 1996, many mining companies are seeking approval to further develop Australia’s uranium industry. This documentary gives a human face to the struggle taking place over the Jabiluka mine and the confronting question of Australia’s role in the world’s nuclear fuel cycle.

ANCIENT TRAVELLER

Ancient Traveller tells the story of the magnificent sea turtles, over 100 million years old and a survivor from the dinosaur era. Every year thousands of people come from all over the world to Mon Repos, a beach near Bundaberg in Central Queensland, Australia, to witness an extraordinary event; the female sea turtle coming ashore on summer nights to lay her eggs and to hopefully continue her species’ remarkable battle for survival. This video takes us through the full life cycle of the turtle, from the egg incubating in the sand and the emerging hatchlings making their frantic run to sea, through the mystery of the ‘lost years’ before they return to inshore waters to feed and finally, after 30 – 50 years, their return to the beach to lay their eggs. The video also details the many threats to sea turtles and offers 10 practical actions that you can take to help ensure the survival of this endangered species.

TORIKA'S DAY

Torika’s Day offers a rare insight into contemporary Fijian life and traditions that have endured for centuries despite the influence of western culture. Torika is a thirteen year old girl who lives with her family in the village of Namara, on a small island in the Southern Yasawa Island group. Her pen pal, Angela, is a 13 year old girl living in Australia and she narrates the story. As the sun rises over the spectacular natural beauty of Namara, Torika and her brothers and sisters wake up in their bure, or Fijian hut to begin the day’s activities. They do not have the luxuries of modern technology, such as electricity, stoves or hot showers, but they enjoy the freedom of life without traffic and pollution, and the alienation that so often accompanies city life.