Beyond the Burning: voices from the East Gippsland fires

New Year’s Eve, 2019. The sky turns bright red in Mallacoota, East Gippsland, as a monstrous fire tears towards the town. Through mobile phone footage and interviews, bushfire survivors explain what it felt like to be there and the impact on local wildlife.

Afterwards, we see the scorched remains of a forest through the eyes of a renowned nature photographer. An ecologist revisits her favourite temperate rainforest – normally too wet to burn – and explains what’s being lost as a hotter climate dries out the bush.

In other parts of the ravaged landscape, wildlife carers offer shelter to injured animals, and a beekeeper explains how destructive logging practices have contributed to the frequency and intensity of the recent fires.

From this tragedy emerge local solutions. Traditional Owners survey the regenerating bush for totem species, conduct cultural burns and begin the long process of taking back management of the land. And renewable energy companies install battery and solar systems to make remote communities more resilient to future climate disasters, accelerating the shift from coal and gas to clean energy.

Told in the authentic voices of bushfire survivors, Beyond the Burning takes us through the tragedy of the 2019/20 Australian fires and out the other side, towards a vision of a better future.

  • David Franjic
    Director
    Blind Heroes, Saving Kuark, Without a Shadow, Nameless Stranger
  • James Norman
    Writer
  • Greg Foyster
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 42 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 23, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    25,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Transition Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
    February 23, 2021
    online premiere
Director Biography - David Franjic

David Franjic is a Melbourne based Cinematographer and Director that has worked in the Film and Television industry for 20 years.

David’s strength lies in considered, sensitive and purposeful storytelling. He seeks to combine honesty with beauty in an approach aimed at entertaining an audience while also provoking them to think, feel and respond.

David is the 2019 Tropfest Winner for Best Cinematography and is the recipient of five ACS (Australian Cinematographer Society) Awards.

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