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Dr Helen Light AM Video Portrait

Rachel Rovay, fine artist, created this art, cultural, and family life homage to her friend Dr Helen Light AM. Helen Light was the inaugural director of the Jewish Museum of Australia. This short documentary video portrait is based on Rovay’s private collection of visual notes that has recently emerged as raw material and as compelling building blocks, that reveals their common connection between the artist and the academic and a sense of place.

  • John Hipwell
    Director
  • Rachel Rovay
    Director
    Dancing the Tree
  • Rachel Rovay
    Writer
  • John Hipwell
    Producer
  • Rachel Rovay
    Key Cast
  • Roza Michiel
    Editor
  • Shenella De Silva
    Re-Recording Mixer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    documentary, friendship, art, portrait, jewish, female, historial, cultural
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - John Hipwell, Rachel Rovay

John Hipwell, founder and CEO of Hipwell International Production Services Pty Ltd, is a versatile and experienced Film Producer / Production Company with credits on Feature Films (21), Documentaries (16), TV and Cinema Commercials (86), Corporate (110), Video Art (25). Trained at the VCA (Swinburne Campus) in Film/TV production, his credits include early iconic feature films, including Alvin Purple (1973), Snap Shot (1979) and Mad Max (1979). He has twelve Producer credits on Australian/International feature films, including Australian/Canadian Arctic Blast (2010) (Co-Executive Producer), the award-winning Is This Real the World (2015) (Producer) and South Korean Road to Boston (2023) (Producer).

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Director Statement

In Marc Chagall’s words: “If I create from the heart, nearly everything works...”.

This Video Portrait honours and celebrates Dr Helen Light AM through artist Rachel Rovay’s collection of personal audio and visual notes gathered over two decades and includes the process of painting Helen’s portrait between 2019 and 2020.

This Rovay Video Portrait is rooted in the history of moving images, from Andy Warhol’s 5-minute-long moving portraits (1960’s) to the travelogue of Claude Friese Green’s The Open Road., 1926.

Rovay’s moving images cherish and relive the best memories of a friendship between the Academic and the Artist, exploring a sense of place and our cultural connections.

Helen Light’s capacity to observe and her ability to relate and interact with others had a significant impact on many people. Rovay’s unique images reveal the beauty in the relationship that became the catalyst for transformation through art. Helen Light, the individual, her humanity, her connection with others and her bond with our environment are far-reaching and inspiring.

John Hipwell
Director