| DVD
ONE: South West Tasmania
FOR
ITS OWN SAKE
(22 min)
Gary Caganoff's first film, made in 1992 filled a much needed niche in
environmental education. Ahead of its time it still remains relevant 15
years on.
With
an eloquent interview of Senator Bob Brown of the Australian Greens and
Gary's own poetic narrative structure FOR ITS OWN SAKE takes the viewer
on a journey through the rugged and spectacular South West Tasmanian World
Heritage Area. The film challenges the viewer to see the environment and
society in a new way.
FOR
ITS OWN SAKE poses questions about our dominant social value system. 'If
the attitudes we have now are hurting the planet, shouldn't we look at
changing our value system?'
The
second film on the first DVD is THE SECOND STEP
(26min). This film was shot almost ten years later in the same area as
For Its Own Sake. Seeing the two films play one after the other is interesting
in many respects. They both compliment each other perfectly
DVD
TWO: North West Tasmania
TARKINER
PANER
was made for the Tasmanian Wilderness Society in 1993 to accompany the
written proposal to list the Tarkine wilderness as World Heritage. The
22 minute film highlights the Tarkine's incredible ecological values and
takes a look at it's indigenous history in regards to the Tarkiners who
inhabited the area for more than 500 generations before they were 'rounded
up' by the colonial governments of the time. This film sold over 200 copies
in its first two weeks upon release in late 1993. The film helped boost
the profile of the remote and largely unknown area - making it the hottest
environmental topic in the country.
Two
years later the Tarkine became Australia's biggest environmental battle
of its time. Environmentalists spent two years trying to stop the government
bulldozing a road through the heart of the 350,000 hectare wilderness.
The film MANIFESTATIONS is a tribute to the
thousands of people who spent their time trying to stop the road, especially
the young full time activists who became known through the media as the
'Tarkine Tigers'.
Most
of the footage was shot by the protesters themselves. Along with some
of his own footage Gary has edited this to a 25 minute commemoration/celebration.
Set to Beethoven's 9th the film is a vox pop of images of the Tarkine
experience. Like few other films MANIFESTATIONS captures the underlying
spirit of environmental activism.
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