For decades I believed I had come from the stars. What I believed to be memories waned in my 30’s, re-surfaced in my early 50’s and came to a necessary halt around the time I turned 56. But it was that first decade when the backyard walks of my childhood fired my imagination so much that Zandor’s adventures across the cosmos lived both in me and the stories I would share with my younger brother and sister. Our mother would have us bed down early — as children we slept in the same room as our parents — and I would recount my outer space memories.

Published on Medium – I AM NOT AN ALIEN

Synchronisation rights and its impact on community filmmaking

Once a year on the northern fringes of Melbourne 60 singers from multilingual, multi-faith and inter-generational backgrounds gather for 10 weeks of rehearsals to perform a single concert. In 2015 I was invited to mentor a youth theatre group with whom we made a film about this unique choir, a choir that only sings songs about Christmas. This Choir Sings Carols is a moving story about a community that came together through song, embracing young and old, new arrivals and those with disabilities. However, when the film was completed we were unable to screen it. Anywhere. This article describes why.

Published on Medium – When Copyright Stymied Christmas

Thanks to Dr Rebecca Giblin, ARC Future Fellow, Law Resources, Monash University and media and entertainment lawyer Shaun Miller for their comments on earlier drafts.

This article and the final edit of This Choir Sings Carols was financed through an Australia Cultural Fund initiative with special thanks for their generous contributions to Pepper Pearce, Mirranda Burton, Kitt Loughman, Carmela Baranowska, Elliott Bledsoe, Robyn Becker, Robert A Garnsey, Jessica Coates, Patricia A Aufderheide, Peter Martin, Kylie Pappalardo, Kimberlee Weatherall, Rebecca K Giblin and the City of Whittlesea.