Heidi Douglas: Gagged by Gunns
BACKLASH is the story of how logging company Gunns Ltd ran roughshod over the Tasmanian community and the backlash that brought the company to its knees.
This feature length documentary has been shot over ten years and is currently in post-production at Dark Lake Productions.
The film has been registered for tax-deductible donations by the Documentary Australia.
We have a team of 8 volunteers interns working on the film as Editing Assistants, Legal Researchers, an Education Writer and a Graphic Designer.
We are now currently seeking a small amount of donations to help us continue the post-production of this film.
We only need $2650 to keep to our production plan of having a rough-cut of the film complete by February.
Director Heidi Douglas is working full time unpaid on BACKLASH, and has donated her edit suite for the use of this film, foregoing her income from her business Dark Lake Productions in order to complete BACKLASH.
To make a tax deductible donation to BACKLASH
Go to:
http://www.documentaryaustralia.com.au/signup/grantmaker
Sign up to Documentary Australia Foundation by creating an account OR if you have previously signed up as a Grantmaker then log in Fill in an application form to make a donation, choosing BACKLASH as your preferred project. DAF will email you the banking details.
Once your donation is received DAF will send you a receipt. Credit card donations are currently not accepted by DAF. Donations can be made by EFT or by cheque.
Approvals are made within 24 hours.
A BACKLASH facebook site is now live and active with regular updates about the film’s progress:
https://www.facebook.com/backlashdocumentary
BACKLASH director Heidi Lee Douglas is an internationally award-winning director with a background in documentary storytelling.
Heidi’s films have been shown in film festivals in Japan, Wales, New Zealand, and across the USA.
Heidi’s mantra is facing the dark to find the light.
Her storytelling has often delved into the grim side of life – from land rights issues, to environmental battles, and the scars of war on communities and refugees.
She believes films can be story medicine for our modern world.
Contact Heidi at:
ph 0401 092 570 www.darklakeproductions.com.au
BACKLASH synopsis
The southern island state of Tasmania is renowned for its wilderness experiences and the gourmet food and wine it exports around the world.
But the flip-side to the island’s clean green image is a long running battle between conservationists and the logging industry.
Disgruntled locals think that Gunns Ltd, the biggest logging company in the southern hemisphere, has free reign to log the islands’ old growth forests despite community opposition.
Documentary filmmaker Heidi Douglas went to the island to make a film about the conflict but finds herself being sued by Gunns in a landmark lawsuit that sends fear throughout the island.
Within days of launching the court case Gunns announces plans to build a controversial pulp mill in the heart of Tasmania’s boutique food and wine production area.
Over the next eight years Gunns finds itself the victim of its own hubris as a massive community backlash destroys the company once and for all.
Told through the eyes of filmmaker Heidi Douglas as she unravels a moral tale for our time about the unchecked powers of the corporation.
