TheBush to BellyDocumentary project

Opportunity for partnerships displaying corporate social responsibility

REDgum Communications is offering businesses and government the opportunity to align with a high-profile enablement program for indigenous youth. Bush to Belly is a practical frameworkcreating demonstrable positive outcomes in education, engagement and financial independence.

In the lives of indigenous people in Northern Australia, identified critical issues include health, education, employment and overall wellbeing. In order to address these areas in and around the concept of ‘closing the gap’, it’s important to share success stories. And Bush to Belly is a ripper.

Corporate partners will benefit from being associated with an informative, world-class television production that will highlight the Bush to Belly educational model and its impact on the remote Yiyili community. The film will capture the success of the sustainable Bush to Belly business model and the highs and lows of mobile café life; bulldust, bikes, coffee and culture. It’s a story of engagement through laughter and lattes, and empowering one of the remotest communities on earth.

The Bush to Belly documentary –SynopsisA fancy Italian espresso machine lands in a remote community in the Australian outback. Indigenous students learn how to make ‘city-style’ coffees for tourists. They put the machine in a four-wheel drive and make lattes and macchiatos for the bike riders on a week-long race on the Gibb River Road. They learn to communicate with the formerly intimidating whitefellas. They learn how to run a sustainable business. And now they make the ‘deadliest’ coffee for hundreds of kilometres.

‘…bulldust, bikes and rich cultural exchange, as a group of indigenous kids shape their destinies…’

In May 2014, REDgum Communications will film a documentary to be screened on national television, that captures the life-affirming adventure of ‘Bush to Belly’ on the Gibb River Road in Western Australia’s incredible Kimberley. In and around the remote Yiyili community, then over a week in the dust and mud, we get to know a shy but enthusiastic group of skillful indigenous kids. They’re budding barista entrepreneurs crafting lattes, macchiatos and espressos for ‘Gibbsters’- lycra-clad cyclists tackling the 700+km Gibb Challenge on the famous outback ‘highway’. The young baristas learn how the bikers like their crafted caffeine, how to entertain and relate to them, and ultimately; how they can shape their own destinies.

View a brief video that outlines the Bush to Belly Documentary project here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm0mzv-JurA

The Bush to Belly documentary –Background: Yiyili and YACS

The Yiyili community is 170 kms south east of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Yiyili Aboriginal Community School (YACS) was established as an alternative to the hostel located in Halls Creek. It’s one of several Aboriginal Independent Community Schools in Western Australia, and is governed by a board comprising the principal and elected community members. The school operates a bus to transport children from 6 out-station communities in the area.

The Bush to Belly documentary –About Bush to BellyBush to Belly began with Yiyili students learning how to source and prepare a wide range of foods, using both blackfella and whitefella methods. Hospitality teacher at Hamilton District Skills Centre in Victoria, Anthony ‘Gilly’ MacGillivray, trains Yiyili students in nutrition, food preparation and barista skills. Equipped with their new knowledge and confidence, students set up a successful café for tourists, which they named Bush to Belly.

Yiyili school students engage with busloads of tourists during the dry season, who stop to browse local art at the Laari Gallery. The Bush to Belly kids then go mobile - transporting their espresso machine along the Kimberley’s ‘super highway’, making the best coffee for hundreds of kilometres in any direction for caffeine-loving cyclists on a great adventure. It’s one of the gnarliest mountain bike rides on the planet - the 700+km Gibb Challenge - and in May 2014, we’ll be there to film two cultures working together for the enrichment of each other.

Word of the young baristas making ‘city coffee’ spread through tour companies, and Bush to Belly has become a regular stop-off that enriches the experiences of tourists and the students alike. The Yiyili youngsters develop workplace skills – including food and coffee preparation, service skills and small business operation – in a supportive environment. They build confidence andself-esteem and engage with people from around Australia and the world.

The Bush to Belly documentary –OutcomesProducing an engaging, entertaining and ultimately joyous documentary for television will enable Bush to Belly’s remarkable achievements in student engagement and empowerment to reacha wide audience, showcasing the value of a collaborative, experiential approach to indigenous education. This will help Bush to Belly to continue to grow at Yiyili and into other communities, changing lives and cross-cultural understanding for the better. Having the Bush to Belly documentary screened on national television will bring exposure to a positive model of social and financially responsible development.

It will also bring joy to people who love a good yarn, amazing scenery and inspiring characters!

We are happy to have Genovese and KeepCup supporting our project providing rewards for our wonderful Pozible.com/bushtobellydoco donors!

Reasons to make the Bush to Belly documentaryApart from the fun and characters that this story will bring to the screen, there are some sobering reasons we think enabling projects like this one are important. Indigenous Australians continue to experience devastating affects of colonisation:

• Life expectancy is 17 years less than that of non-indigenous Australians

• Unemployment rate is three times higher

• Indigenous students are half as likely to complete high school.

• The infant mortality rate is triple than that of non-indigenous Australians and

• Indigenous Australians have significantly higher rates of mental health problems, chronic diseases and disabilities.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live on their traditional country. Forced migration into urban areas has proved to be detrimental to health, education and cultural identity. It’s important for grassroots projects to provide sustainable educational and employment opportunities that enable communities to have the same choices that most of the population takes for granted about where to live and how to support themselves independently.

The Bush to Belly documentary –About The Gibb ChallengeThe annual Gibb Challenge is a mountain bike relay along 700+ kilometres of the unforgiving Gibb River Road through the Kimberley. Participants ride in teams, taking turns to each ride a stretch of the rough road. The principal aim of the event is to raise community awareness and money for charity. In 2013 the Gibb Challenge raised over $310,000 for The Royal Flying Doctor Service. Riders embark on this grueling journey at the port town of Derby, heading up through the guts of The Kimberley and finishing at the world acclaimed El Questro Wilderness Park.

The Bush to Belly documentary –Corporate social responsibility partnershipsREDgum Communications is offering businesses the opportunity to align with a high-profile enablement program for indigenous youth. It’s essentially a visual story based on a positive case study.

The first collaboration has been established with Swinburne University of Technology (SUT) - which is active in indigenous programs in Australia’s north - to support the development of visual, digital and communications technology.

A crowdfunding page established at Pozible.com/bushtobellydoco, was successful in raising$15,000, and building a strong network of social media advocates and supporters for the project.

There are four Corporate Social Responsibility partnerships available:

1 Primary Bush to Belly documentary partner

2 Bush to Belly documentary supporting partner

3 Bush to Belly documentary supporting partner

4 Bush to Belly documentary supporting partner

Please direct all enquiries to James Freemantle:

james@redgumcommunications.com

0411 592 299

03 9690 0102

Studio 303/87 Gladstone Street

South Melbourne VIC 3205

The Bush to Belly documentary –Benefits for Primary corporate partnerThe Bush to Belly documentary Primary Partner will receive the most prominent logo and acknowledgements in the documentary credits, Bush to Belly doco Facebook page and REDgum Communications website.

The Primary Partner will be mentioned prominently in public and media interviews, speeches and articles.

The Primary Partner will have access to the filmmaker free of charge (other than travel and accommodation) for up to 6 speaking engagements in the 12 months after the release of Bush to Belly.

The Primary Partner will have the opportunity to promote their support of Bush to Belly to clients, potential clients, the media and broader community.

The Bush to Belly documentary –Benefits for Supporting corporate partnersThe Bush to Belly documentary Supporting Partners will be acknowledged with their names and logos in the documentary credits, Bush to Belly doco Facebook page and REDgum Communications website.

The Supporting Partners will be mentioned in public and media interviews, speeches and articles.

The Supporting Partners will each have access to the filmmaker free of charge (other than traveland accommodation) for up to 2 speaking engagements in the 12 months after the release of Bush to Belly.

The Supporting Partners will have the opportunity to promote their support of Bush to Belly to clients, potential clients, the media and broader community.

The Bush to Belly documentary –How the funds will be usedThe Bush to Belly documentary will be a professionally produced, broadcast-quality film made for television and the costs include:

• Writing

• Multi-camera filming on-location in Victoria and Western Australia

• Script editing

• Video editing

• Audio and visual equipment

• Still photography

• Musical score

• Production management and administration

• Audio post-production

• Production launch

• Distribution

• Incendiaries: travel and accommodation

The Bush to Belly documentary is being produced on a frugal budget with high expectations of quality. Crew are working at a reduction to commercial rates.

Risk and challengesWith any outdoor filming project, we’re at the mercy of the elements, which brings some risk. Our distance from Yiyili presents communications and logistical challenges, however all communications, permissions, arrangements and plans have so far progressed smoothly, and we are tremendously motivated to make this production entertaining, insightful and useful. There’s a risk the film mightnot be screened widely. With a meticulous plan and sophisticated shoot, edit, score, promotion and distribution strategy, we are maximising the chances of securing broadcast on national and international screens.

The Bush to Belly documentary production companyREDgum Communications was founded by James Freemantle in 2008. Based in Moscow during 2007/08 James was an international anchor for 24-hour TV News channel Russia Today,broadcasting globally. REDgum is a charity partner of Ladder (Tackling youth homelessness), and the Entrust Foundation. REDgum’s Entrust documentary – Wise Philanthropy in the Developing World – which James filmed, wrote and produced in Cambodia and Thailand, was screened on pay TV multiple times in 2013.

The Team

Anthony ‘Gilly’ MacGillivray

A successful restaurateur for 35 years, Gilly is an inducted member of the Southern Grampians Business Hall of Fame. He now passes on his extensive knowledge of hospitality to students at the Hamilton District Skills Centre, and the Yiyili school in Western Australia, and has a deep commitment to indigenous culture and people.

James Freemantle

James is known for his exuberant TV work circa 1998 – 2007 when he wrote, produced and presented over 300 stories for Australian television. In 2005 James was the writer and producer of the Coxy’s Big Break Marine Parks Special which was awarded a Victorian Coastal Award for Excellence in Media.

His short film Invincible Summer was runner up Best Documentary in the Hope Awards 2006, and in 2007 Farmarama was shortlisted in Tropfest.

Nell Reidy

Nell completed her undergraduate degree at Monash in Anthropology - Australian Indigenous Studies. In 2010 she was a volunteer assistant to artists at Warlukulangu Arts Centre in Yuendumu, NT. The following year she was a mentor with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), which seeks to provide Indigenous students with the skills, confidence and opportunities to complete school at the same rate asnon-indigenous students.

Vicki Macdermid

Associate producer Vicki Macdermid is a Partner and Executive Director with business advisory firm Pitcher Partners. With a keen interest in social enterprise and sustainable business models, Vicki will complete her Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation this year, and has presented at many forums on topics as diverse as Women in Leadership and Horses for Healing.

Peter Reidy

With 3 decades’ experience as a TV camera operator, in every genre from news and current affairs to magazine, live variety and documentary, Peter knows what it takes to compose a great image and get the best from on-camera talent.

He’s filmed world leaders, models, sportspeople, criminals and actors and been at the coal face of breaking news; capturing the drama of such events as the Beaconsfield mine rescue and finding the beauty in every shot.

Luke McDade

Luke’s a creative, conscientious and talented editor with great technical knowledge and extensive experience in commercial and dramatic multimedia production.

From the catwalks of Fashion Week, to the mountains of Garriwerd, Luke provides a complete production resource as camera operator, assistant and editor.

Justin Brady

Justin Brady is well known to Australian music as the electrifying multi-instrumentalist for ARIA Award winning band, Things of Stone and Wood, and winner of Golden Harmonica award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Justin has toured Australia, Europe, theUK and Canada and performed in the US with blues legend Guitar Shorty. Justin will guide the creation of an evocative original soundtrack for Bush to Belly.

Justin’s original track Chickenchase is the soundtrack for the Bush to Belly promotional video.

Please direct all enquiries to James Freemantle:

james@redgumcommunications.com

0411 592 299

03 9690 0102

Studio 303/87 Gladstone Street

South Melbourne VIC 3205