AsiaLIFE

It’s a new slant on film making – but let’s call it the backpack documentary. Words by Danielle Craishe

Loaded with laptops, digital cameras and user friendly editing software, the scope for groundbreaking, undercover work is on the rise. And this is where Cambodia-based filmmakers Good Morning Beautiful are headed – undercover along the full length of the Mekong River working for a US based broadcaster.

From the icebound prairies where the river is born, through tropical jungles and rocky canyons – their forthcoming work will show the transformation of one of the world’s last untamed rivers.  “It’s a historical window,” filmmaker Ben Pederick says. Because so much development is taking place, the Mekong could soon be one of the most dammed waterways in the world.

Good Morning Beautiful is a four-person film company with an emphasis on giving people a platform. “Having local voices, people speaking their own languages, that’s been a feature of our work,” group member Jocelyn Pederick explains. Film graduate Jocelyn came to Cambodia in 2005 to work on a project telling the stories of the indigenous people of Rattanakiri. She was soon joined by her brother Ben, his partner Ali Sanderson, who is a contemporary artist, and their friend Michael Duff. With combined expertise in film, journalism, art and photography they formed their company.

Good Morning Beautiful has since worked extensively with NGOs, mostly making publicity films to help attract donor funding, but is now doing more independent work. The Mekong film is just one of the projects that have had them out of the country for 8 months so far this year. They’ve travelled to 16 countries across five continents in that time, giving people a voice. Some have risked their lives to tell their stories. On the Mekong “people are washing in the river, people are fishing in the river,” Jocelyn says. “And the plans for development will pretty much wipe out the people who depend on the river right now.”

This new style of work often means dangerous story-telling in contentious territory where information isn’t cheaply gathered. That’s especially the case in countries where governments take extreme action against critics. But Ben says rather than criticise, the group wants to “start a conversation” to encourage governments to think about policy and the impact it will have on local people and the environment.

As a film company Good Morning Beautiful is part of a shift which is seeing shorter films made that can be shown on a range of platforms. Many people now get most of their media from the internet and that’s where a lot of the company’s current work sits best. “I think we have a shared desire not to be too corporate in our lives,” Ben says. Using relatively cheap, simple equipment and software the production process is flexible and entirely mobile. “We can pack it all into our backpacks and literally be editing High Definition footage before we get on the plane,” says Michael, the post-production specialist. This is the forefront of modern documentary film-making where expensive time in edit suites has given way to a seat of the pants approach. “We like editing on the road and producing on the road,” says Ali.

Much of the group’s travel this year has been with Alexandra Cousteau – the granddaughter of environmental film luminary Jacques Cousteau – making a series of films for her Blue Legacy project.

On multimedia site www.alexandracousteau.org the films feature with photographs and blogs documenting the critical water issues of the modern world across five continents. The work sits neatly with the social and environmental emphasis that Good Morning Beautiful has already developed. “The dense forests that sent my grandfather rushing off to explore hidden ruins on his first visit here just a half century ago are virtually gone,” Alexandra Cousteau says about Cambodia on the website.

The work came about after she saw a film made by Good Morning Beautiful for the East West Management Institute and USAID. It documents the impact of land clearing at Prey Lang in Northern Cambodia. The area is said to be the largest forest of its kind left in South East Asia, yet it’s under threat from a series of internationally funded mines, plantations and dams.

The group has also begun work this year for National Geographic, collecting regional stories for a world audience. National Geographic is said to be the world’s premier gatherer of natural history, which has pushed Good Morning Beautiful to lift its own production values as well. The group is keen to pass those skills on. The four Australians want to involve more local staff in the business as they grow. They’d like to tackle a full-length feature film at some point, and aim to train Cambodians to manage their NGO film projects.

“As with most expats, we’re passing through so it would be nice to leave some skills here rather than just packing up shop,” explains Michael Duff. They has no imminent plans to leave though. Cambodia is a great place to be based because there are so many great, gritty stories to tell.

“The thing that appeals to me most about film making is the real world side of it,” Ben Pederick says. “And this is better than what I ever dreamed I could do.”

For more information, visit: www.goodmorningbeautifulfilms.com