Little Town Big Voices

Streaming video - 2016

Domestic abuse is a dark shadow that lives in the heart of Australian society, affecting individuals, families and neighbourhoods. In regional, rural and remote Australia, whole communities can be affected. In this powerful short film, this often hidden subject is brought to light by people willing to speak out about abuse to help create social change. With the help of the NSW Police Force, one little town in the far west of NSW is using the voices of its community members as the weapon with which to battle domestic violence and create lasting change for future generations...Narrating this documentary is Peter Garrett, formerly lead singer of the legendary band Midnight Oil, politician, and now author. Peter stresses his great concern about... the domestic violence epidemic we have in regional, rural and remote Australia. Through Peter’s narration and the stories of the people from these towns, the film expresses sadness, anger, fear and ultimately hope...The writer-director, Fran Dobbie, is the daughter of a Yuin woman from the south coast of NSW, and an English-born father. She is a teacher, author and motivational speaker and mother. As creator and former CEO of Essere Living Skills, a charitable organisation, she led a team that delivered resilience building and self-esteem workshops for young people. She is the producer of two series about the personal development of young people – ON THE EDGE (2010) and OVER THE EDGE (2015). Both series are available from Ronin Films. In 2015 she completed a documentary about teenage alcoholism, MEN DON’T CRY (also from Ronin). more