Don’t You Dare Despair

Film is the perfect medium to inspire and provoke direct action, says the Environmental Film Festival Australia's Director, Brooke Daly.

‘Enviro-curious’ is the word Brooke Daly uses to describe herself a couple of years ago when she responded to an ad for co-director of the Environmental Film Festival Australia (EFFA). After more than ten years working in high level communications in bureaucratic film organisations like AACTA and Film Victoria, Daly was ready for some direct action. Not that she says it like that because she’s far too diplomatic.

”I’d started to think more about the environment and to see that film was the perfect way for people to understand what’s going on and to be empowered to act,’ she says over a vegetarian lunch in Melbourne where she’s telling me about her first year in the sole director’s role, taking over from long-time leader Chris Gerbing.

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Rochelle Siemienowicz is the ArtsHub Group's Education and Career Editor. She was previously a journalist for Screenhub and is a writer, film critic and cultural commentator with a PhD in Australian cinema. She was the co-host of Australia's longest-running film podcast 'Hell is for Hyphenates' and has written a memoir, Fallen, published by Affirm Press. Her second book, Double Happiness, a novel, will be published by Midnight Sun in 2024. Instagram: @Rochelle_Rochelle Twitter: @Milan2Pinsk