By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A former cop, with an eye for social issues, is setting his camera sights on the bullying scourge.
Damien Howard has released a ‘shock’ ad on family violence, having seen more than his share during his time as a Casey police officer.
Over 30 seconds, it pans from a bruised woman in a hospital bed to her mother and her daughter downcast by her bedside. Then there’s her husband seated in a police interview with photos of the physical damage he’d inflicted.
“Who have you hurt today?” the ad asks. It speaks of domestic violence’s broad impact on not just the survivor but her children, family and friends.
One in four children experience family violence and then copy the parents’ tortured dynamics. They are three times more likely to be perpetrators or victims as adults.
Countless times, Mr Howard has sat on the other side of the desk in a police interview room. He was able to capture an authentic tone and detail to the scene.
He achieved “phenomenal” production values – including the convincing work of a bruise make-up artist – despite shooting on a shoestring $800 budget.
Mr Howard said he wanted to tackle a shocking national toll, in which a woman is killed every week at the hands of her partner or former partner.
He said no other issue took up so much police time.
The ad has since been submitted to film festivals, and is viewable online.
Next project is a short film on a 17-year-old too afraid to come out of her bedroom because of school bullying.
“It’s a topical issue both in schools and in the workplace,” Mr Howard says.
“The bullies in the workplace were probably bullies in high school.”
Having resigned from Victoria Police two years ago, Mr Howard proudly received a Police Service Medal for 10 years on the force. Now he is dedicated to being a film-maker.
Recently, he has worked as a runner and location manager on Neighbours and films shot in Melbourne.
However the schedule of film works at Docklands Studios is quiet at the moment, he says. He is now casting an eye to moving to Canada’s busy film scene, perhaps as soon as next year.
To view Mr Howard’s family violence ad, go to vimeo.com/218320118
