By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A BERWICK Show documentary, which was three years in the making, has finally been released for the community this week.
The half-hour documentary goes behind the scenes of one of the oldest shows in Victoria, collating footage from the 2012 and 2013 Berwick Shows ahead of this year’s event, to be held this weekend at the famous Akoonah Park.
Filmmaker Matt Wheeldon of Hook Turn Films was born and bred in Berwick and always wanted to put together a film chronicling the history of his favourite show.
Matt said the Berwick Show documentary was made with the help of his 20-year-old nephew Sam, who is also an aspiring director.
He said it was put together free of charge and had been one of his most rewarding projects.
“It’s a love project,” Matt, 47, said.
“It’s equally as rewarding as anything else because of the passion of the people involved.”
Matt and Sam made the film using a small consumer stills camera which Matt admitted was a bit “rough around the edges”, but allowed the pair to access a lot of people for the documentary.
And while he hadn’t intended to spend three years on the film, Matt said it soon became apparent it would be a long-term project.
“There was just so much happening at the show, and it was impossible to film it all in two days,” he said.
“So I came back for a second year.”
With the 2015 Berwick Show scheduled for this weekend, Matt said now was as good a time as any for people to reflect on the long running event.
“The film is online for everyone to enjoy, Berwick is one of the oldest community shows in Victoria,” he said.
“We appreciate the idea that it’s a throwback to a bygone area, it’s a 1950s sensibility for people.
“One of the biggest challenges now is a succession plan, how do they keep getting young people involved?”
To check out the Berwick Show documentary via the News Facebook page, visit www.facebook.com/CranbourneBerwickNews.
For more information on the Berwick Show, visit www.berwickshow.org.au.
