DIRECTOR, WRITER & CINEMATOGRAPHY
JUAN FRANCISCO SALAZAR was born in Santiago, Chile, and migrated to Sydney in 1998. He is an interdisciplinary researcher, author and documentary filmmaker whose academic and creative work explore the coupled dynamics of social-ecological change and is underpinned by a collaborative ethos across the arts, science and activism. During the early 2000’s he produced pioneering work on Indigenous media in Latin America including the political documentary De la Tierra a la Pantalla (Chile, 37 minutes, 2004) in collaboration with Mapuche filmmaker and activist Jeannette Paillan. For 30 years he led and collaborated in participatory projects with migrant and refugee youth in Western Sydney; with First Nations practitioners and knowledge keepers in Central Australia, in the Salar de Atacama Chile and in Vanuatu, as well as work with rural organizations in Colombia, and scientists in Antarctica.
His collaborations with arts and culture organizations include, The Australian Museum, The Powerhouse Museum, The Biennale of Sydney, Arts + Cultural Exchange, Proboscis Studio (UK), Live & Learn (Vanuatu), and INACH (Instituto Antártico Chileno). Other films and video installations he has directed include: Anatomia Monumental (Installation, Museum of Fine Arts, Chile 1999 with Ismael Frigerio and Felipe Zavala); 33˚South (Interactive Installation, Casula Powerhouse, 2008 with Sarah Waterson); Nightfall on Gaia (Australia/Chile, 92 minutes, 2015); The Bamboo Bridge (Australia/Cambodia, 65 minutes 2019) and Cosmographies (2024). These works have screened at prestigious venues and festivals including Serpentine Galleries (London 2022); Biennale of Sydney (2022); London International Documentary Film Festival (2021); Vision du Réel (Nyon 2020); CPHDOX (Copenhagen 2015); Antenna Film Festival (Sydney 2015 and 2019); Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (Sydney 2008); Museo de las Américas (Denver 2005); Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Santiago 1999). Juan has collaborated with producer Alejandra Canales since 1998 across numerous projects in Australia and Chile, as well as with performance artist Victoria Hunt since 2004 in two previous films, including Nightfall on Gaia (2015) and with editor Rowena Crowe since 2017 also in two previous films including The Bamboo Bridge (2019).
Juan is currently Professor of Media and Environment Studies at Western Sydney University where he has taught documentary film for close to two decades and where he has developed pioneering research projects in Antarctica and on outer space.
WRITER & PERFORMANCE
VICTORIA HUNT is an Australian-born artist (Kombumerri, Surfers Paradise, QLD) with ancestral affiliations to Te Arawa, Rongowhaakata, Kahungunu Māori, Irish, English, Finnish. She works as a dancer, choreographer, director, dramaturg, photographer and filmmaker.Her work is liminal, transcultural and reinstates the power of Indigenous creativity within the politics of Rematriation – inserting the body into frameworks of power, for future ancestors. Central to this is Mātauranga Maori, Body Weather and Indigiqueer revitalisation within creation practices. Her work is a gradual binding of intimate collaborations between artists, Elders and communities. In 2000 she joined Australia’s leading Body Weather dance company De Quincey Co. and has performed in over 50 productions. Her independent award-winning works, in collaboration with James Brown, Boris Bagattini and others, have toured across six continents to critical acclaim.
EDITOR
ROWENA CROWE is a time-based artist who works within animation, photochemical practices and independent documentary. She is drawn to constructing films amongst independent voices with experimental resolve. Rowena holds a Master of Arts in Documentary Editing (AU) and a Master of Arts in Animation (NL). She is a member of the artist-run film labs the Workshop For Potential Cinema and Artist Film Workshop. Rowena’s experimental films and animations have screened at international film festivals such as International Film Festival Rotterdam, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival and DOK Liepzig. She has undertaken artist and researcher residencies at National Film and Sound Archives, PhotoAccess, Kaus Australis (NL) and the Byron School of Art. She is a PhD candidate, currently undertaking practice-based research focused on embodied analogue film practices at the University of Wollongong.
COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER
JAMES PETER BROWN is a composer and sound designer known for his evocative and diverse music scores. His practice investigates emotive experiences that explore character and aid storytelling. He has worked across a range of forms, from film to theater and contemporary dance to documentary, animation, video games and virtual reality. His processes often involve creating music and sound simultaneously with the development of a project, building connections between performance material and sound. He holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, in which his focus was on composition and sound design for animation. He also holds a Masters of Acoustic Physics from The University of Sydney, for which his thesis was on the impacts of low frequency sound on the body and mind.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
DR ALEJANDRA CANALES is an award-winning documentary filmmaker with an extensive career in directing, producing, curating and programming. She has been an artist in residence at numerous prestigious international programmes and awarded multiple art scholarships and prestigious grants. As a grounded community educator, Alejandra is grateful and honoured to have had the opportunity to design and lead short training courses with First Nations communities in Australia, remote communities in Chile, and refugee background youth in Western Sydney, Australia. She has been mentoring in programs such as Leading Lights for the Australian International Documentary Conference, MentorHer for Women in Film and Television (WIFT) and Curious Women for Curious Works. Alejandra is the Head of Research at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, AFTRS.Her documentary work as both director and producer has been broadcast on ABC and screened at several festivals worldwide, including IDFA, Sheffield DocFest, CPHDOX, Cinema del Donne, Vision du Reel, The International Documentary Association in Los Angeles; Melbourne and Sydney Film Festival.
LOCATION SOUND & SCRIPT ADVISOR
MOE CLARK âpihtawikosisâniskwêw (Métis/ mixed-settler) multidisciplinary artist Moe Clark is a 2Spirit singing thunderbird. She works across disciplines of vocal improvisation, sound design, land-based oskapêwis (Elder) support, and performance creation, to create work that centres embodied knowledge, 2Spirit Indigenous resurgence, and creative kinship. Originally from Treaty 7 in Turtle Island (Calgary, AB, Canada), Moe has resided in Tio’tiá:ke/ Mooniyang/ Montréal for more than a decade. As a composer, Moe’s music and voice have appeared in documentaries, films, theatre and dance performances alike. Her last solo album “Within” toured across North America and her collaborative video poem “nitahkôtân” won best Indigenous language music video at the ImagiNative film festival. www.moeclark.ca
VOCAL ARTIST & CULTURAL ADVISOR
ROSIE TE RAUAWHEA BELVIE is a talented musician and rising star in the music industry. With her unique blend of RnB, Soul, Pop, Hip hop, and Jazz, Rosie captivates audiences with her powerful vocals and heartfelt lyrics. Influenced by legends such as Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Celine Dion, Rosie’s music is a testament to her exceptional talent and passion for the craft. Rosie has a long list of accomplishments under her belt, including international performances in the arts and serving as an International Rehearsal Director and Cultural Performance Ambassador. Rosie is also an exceptional stage performer. She takes the stage at local and national events, captivating audiences with her magnetic presence and undeniable talent.