Abstract

This short documentary film will be premiered in this session followed by a panel discussion with the makers (Robyn Francis, Juan Francisco Salazar and Katherine Gibson). It features one of the oldest permaculture gardens in Australia, highlighting how community economic and ecological relations have built it.

Nature Calls the Shots is a 37-minute observational documentary film produced and directed by Juan Francisco Salazar that offers a glimpse into the life and work of pioneer permaculture designer and educator Robyn Francis, and the story of Djanbung Gardens in the community of Nimbin, northern New South Wales, Australia. Documenting a unique microcosm of an exceptional permaculture community on Australia’s north- east coast, Nature Calls the Shots presents Robyn Francis’ herstory as an activist for environmental regeneration and novel community economies, who transformed a small piece of land from a degraded cow pasture in the 1990’s into to permaculture paradise. This local yet universal story of hope shows that positive change is possible where regenerative and holistic farming and agricultural practices and bioregional design can lead to planetary health, just livelihoods and empowered local rural communities. The film was produced following best practices in sustainable filmmaking and green screens protocols. The film’s director Juan Francisco Salazar spent two weeks sleeping in a small tent during the rainy season, while undertaking the Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at Djanbung Gardens, Permaculture College Australia, in March 2021. The film was co-produced by the team behind the film The Bamboo Bridge (2019), a collaboration with economic feminist geographer Katherine Gibson and artist and editor Rowena Crowe who edited the film in Wollongong, south of Sydney, during a four-month Covid-19 lockdown in 2021. The film was partially funded by the production team with support from the SISTER-Hub initiative at the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University.