The work of the Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters is the subject of a new documentary in the making, Unstoppable Change.
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The film features Wentworth Falls' Mary Waterford, a long-term resident and human rights activist, who will lead the audience into the heart of Timor-Leste.
Waterford has a deep commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community with whom she works. She will show how her long term connections in Timor-Leste grow from genuine and mutual engagement with human rights issues here as she works alongside her Timorese friends, advocating for change.
Many important community activities have been coordinated by Waterford, her partner Jude Finch and their colleagues over many years. The Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters have been steadfastly focused on the social cohesion and development of Timor-Leste and the many strong friendships and connections to the Blue Mountains that have resulted.
The film is in pre-production and the team will travel to Timor-Leste in June-July to interview participants and film at Dili Pride March, working in respectful consultation with Arcoiris, a Dili-based NGO.
The project recently received generous funding from Bendigo Bank, which will be used to employ technical assistance and translation services in Timor-Leste and to translate the film into Tetun and English.
Peter Carroll, chair of Bendigo Bank sponsorship committee, said the bank "appreciated the significance of a film documenting this great story of community and social justice and movement for change through positive story telling".
Unstoppable Change examines the ways in which the personal connections between local people inspire and galvanise others to demand change.
Blackheath award-winning filmmaker, Rani Brown at Frogmouth Films, who is filming and editing the documentary, acknowledged the way in which Bendigo Bank have generously shown their support of grass roots community groups and their commitment to strengthening positive stories of social change.
With their support, the film will be accessible to a wider range of people and will help amplify positive stories of LGBTQIA+ people in Timor-Leste.
