New film captures stories of treasured objects lost and saved in floods

WHEN devastating floods struck the Lismore region in 2022, local filmmaker Karenza Ebejer picked up her camera and started shooting.

She didn’t have a clear plan at the time, but what soon emerged from the stories people shared was the significance of special objects — items they had either lost or managed to save in the wake of the natural disaster.

That became the focus of her new documentary, Things That Matter, which will premiere at this year’s Byron Bay International Film Festival.

Among the objects featured are part of a piano, a photo of a man’s late dog, a grandmother’s cherished button collection, and a World War II sword carried by a grandfather.

 

Ebejer, who lives in Richmond Hill, hopes the 25-minute film will offer space for community reflection and contribute to the healing process.

“I come from an approach of regenerative storytelling, so the stories I like to focus on are ones that encourage a sense of hope in times of tragedy and disruption in people’s lives,” she said.

“This work inspires viewers to consider how collective memory, personal loss and climate disaster can also uncover deeper stories that sustain us.

“In remembering and sharing these stories and witnessing other people’s objects that are of significance we’re also thinking about our own values and things that are significant to us.”

 

It is not the first time that Ebejer, who teaches screen and media at TAFE NSW Byron Bay Connected Learning Centre, has been involved with the festival.

Last year her film Coming Home, which explores memories of the Box Ridge Aboriginal Mission, screened. The year before it was Our Place, Our Species — a documentary about people caring for Country in the Bundjalung region.

Ebejer has also created two films for the ABC iview series Createability, which focuses on artists with disabilities. They include the award-winning Tilly’s Symphony, about a teenage musician living with cerebral palsy and other conditions, and Making Waves, a portrait of a performer from Sprung Dance Theatre.

Things That Matter will screen at Palace Ballina Fair Cinemas at 5pm on Saturday October 25.