Hooray for Bowlo's birthday doco at Screen Illawarra showcase

A documentary about Scarborough-Wombarra Bowlo will be one of the highlights at the upcoming Screen Illawarra Showcase.

The showcase, on Saturday, November 14 at Warrawong's Gala Twin Cinemas, is a collection of nine short films created in the region by Screen Illawarra members. Screen Illawarra is a volunteer-run not-for-profit organisation that promotes the Illawarra as a filmmaking destination.

The Bowlo, by Wombarra Bowlo and Thirroul-based video production company GoodChat, documents the history of the club, which this year celebrates its 70th birthday, and brings viewers up to date with its current state of operation as a community-owned club. The film, which premiered at the Bowlo on October 17, features interviews with several long-time Bowlo members.

Catherine Church, managing director of GoodChat, said working on the doco was “pretty special on a personal level”.

“It was a big operation, but it was one of the most delightful, jobs we've had in a very long time, just all that passion and community and discovering untold stories. and because it's my community too.

“I live just behind the Bowlo and I've been a member for 10 years … my husband's on the board and Jamie [Madden, board director and head of marketing at the Bowlo] is one of my best mates."

Catherine making the doco was "very, very special".

The shoot started in June of this year.

“We began in Dark Scarp, that was the first shoot, and then every time there was a big event – choir, birthday or dancing on the green – we’d head down, get a bit of footage and just have a yarn to the locals who were there, just to get a little vox pop or two about what it meant to them. 

“We had to be fairly selective about what we used because there was a lot of repetition, but you don't want to sort of pepper it with too many little vox pops, and the audio was sometimes tricky when there was, you know, 500 party-goers behind us. 

“So a lot of the vox pops didn't make it to the end version, but we might cut those up and use them in different ways for other little promos for the Bowlo.

“Everyone we spoke to, we did the interviews actually all in the one day. 

“I think it was a 12-hour day of just back-to-back chats, but we were well watered with beer, fed with curries and so it wasn't the worst day of work."

That day of filming was challenging, Catherine said.

“It was for two reasons: one, obviously, wanting to make sure everybody was involved because it's a community, and two, most of our talent were over 80 so they really wanted to have a yarn. 

“And it was getting them to stop talking and to stay focussed. But they were also such beautiful humans and cared so deeply about the Bowlo and and had so many incredible stories that I actually wanted to interview another 20 people.

"[The doco] could have been an hour and a half long, but we were given the brief to keep it as brief as we could. 

“So, that’s probably three months of filming, footage and, in vox pops, one big day of interviews. And then a month to really pull it all together. 

“As you can imagine, I think there was about 20 hours of interviews that we had to pull down into 20 minutes, so that's always fun."

Editing all of the footage down to about 23 minutes and 47 seconds proved even more challenging, she said.

“That was the tricky part, really, killing the darlings, because everybody was so excited to be a part of it, and we actually didn't include every interview that we conducted." 

Being a local meant that Catherine felt more pressure on this project than during her usual productions.

“Usually we make a video and it goes out online or it's an event that we're not there at, so we don't get to see the reaction, but I was very nervous just before [the public screening of the doco at the Bowlo] because it was all the people I loved in all my community. And they're in it, so you want them to love it. 

“It was one of the greatest professional moments, I reckon, of my life, sitting with 250 people out under the stars and hearing everyone cheer, whoop, laugh, cry, and to experience that together on the big screen … I was very emotional by the end of it.”

Screen Illawarra’s end-of-year showcase will be held at the Gala Twin Cinemas in Warrawong on Saturday, 14 November from 6-8pm.

Other films include Gaga Wakulda by Nicole Smede, Alfredo by Michael Chrisoulakis, Bomb by Angela Blake and Bus Stop Films, Prefer Not To Say by Shaun Foley, Rad Dad by Gabe McCarthy, the award-winning Ludovic by Screen Illawarra’s Nick Bolton, Enlargement by Sam Moore, and We’re All Black Down Here by Milly James.

The event is a fundraiser for Screen Illawarra with entry by donation (minimum $1) via Humanitix.