My Proudest Moment, 5min., Australia
Directed by Imbi Männik
This independent micro-short documentary captures interviews with two trailblazers changing the narrative discourse in the area of disability in Australia, Tim Cahalan and Joanne Hatchard, through the sharing of their ‘proudest moment’.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
It first arose when I saw Tim Cahalan’s inspiring social media post “still one of my proudest moments” referencing his 2019 visit to Parliament House, Canberra Australia to raise awareness of being a victim to the Government’s robodebt scheme – Tim expands on this in the film and I’m so grateful & humbled that he, as well as other interviewee Joanne Hatchard, said yes and trusted me to share their stories. Joanne is an absolute powerhouse– I wanted to interview her from the moment I saw her present at an online conference about autistic females - her positive energy and laugh is infectious - you can feel it through the screen.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Being a micro-film it was a relatively quick turnaround. Thanks to the editors William & Dale, being timely and dedicated, we finished within a couple of weeks after shooting. Pre-planning, storyboarding & location scouting was several hours, shooting half a day, followed by over 8 hours editing. The portrait artist Ralph (who also happens to be my dad) drew Tim & Joanne in the film within a couple of hours of meeting them – so we were able to film the artist drawing them on same day shooting the interviews – a tight shooting schedule but we got it all done within half a day.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Authentically joyful.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Getting the editing ‘knives out’ and cutting back the film footage to under 5 minutes – both interviewees shared amazing insights and stories and there were so many gold nuggets…it was so hard to choose which parts to cut!

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was absolutely floored by the positivity and beautiful film critiquing of the audience– thank you to those 3 audience members who went to the effort to record your insightful comments. What a cool experience it was to have an indie microfilm made in little old Adelaide South Australia be viewed & critiqued by an audience at a Festival in the US/Canada!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Over 8 years ago when I first made a little film on my mobile phone for a local film festival.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Jim Henson’s ‘The Labryrinth’ (with David Bowie & Jennifer Connelly) – a children’s classic!

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
If there’s any way to further assist with mentoring, education, support and funding for emerging indie filmmakers.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
I’ve learned so much from using FilmFreeway for the first time over the course of this year – it’s a great platform for becoming acquainted with film festivals not only locally but around the world, networking and getting your work seen out there – including finding festivals that will support & spotlight emerging indie filmmakers (particularly if your film has an extremely low budget!).

10. What is your favorite meal?
I love the fresh local seafood in South Australia – anything with prawns or lobster in it!

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Hopefully this time next year I’ve made another documentary, interviewed a few more trailblazers; shining a light on inclusivity, disABILITY, resilience and overcoming adversity (already have some ideas brewing!).