WHEN film company Archivist Media set out to capture the region’s food and wine stories earlier this year, little did they know the tales would win so many hearts. Including their own.
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The ten short films, produced for the Bendigo Region Food and Wine Fossicking app, are being shown on the big screen at Melbourne’s Federation Square for the next couple of months.
The almost 30 subjects include the likes of Bendigo Wholefoods, Masons of Bendigo, The Public Inn and Waterwheel Vineyard.
“If I think about the characters we met, Peter Cummings from Waterwheel vineyard comes to mind, he blew us away,” Archivist Media’s Marlene Wolfenden said.
“We spent two hours interviewing him for a three-minute clip, he’s such an interesting fellow.”
Marlene said spending the summer months travelling around the City of Greater Bendigo, Loddon, Central Goldfields and Mount Alexander shires was the dream job.
“It was the most wonderful experience. We got to see parts of Victoria we’d never laid eyes on before, and there are some absolutely lovely places,” she said.
Marlene said Archivist Media was excited to share the stories they gathered with Melbourne.
She said it was the great storylines that impressed Federation Square decision makers, who are airing the films free of charge.
“They liked the way we presented the films, the way they’d been shot, and the great storylines, it’s all about the stories,” she said.
“Like that of Bryce from Bryce’s Bistrot in Talbot. His story will stay with me forever.
“It was a story of sadness and how he came through it. He is a 20-year-old doing things way beyond his years. It’s well worth visiting his restaurant, he does gorgeous food and he is a lovely, lovely person.
“Talbot is a bit off the beaten track but it’s a fantastic place to visit. It’s got lovely old buildings, a fantastic market and the loveliest people.”
Renee DeRobertis of Romantic Vineyard in Talbot said it was amazing to see their tiny town’s stories on the big screen.
She travelled to Melbourne to see the first airing.
“To see ourselves up there was something else,” she said. Every time a new story came on I wanted to go and meet them.
“It’s a great thing for all the businesses, because people really want to hear our stories.”
Lauren Mitchell writes for Bendigo Regional Tourism,