Duration: 6 x 22 Minutes Format: Documentary Genre: History, Biographic and Cultural Producer: Kris Kerehona Introduction: In the Field: Re-tracing a Soldier is a 6 part documentary series based on the non-fiction book titled Born for War. An intimate portrait about an ex-soldier Brent Kerehona and his ancestors始 stories in war; from the Musket Wars, the New Zealand Land Wars, World War I and II, Vietnam and more. The series will chronicle the wartime experiences of Australian and New Zealander soldiers, from the perspective of their descendant, Brent Kerehona. In the Field: Re-tracing a Soldier is an informative, historic and cultural story which will take you to the battles to explore the psychology and tactics of the men from whom Brent Kerehona is descended. The series will inspire and educate audiences to undertake their own quests of discovery; how they can trace their ancestors' journeys, discover the places they saw and what they experienced.
Episode 1:
A Legacy is Born / Moremonui Massacre
Episode 2:
Moka, Muskets and Mayhem / Treaty - Peace or Profit?
Episode 3:
New Zealand - A New Life / Biddle, Bravery and Bullocks
Episode 4:
Of Hills and Ridges / Werohia's at War / Biddles in Battle
Episode 5:
Mortars, Monsoons and those Bloody Aussies! / Continuing the Tradition
Episode 6:
Retracing their Steps / Reflections
Video Example We have produced three short videos to introduce the character of Brent Kerehona as the central character and his journey of discovering his Maori cultural heritage. Title: Moko – an intimate portrait about re-connection to family Title: Promo video about the book Born for War Title: Mr Karate (an early video snippet about Brentʼs father James Kerehona; a soldier in the Vietnam War) Electronic versions are available at the following website; http://www.tribalfilms.com.au/ - 988782/Re-tracing-a-Soldier Business and commercial outcomes In the Field: Re-tracing a Soldier has scope for commercial and business focused outcomes; 1. The copyright and ownership of the film property remains fully within the ACT to Producer Kris Kerehona who is based in the ACT. 2. Re-enactments will be filmed using locations in the ACT region; employing local film industry professionals. 3. We also intend to commission further research and scriptwriting by an ACT screenwriter. 4. For post-production services, we will be using a leading ACT post-production facility. 5. Opportunity for co-production between ACT and New Zealand businesses. Attr acting additi onal in vest ment In the Field: Re-tracing a Soldier has scope in attracting additional investment in the following areas; 1. The film project should be most suitable for coinciding with 100 – year commemorations of ANZAC day, consequently, television broadcasters both in Australia and New Zealand will be looking for unique, new and relevant content. To this end, opportunities for this project could attract additional investment from Australia and New Zealand public and private benefactors, government agencies and cultural institutions. Good value for money An initial investment of $5,000 from ScreenACT represents good value for money in the following ways; 1. Investment funds will be seeding the scriptwriting component of a substantial documentary project – the source of the information of which is an adaptation of the book containing 12 chapters. Once a quality first draft script is produced, we envisage an increased level of quality to the story as a professional product and an opportunity to leverage the story to attract an ACT-based executive producer.
The economic benefit that this project benefits the ACT We believe that producing a six-part documentary series will stimulate the local film production industry by; 1. Engaging local independent screen and media practitioners 2. Engaging local production companies 3. Funding and investment from outside the ACT will be spent in the ACT whilst developing the project in the ACT Originality and strength is demonstrated in the following ways; 1. The premise of the documentary features a man on a journey to discover his ancestral roots; where he came from and their experiences on the front lines of battle. But what Brent Kerehona discovers is a continuum of the warrior theme; from the colonial days to today, all ancestors were warriors and soldiers and all share heroic and tragic experiences of war. 2. The scope of the project is original in the sense that this is a true story from the perspective of one manʼs own bi-cultural family, throughout modern history. 3. A characteristic weʼd like to introduce to the narrative is how an audience viewer can learn the tools and skills to research their own family history- to discover their familyʼs unique history. 4. We acknowledge the project contains similar themes to the forthcoming television series Following in their Footsteps produced by Shine Australia – this also indicates that the concept is very strong and relevant with the current trends in what broadcasters are looking in projects to develop. How we intend to spend the funding We seek a ScreenACT grant to amount of $5,000. Our production plan will incorporate this funding directly into developing the first draft script, which will be an adaptation from the book Born for War. As with any quality film, the story and script is the most important component, consequently, we need to produce the best script we can in order to increase the projectʼs opportunity in obtaining interest from an ACT production company and an ACT based executive producer.
Brent Kerehona, writer, developer and producer.
Finance Plan Stage One Due to such an early stage of development, we are only seeking a funding grant to adapt the book into a working script. From this script we can ascertain ways we can reduce production costs. Stage Two From a working script we will develop an episode and scene breakdown, consequently, we will ascertain accurate costs associated with production. We can determine in each episode from the breakdown ways to reduce our expenses. Stage Three Devise a working budget that incorporates the production costs for the entire six episodes Stage Four Prepare working documents and treatment to present to an Executive Producer Stage Five Develop in consultation with the Executive Producer grant applications and investment strategies Statement of Copyright In the field; re-tracing a Soldier is an original concept by Kris Kerehona and Brent Kerehona. The book Born for War is copyright of Brent Kerehona. An agreement between Kris Kerehona and Brent Kerehona over rights to the book Born for War shall pass from Brent Kerehona to Kris Kerehona in the event Brent Kerehona passes away. An agreement is made between Kris Kerehona and Brent Kerehona that the property of the documentary known as In the Field: Re-tracing a Soldier is directly based on the book Born for War and that both Kris Kerehona and Brent Kerehona are both producers of the documentary, under the name Tribal Films. Tribal Films is a filmmaking entity in name only, not currently registered as a trading business; but is beneficial for the purposes of the documentary.
Contact: Kris Kerehona Address: 20 Burkitt St Page, ACT 2614 Telephone: 0411 675 306 Email: info@tribalfilms.com.au Website: www.tribalfilms.com.au