Wanna hug? Meet Francis Firebrace!

Francis is one of Australia's most original indigenous storytellers and an Aboriginal Elder. Ever met one of those? You’re about to.

 

A prolific hugger, entertainer and passionate humanitarian, Francis is on a mission to share the ancient wisdom of his people, told through the Dreamtime Stories. If you’ve never heard of these stories, this is your chance.

 

Open, exuberant and funny, Francis touches the lives of everyone he meets and has spent the last 25 years of his life travelling the world spreading his own very special brand of aboriginal consciousness, trying to affect peoples lives on an individual basis and on a societal level, too.

 

He teaches the importance of respect and self esteem to the most difficult audiences – from teenagers, to prisoners to the leaders of multi-national companies.

 

Francis and his Dreamtime stories have much to teach us about the world we live in, who we are and where we came from.

 

In a topsy-turvy time where answers are scarce – the world needs to hear what Firebrace has to say.

 

This is your chance to help him say it.

 

Want to make a contribution?  We’ve got some GREAT perks to thank you.

 

In return for your contribution, you’ll have turned the volume up on a simple but important message that has the potential to change frowns to smiles, and shrugs to hugs all over the world. You’ll also be responsible for protecting that message for generations to come. Take a second out for a moment to imagine that. 

 

And you’ll get a perk!  They’re all listed on the side of this page and to give you an idea of what some of the look like:

Aboriginal Ochre - $20 contribution perk:

Other Ways You Can Help

If you don’t have a $ to spare – that’s OK! There are tons of other ways you can help us reach our goal.  Please tell anyone and everyone who might be interested in this project by forwarding this page in your email, sharing on Facebook and posting to Twitter!

 

 

How?

 

Director Kevin Lee Brown met Francis 5 years ago and was so convinced by Francis’s message that he has been filming Francis’s movements ever since. He has followed Francis to schools, prisons, demonstrations and more… and seen the positive effect his message has on people – a smile, a change of opinion, a day turned around.

 

But he’s also seen the sad Francis. The man who left his family behind to do all this; and the man who belongs to a nation of people that are slowly disappearing from the earth.

 

Francis isn’t magic, or a saint. He’s made mistakes with the best of us. He needs to go back home to Australia to bring his stories to his people and his family.

 

And that’s not all…

Francis won’t be around forever, but with your help, his stories can be.

This is going to be a true multimedia/cross-platform project that will give people an opportunity to dive in and interact with the Dreamtime stories like never before.  It will build an archive of digital versions of Francis’ stories that will be preserved online.  It will tap into Francis’s ongoing outreach work with young people and give audiences the opportunity to learn about traditional wisdoms across different cultures, so Francis’ Dreamtime message is never lost.

 

Sound important enough to you? We think so. A film for social change and a digital arts resource all in one? Bargain!

 

 

Here’s how it breaks down:

 

We think we’ll eventually need about $95,000 to get this emotional film made and get the interactive Dreamtime project up online so people all over the world can start plugging into Francis’ special way of thinking.

 

We're raising $50,000 right now to get the production underway.  We'll use this to:

- Get a crew of people to Australia to film for 8 weeks and

- Get a team of crack web developers and designers working on building the platform that will let YOU create, remix and share stories with Francis and the world.

 

You'll be able to follow what and how we're doing on the production blog we're getting ready to launch so you can see your contribution in action!

 

So far, with zero budget, we've already:

 

- Created 5-years worth of self-financed footage that will be used in the film;

 

- Created a short YouTube film of Francis at Occupy London and created a great buzz around this.  It was later used in the Metro newspaper and on the BBC!

 

- Attracted attention from broadcasters in the UK and Australia interested in potentially showing the film when it's made.