Brian McKenzie Film Productions is a small independent company that combines the documentary work of Grace McKenzie with that of her father, Brian. The early films date from the 1970’s and include feature length dramas along with award winning documentaries.
The first film, Winter’s Harvest is set amidst Calabrian migrants living in the suburbs and continuing their village traditions of food production. The origin of food has been a regular theme - the television series, Love’s Harvest regarding organic growers, and the series, Meet me at the Mango Tree is predominantly regarding rural workers and roadside vendors in Tamil Nadu, India.
The later films directed by Grace are Audrey of the Alps, about a girl who works as a shepherd in the French Alps, and In the Land of Wolves, which concerns a young man who is deaf and is a turkey breeder in a village in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains in Georgia.
Brian McKenzie
Trained as a schoolteacher studying mathematics, politics, drama and media. Made short drama films and documentary films receiving the Rouben Mamoulian award at Sydney Film Festival for Winter’s Harvest, the inaugural Australian Film Commission documentary fellowship for The Last Days Work, and the Grande Prix at Paris Cinema du Reel for On the Waves of the Adriatic. Co-wrote and directed the feature dramas With Love to the Person Next to Me and Stan and George’s New Life. Made documentaries for ABC television including Pat and Eddy’s Greyhound Racing Family and People who still use Milk Bottles. Executive Producer of Documentaries at the ABC responsible for overseeing 80 hours of factual television. Highlights include Wedding in Ramallah and Bush Mechanics. Returned to teaching at RMIT and independent production with the series Love’s Harvest for SBS television, winning the Australian Director’s Guild award for best documentary series. Directed Meet Me at the Mango Tree, a series of short documentaries set amidst street vending families in Tamil Nadu, India. Produced numerous biographical programs for ABC Radio National’s Hindsight and Earshot. With daughter, Grace McKenzie produced the feature documentary, In the Land of Wolves. Projects in development include, The Fly Trap which is set in Sweden, and the drama, Boris’s Bookshop.
Grace McKenzie
Audrey Of The Alps is director Grace McKenzie’s first feature documentary. It has won the Australian Directors Guild award for a documentary feature and the Australian International Documentary Conference best documentary award.
Grace has been an assistant editor in Melbourne on feature films, she has edited short documentaries and music programs and worked as a production assistant and second unit camera on various television series.
Her work includes photographic portraiture for which she has had solo exhibitions and cinematography for the feature documentary, No One Eats Alone.
Grace rode her bicycle to Georgia from Australia and found temporary accommodation in the little village of Argokhi at the foot of the mountains. She met Jimmy and his family and many others in the village who are occupied solely as subsistence farmers and she began work on a documentary, In the Land of Wolves that would chart their lives over the seasons.