Premieres Wednesday 24 december at 8:05Pm on

Premieres Wednesday 24 December at 8:05pm on ABC2
Thursday 25 December 2008 at 10:05pm on ABC1
visit the showcase page
Key Credits
Writer/Director/Associate Producer – Lizzie Fisher
Producer – Rachelle Bakarich
Director of Photography/Associate Producer – Jimmy Foggo
Editor – Rob Buttery
Executive Producer – Penny Robins
Duration – 22 minutes
Website - www.filmaust.com.au/christmaslights
Photography by Jimmy Foggo © Jimmy Foggo.
Christmas Lights is produced in association with Screen Australia.
For interviews and further information contact:
Adrienne O’Connor, (07) 3377 5175 / 0413 023 762, o’[email protected]
For images please visit http://abc.net.au/tvpublicity
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Synopses
One line
Ever wondered what drives people to spend up to eleven months of the year and thousands of
dollars on Christmas lights?
One paragraph
Ever wondered what drives people to spend up to eleven months of the year and thousands
of dollars on Christmas lights? Meet the Watsons, the Greenways and the Overtons, some of
Australia’s most passionate Christmas enthusiasts, and discover the meaning and motivation
behind their curious and creative passion.
One page
Ever wondered what drives people to spend up to eleven months of the year and thousands
of dollars on Christmas lights? Meet the Watsons, the Greenways and the Overtons, some of
Australia’s most passionate Christmas enthusiasts, and discover the meaning and motivation
behind their curious and creative passion.
Made by first-time director Lizzie Fisher, Christmas Lights introduces the characters behind some
of Sydney’s most spectacular lighting displays, looking at the labour and motivation behind what
for each family has become an obsession.
For Jack and Milvia Watson—who for eight years have replicated the landmarks of Sydney in
their suburban front yard—the journey is particularly personal. Milvia’s social life is restricted
by a medical condition and she delights in the thousands of people who visit her home each
Christmas to see the spectacular display.
Peter and Lynne Greenway began stringing Christmas lights 18 years ago in a move Peter admits
has taken over his life, with a whopping 52,000 lights now adorning their “gingerbread house”
and towering eucalypts nearby.
His passion is shared by Lauraine and Peter Overton, who spend eight weeks each year
preparing their display, which transforms their home into a Christmas wonderland complete with
resident Santa Claus, motorised reindeer and snow machine. Peter makes all his decorations in a
workshop at home.
But for each of these hardworking families, the motivation is the same: the joy they receive from
giving something back to the community and the delight on the faces of the children who enter
their Christmas gardens.
For interviews and further information contact:
Adrienne O’Connor, (07) 3377 5175 / 0413 023 762, o’[email protected]
For images please visit http://abc.net.au/tvpublicity
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Production Story
For first-time director Lizzie Fisher, the idea of making a
film about the obsession people have with Christmas lights
followed years of wondering exactly what drove them to
spend months adorning their homes.
“I go up to Brisbane every year to spend Christmas with my
family and just near my aunt’s house is a street that has a few
major displays of Christmas lights,” she says.
“Mum and I have an unspoken tradition of going for a walk
on Christmas Eve to check them out. A couple of years
ago one of the houses had a little gathering outside so we
stopped to say hello and met this fantastic character, who
told us with great passion how he spent four months of the
year putting his display together.
“It was something that seemed quite eccentric to me as an
outsider. As we were walking away, I said to Mum, ‘Wow that
would make a great documentary!’ ”
The idea came to fruition in early 2007 when Fisher won a staff development grant while working
for Film Australia, now Screen Australia.
The grant gave her $5000, plus in-kind services such as the use of an edit suite, to make a short
documentary, along with an experienced mentor in Screen Australia executive producer Penny Robins.
With the assistance of her colleague Rachelle Bakarich, who came on board as the producer,
Fisher set about finding her characters, though researching in March proved a challenge.
“It was completely the wrong time of the year!” she laughs. “Fortunately there is a lot of
information on the internet. There are various competitions throughout Australia so we looked
at who had won those. Several media websites recommend streets that have the best displays
and luckily, because they want people to come and see their houses, many families post their
addresses on a range of websites.”
After tracking down a number of houses well known for their displays, Fisher and Bakarich wrote
each household a letter explaining their desire to make a film. In some cases, they left notes in
the letterboxes of an entire street.
They met the dozen or so households who replied, poring over their photographs and listening to
their stories, before narrowing the field to three.
“Some were more reserved than others, but ultimately they just love what they do and they want
to show it off. They’re all really passionate about Christmas and it’s a really big part of their lives.”
For interviews and further information contact:
Adrienne O’Connor, (07) 3377 5175 / 0413 023 762, o’[email protected]
For images please visit http://abc.net.au/tvpublicity
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With director of photography, Jimmy Foggo, Fisher began
filming in October, interviewing first, then capturing the
vision required to tell the story.
“We were out there almost every night in December to get
all the crowd shots and the fun that happens once the lights
are switched on, then we went back in January to capture
them taking their displays down. They all told us how sad
it makes them taking everything down every year and how
empty and naked their houses look.”
Despite the best efforts of the families to convince the filmmakers that their own homes could
benefit from the addition of a Christmas display, Fisher remains unswayed. But she does
understand why for some it becomes such as passion.
“This film was about meeting the characters behind the lights. We wanted to understand why
these people do what they do and I think we’ve done that. They all have hundreds of people
coming to see their houses every night in December and ultimately they all just do it for the
community. They love it so much because it brings so much joy to people. Many of them also
raise money for charity.”
For interviews and further information contact:
Adrienne O’Connor, (07) 3377 5175 / 0413 023 762, o’[email protected]
For images please visit http://abc.net.au/tvpublicity
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The Characters
Jack and Milvia Watson, Matraville NSW
Each year, Jack and Milvia Watson create an impressive Christmas display
featuring detailed replicas of Sydney landmarks, including Centrepoint
Tower, Luna Park, Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
The couple began eight years ago with a few moving figurines they
bought at a garage sale and their passion rapidly flourished. They
start work in February, with the bulk of construction taking place
between September and November.
Milvia is the mastermind behind the designs, while Jack, a sheet-metal worker, builds the display.
All the features of their display are handmade by Jack, who constructs his pieces for splendour
and safety. The couple is assisted by their four sons and grandchildren.
Throughout December, people queue at the couple’s gate to wait for the lights to come on at
8pm. On Friday nights, a line-dancing group in sparkly shirts dances on the lawn to Christmas
tunes, and there are visits by a professional Santa Claus.
Peter and Lynne Greenway, Belrose NSW
Peter and Lynne began decorating their home with three sets of lights
18 years ago and now have more than 52,000, growing every year. They
aim to create a beautiful picture rather than “garish statues”.
Peter starts putting his display together in October and spends about
a month checking each globe. He switches on the lights on the first
weekend of December.
A passionate advocate of Christmas lights, Peter encourages everyone to create their own
displays and passes unused lights to his neighbours.
Throughout December, Peter, Lynne and their neighbours eat dinner on their lawns to enjoy
the lights. On busy nights, Peter dresses as Santa Claus, brandishing a 120-year-old bell as he
entertains visiting children and passing cars.
Peter and Lauraine Overton, Quakers Hill NSW
Peter and Lauraine have created a winter wonderland across their
rooftop and front yard, from which Santa Claus holds court as snow falls
from a snow machine over a beautifully constructed Christmas village.
The family’s efforts are primarily driven by Peter, who spends months in
his shed from October making everything used in the display.
Peter loves Christmas and has done ever since he was a child. He
began his own display 13 years ago and it has grown ever since.
On the weekends preceding Christmas, family members dress in costume and spend their
evenings entertaining neighbours. There are visits from the Salvation Army band, a neighbourhood
Santa Claus and local church carollers.
For interviews and further information contact:
Adrienne O’Connor, (07) 3377 5175 / 0413 023 762, o’[email protected]
For images please visit http://abc.net.au/tvpublicity
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About the Writer/Director/Associate producer – Lizzie Fisher
Christmas Lights is Lizzie Fisher’s first documentary and provided a huge learning curve for the
young filmmaker. While working at Film Australia in 2007, Lizzie received a $5000 grant through
the Film Australia Filmmaker Development Program, awarded to one staff member or a small
team of staff each year to make a 10-minute documentary.
Lizzie graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2005, where she studied a Bachelor of Arts in
Communications (Theatre Media). She has worked in various capacities throughout the industry,
including at Film Australia and the ABC.
Lizzie is currently in the process of starting up a production company with partner Jimmy Foggo.
They are developing a short drama called, In The Dog House, and several music videos.
About the Producer – Rachelle Bakarich
Rachelle Bakarich has worked in the film industry for five years and makes her debut as a
producer with Christmas Lights. Rachelle started working at Film Australia in 2004 and has
worked in finance and as a production accountant on more than 20 Film Australia films.
An interest in filmmaking led Rachelle to shift her focus to production coordination on projects
including Mawson - Life and Death in Antarctica and National Treasures 2.
Rachelle also has worked with Heiress Films on numerous projects, and has assisted on the
acclaimed Screen Australia and ABC Television documentary Life at 3 and Hotspell for SBS Television.
About the Director of Photography/Associate Producer – Jimmy Foggo
Jimmy Foggo started his career as an editor at Crackerjack Productions, working on Australian
television shows including Comedy Inc, Australia’s Brainiest Kid, Pardon the Interruption and So
Fresh, which he later went on to produce, along with Nerds FC.
He is currently employed as the Digital Media Producer at FremantleMedia Australia. As part of
this role, he has produced hundreds of hours of original online content, for numerous high profile
Australian series including The Biggest Loser, The Farmer Wants a Wife, Australian Idol, So You
Think You Can Dance and Neighbours. Most recently Jimmy co-created, series produced and field
directed the successful online series the MySpace Road Tour.
Jimmy is currently in the process of starting up a production company with partner Lizzie Fisher.
For interviews and further information contact:
Adrienne O’Connor, (07) 3377 5175 / 0413 023 762, o’[email protected]
For images please visit http://abc.net.au/tvpublicity
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