I come from a history of women that have unknowingly battled depression throughout most of their lives. I have also spent a large portion of my career working in the welfare section as a youth worker and a community educator for people with profound disabilities. I guess you could say I have always been surrounded by depression and mental illness in its many guises. I myself am a have experienced the ‘black dog’ and to this day continue to tame him.

After many years spent in the welfare zone trying to support and encourage positive change in both individual lives and communities, I encountered endless regimes, severe funding restrictions and many an uphill battles. I became discouraged and burnt out, as many employees do in this profession.

I then spent some time utilising my many skills in the corporate sector organizing events, producing multi media (interactive T.V and web sites) and fundamentally interacting with people that endured high stress levels and more often than not ‘melt downs’.

It was then I decided to focus my energies; creativity and enthusiasm into writing and making films that both inform and enlighten a larger audience.

As a filmmaker I want to use the knowledge and experience I have to make films that primarily address existing social issues. I want to alert people to these issues and induce positive change.

The dark garden is a story of:

• A woman/girls journey through depression and her various phobias that often immobilise her.
• Reaching out to let someone help her out of her self-imposed insignificance.
• Being bored with the obligatory mundane details of life and how tedium can habitually tempt self-destruction.
• Getting caught up in negative mind loops that are supported by distorted memories.
• Putting trust and faith in yourself and others.
• Taking risks.
• Getting off drugs and medication and the psychosis that often accompanies.
• Where there is fear there is also profound beauty, it depends entirely on your perspective.
• Love changing, healing, being, all and how love can be the greatest catalyst for change.
• The labour and loves of gardening and how good gardening is for the soul.