The Circle showcases the traditional burning workshops led by Upper Shoalhaven Landcare, in collaboration with local First Nations fire practitioners the Walbunja Rangers, Mongarlowe Volunteer Bushfire Brigade and local community members, on a block of land just outside the Mongarlowe village over a period from 2022-2024.

The film premiered a​t a special community screening on 29 June 2024, to a sold-out crowd of almost 150 locals and project participants at the Braidwood National Theatre. Since then, Upper Shoalhaven Landcare has been working to get the film on the National stage, with some great success.

This year, The Circle was selected as a finalist to feature at four film festivals around Australia. This includes the Landcare Short Film Festival in the Gold Coast, Fraser Shorts Film Festival in Hervey Bay, One Eye Film Festival in Dubbo and the recent Canberra Short Film Festival - where it took out the prize for Best Canberra Documentary after screening at Dendy cinemas on 9th November.

“We are thrilled to have been able to collaborate with the Walbunja Rangers and Mongarlowe RFS on this project, illustrating the power of collaborative burning to promote resilience in the landscape, as well as our community” writes director Clare Young and Landcare Coordinator Erin Brinkley.

Well done to everyone involved and fingers crossed for some more film festival success stories in the new year!

See the full list of award winners at the Canberra Short Festival 2025

Clare Young (front right corner) in the audience at THE CIRCLE premiere at the National Theatre in Braidwood on 29 June 2024 

Read more about the film premiere event in Braidwood...