About
Lismore is Australia’s flood capital, priding itself on historic resilience in the face of immeasurable deluge. But as the climate crisis rises tides, uncomfortable truths boil to the surface, leaving residents wondering if their precarious way of life can survive a changing world.
Key Contributors
Eli
Born and bred in Lismore, Eli bought his childhood dream home, which backs onto the Wilson river - the creek that ultimately overflowed and forced Eli onto his roof. In a bid to save the town and his home post-flood, he became the poster boy for the media. As he moves through his recovery Eli starts to contemplate a move out of Lismore, to a place where he believes his family will be the most protected from future climate disasters.
Jensen
The precocious son of Jess, Jensen dreams of being a Youtuber. He is neurodivergent with high needs, for which Jess finds it hard to obtain support in Lismore’s post-flood state to assist him through his first year of school. He offers a completely refreshing take on the situation in Lismore, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, when it comes time to leave the place he has come to know as his home, he may find it hard to say goodbye.
Harper
Harper, Eli’s good friend, has tirelessly fought for everything in his life. Despite enduring homelessness, he completed his HSC, bought a house in South Lismore, and funded his top surgery. After the floods, he takes up a role in Lismore’s State member’s office hoping to make change from within but, after witnessing political complacency and missing out on government support, he finds himself at a crossroads - will he continue towing the party line? Or break free to continue his outspoken fight for the community he loves?
Jess
Single mum Jess left Tasmania and relocated to Lismore to support her grandparents. She was lucky enough to score a rental in the coveted, elevated suburb of Goonellabah, which, through its prime geographical location, provided her and her son safety from the flood. Shortly after the devastating flood, she meets Eli. However, tragedy strikes when a house fire destroys their hilltop rental, leaving them with no refuge but Eli’s flood-ravaged home. Eli’s acceptance into the buyback scheme brings relief to Jess and her son Jensen, as they now anticipate a fresh start as a family.
Carlie
Dr Carlie (Caroline) Atkinson is a Bundjalung and Yiman woman and an accredited PhD social worker. She is considered an international leader in complex, intergenerational trauma and strengths-based healing approaches in First Nations Australia. In the aftermath of the 2022 floods, Carlie mobilised her skills to create the Northern Rivers Community Healing Hub, which acts as a space for members of the community to work through trauma and heal based on First Nations therapeutic knowledge. She hopes to make this space a permanent haven for the community.
The Filmmakers
Jordan Giusti
Director
Jordan Giusti is an award-winning director based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. He is best known for Floodland, a documentary feature film centred on the community of Lismore who live in Australia’s most flood prone postcode, which won the Sustainable Futures Award at Sydney Film Festival 2025, the world largest environmental film prize.
Gal Greenspan
Producer
Gal Greenspan is an accomplished film and television producer with a portfolio of nearly a dozen critically acclaimed projects. Notable works include GOLDA (2023, Berlinale, Oscars® 2024 Nominee), The Milky Way(Black Night, Special Mention, nominated for 10 awards by the Israeli Academy), and CINEMA SABAYA (2021, Israel's ForeignLanguage contender for the Oscars® 2023). Greenspan also produced SCAFFOLDING(Cannes Acid 2017, TIFF 2017, JFF 2017 Best Film Award) and MENASHE (Sundance 2017, Berlinale 2017, distributed in the U.S. by A24).
Rachel Forbes
Producer
Rachel is a multi-skilled producer with experience working across Australia, Asia and Europe. Her credits across film and TV include Producer of fiction feature Strange Creatures, Co-Producer on MIFF premier fund’s Left Write Hook, Associate Producer on Amazon Original documentary THE DEFENDERS and as Line Producer on Goran Strolevski’s OF AN AGE and Gristmill’s ABC TV Series SUMMER LOVE.
Joseph Nizeti
Writer
Joseph Nizeti is an AACTA award-winning and ADG-nominated director, writer, producer and composer. Combining a background in music with a life-long love of film, Joseph has brought a unique creative perspective to a range of acclaimed projects across the Australian film & music industries. Joseph is the co-director/co-writer of award-winning feature documentary River (2021), writer/director of the Björk-narrated IMAX documentary Fungi: The Web of Life (2023), co-writer of Netflix’s ONEFOUR: Against All Odds (2023), writer/director/composer of TV documentary Anatomy of a String Quartet (2022) and co-producer of science documentary series Phenomena (2021).
Carlie Atkinson
Writer
Carlie (Caroline) Atkinson is a Bundjalung and Yiman women and an accredited Social Worker with a PhD (Charles Darwin University, 2009). Associate Professor Atkinson is an international leader in complex and intergenerational trauma and strengths-based healing approaches in Indigenous Australia. She has focused her career on the interplay between trauma and violence in Aboriginal peoples in Australia, has developed extensive community and practice-based experience through her collaborative co-designed resource development work, and developed Australia’s first adapted, culturally sensitive, reliable and valid Aboriginal trauma assessment measure.
Daniel Wieckmann
Editor
After completing his Bachelor of Communications (with distinction) from RMIT in 2011, Daniel launched the multi-award-winning video production agency Kintaro Studios. From 2011 to 2022, this bespoke studio facilitated work at every level of the production process, working with a diverse portfolio of global brands such as: 2XU, Rapha, Dulux, Ogilvy, World Vision, Thankyou, Ford, and IBM (to name a few).
Bonita Carzino
Cinematographer
Bonita Carzino (she/her) is a Naarm/Melbourne-based cinematographer with a diverse portfolio spanning narrative, commercial content, music videos, and documentary. Her work has been showcased at international festivals, including the Berlinale in 2020, where the short film Grevillea premiered before its Australian debut at Sydney Film Festival and Reptile, which premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival 2021. In 2022, she lensed two more MIFF-selected shorts, Lime Parfait and Patterns of the Afternoon. Her work on the 2024 art film Three Days After was awarded Gold by the Australian Cinematographers Society.
AJ Linke
Impact Producer
AJ is currently working as a documentary impact producer which involves finding out how a film can be used as an advocacy tool to campaign for change. AJ is a passionate storyteller and change-maker dedicated to reshaping the narrative around climate action and sustainability. She believes in the power of stories to spark meaningful change, using them to educate, inspire, and empower individuals and communities to rethink their relationship with the environment.
