FROM May to August last year, local disability advocate and film producer Belinda Adams OAM, her family, and people from across the globe knitted Australia’s biggest beanie to raise awareness for brain injury survivors.
Now, Ms Adams’ documentary about the process is in the running for an international film award.
Over the three-month period last year, 3700 squares – 20cm by 20cm each – were knitted and sewn together to make the biggest beanie Australia has ever seen.
“It’s often hard to shine a light on brain injury, and that’s the space where I’ve been trying to create change for a number of years,” Ms Adams said.
“I thought what better way to do it than by having a campaign where people in the community were involved. People from all over the world sent in their squares.
“People got involved, and it was a great way to showcase that you can make a difference by just making one square and also that each square represented the individual nature of the impact of brain injury.”
The final beanie had to be lifted with a scissor lift to showcase its full 12m height and 22m circumference.
Ms Adams’ short documentary on the process, titled Threads of Hope, has been selected as a finalist in this year’s internationally renowned Focus on Ability Short Film Festival.
“It’s been great to share finally, because making a film is not a fast process, so I’ve only just been able to share it with everyone who contributed.
“I also just found out this week that the film had been selected officially for the Impact DOCS Award, which is an International Film Festival as well.
“My purpose as a producer has always been to create impact films, and I think film is a unique tool to be able to reach people in a way that other things can’t.
One year after successfully completing the beanie, Ms Adams still can’t believe the hard work paid off.
“It was all-consuming, we did not sleep,” she said. “My family and I especially because it was put together in my house in Logan.”
“There was a lot of sewing that went on for months, so many groups got involved, and we had a lot of people in aged care contribute.”
Handwritten letters were sent with knitted squares, from people in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland, and all corners of Australia. Sharing their own stories of living with a brain injury, or simply to express their support for the cause, and offer moral support.
“The letters were something that for the rest of my life will be one of the most impactful things I’ve ever experienced,” Ms Adams said.
“Every time I would be sewing the squares [together], you could feel that people wanted to help with this cause.
“Sometimes you can feel that, because brain injuries are an invisible disability, they’re overlooked, so it was really inspiring to feel people’s compassion and care for wanting to participate in shining a light on the cause.”
The Focus on Ability Film Festival received hundreds of entries from 26 countries across a range of film categories. Ms Adam’s film Threads of Hope was entered into the Australian open selection for short documentary, and can be voted for on the festival website until 5 August.
