Join ANAM alumni composer and Ian Potter Emerging Performers Fellow Matt Laing (viola 2013) for a special event more than two years in the making.
Premiering at the Winter Whale Festival at Victor Harbor, south of Adelaide, Homecoming is a cinematic collaboration between the Adelaide-born violist and composer, and Adelaide-based photographer and filmmaker Denis Smith, made possible through the Australian Cultural Fund and the support of private donors.
The music-led documentary showcases the iconic landscapes and wildlife of The Bluff (Longkuwar) at Encounter Bay, on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula. The Bluff is unique geologically, with shifting sea levels and volcanic activity over millions of years, resulting in large granite deposits, and a uniquely rugged coastline. The traditional custodians, the Ramindjeri people, lived in the area for thousands of years, drawn by the area’s abundant sea creatures. The area remains popular with tourists today, especially during the winter months for spotting migrating whales.
“This project has been so important to me; a return to country and a landscape that feels like home and holds many personal memories,” says Matt Laing. “I find the environment on the Bluff really inspiring, for the fact that every time you climb it, you see things you haven’t seen before, and yet you’re standing on a huge mound of granite formed out of a volcanic eruption in the ocean some 300 million years ago.”
“Just like the flora and fauna on the Bluff come and go, we recognise ourselves as a small, humble part of this ongoing continuum.”
Matt’s original work From Home (2020-21) for string trio forms the basis of the cinematic score, and Matt’s first foray in writing music for film. The piece depicts the ecosystem of The Bluff across four movements – the birds, the reeds, the lizard and the granite. Videographer Denis Smith has expertly paired Matt’s evocative music with stunning visuals, showcasing this unique landscape in all its glory – soaring high as if with the birds, through to navigating the harsh terrain and close-ups of its flora from the lizard’s perspective. The film simultaneously showcases both the resilience of the landscape – depicted as it has been for thousands of years – and the fragility of nature’s beauty.
“We’ve made the film in a way that the videography follows the narrative of the musical work,” says Matt. “While the impact of Denis’ visuals is immediate and beautiful, the music is what paces and guides the experience of the work.”
The premiere screening of Homecoming will feature live music from Matt Laing’s score performed by some of Adelaide’s finest musicians – ASO violinist Alison Rayner (alum 2000), ASO’s Principal Viola Justin Julian, and Adelaide-based cellist David Moran (alum 2019), who also recorded the score to the film.
There are plans to include the documentary as part of a local gallery and tourist site, and once this is confirmed, the film will be made available for wider release.
“I hope it’s a work that shows what a beautiful part of the world the Fleurieu is, but also connects an audience to nature and to the places that slow us down, that ground us, and the immense value of conserving those special places,” says Matt.
“Both Denis and I are quite proud that the piece celebrates a small piece of Australia’s ecology in a really unique way, and that it’s being premiered in the place that inspired it in such an immersive way; through live music and cinema.”
Homecoming – Premiere Screening
Supported by the Australian Cultural Fund and Victor Harbor City Council
Sunday 7 June, 1pm
Victa Cinema, 37-41 Ocean St, Victor Harbor SA
Tickets $20
For more information about Matt Laing’s upcoming performances and compositions, visit mattlaing.com
Words by Laura Panther, ANAM Alumni Manager
Photography by Denis Smith
