Dreams of Australia’s refugees revealed in ‘As you dreamt it’ doco created by BMF, produced by Jungleboys – airing tonight on ABC1

In Western Sydney there is a housing complex called Woodville Housing.

A few years ago, Woodville Housing opened its doors to ninety residents from all corners of the world, including Iran, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Somalia. Many of these residents are political refugees. They each had a story to tell, however like many housing complexes, there was little to connect this diverse group with a sense of community.

As You Dreamt It Woodville was a project created to help change that.

A documentary on the project will be aired on ABC 1 tonight.

VIEW THE TRAILER HERE

Collaborating with some of the country’s finest artists, the residents shared an intimate piece of themselves – their recurring dreams. Partnered up with photographers, painters, animators and illustrators, their dreams were turned into pieces of art that were exhibited on the walls of the complex.

“There is such power in dreams, which we wanted to harness to bring people together. Each piece of art created as part of the As You Dreamt It Woodville project gave the residents newfound insight into their neighbours and helped to transform this housing estate into a housing community,” said Dave Hartmann from BMF, creators of the As You Dreamt It project.

“We believe in building communities, not only houses and this unique project presented a fantastic opportunity for the Woodville tenants, who are from diverse backgrounds, to get to know their neighbours and feel part of a broader community. The project was successful in connecting the tenants in that regard. And we are incredibly proud to be part of such a wonderful experiment,” said Steve Bevington, Community Housing Limited.

“When we first launched As You Dreamt It in 2012 it was a passion project driven by the curious nature of creative folk that appealed mainly to those in and around the industry. This second incarnation was always more ambitious in scale and potential impact, which was reflected in the ABC wanting to commission the documentary. The result is powerful and  we couldn’t be prouder, but our dream outcome is that this is just the beginning, and As You Dreamt It will start to unite and inspire communities across Australia,” said Stephen McArdle, managing partner of BMF Advertising.

“It was a privilege to work on this fascinating documentary. Over the months it took to film, we were constantly struck by the generosity of the tenants in allowing us into their lives, and the thoughtfulness and creativity with which the photographers went about creating their images,” said Leigh Richards, Jungle Boys.

People are encouraged to take on the essence of the project and it in other ways to bring people together via the As You Dreamt It website. 

This was a passion project conceived by advertising agency BMF and supported by Community Housing Limited (CHL) and the Australian arts community. The documentary was created by Jungleboys.