Rabbit’s Daniel Fletcher directs uplifting films for Welcome Merchant for World Refugee Week
Rabbit’s Daniel Fletcher recently teamed up with social enterprise Welcome Merchant; a platform that elevates refugee and migrant-run businesses, to celebrate the compelling stories of three of their entrepreneurs during World Refugee Week.
While nearly 30% of Australia’s population was born overseas, the country accepts less than 15,000 refugees per year; a number that could be so much higher considering the rich tapestry of skills that refugees have to offer Australia. Reports from the Refugee Council of Australia suggest that supporting refugees in Australia to launch new businesses could result in nearly $1bn a year added to the economy within ten years.
This ties closely with Welcome Merchant’s mission; to support refugee and migrant-run businesses in Australia and enable them to flourish. This suite of films showcases just a handful of stories from their network of entrepreneurs.
Says Marjorie Tenchavez, founder and director of Welcome Merchant: “Around 70% of the 115 entrepreneurs we’ve featured and collaborated with have limited or no money to advertise online, so having an online presence with Welcome Merchant is a huge help to them – even one extra sale a month can have a profound impact. Self-employment offers refugees the psychological boost, social status, and pride of being a business owner.”
Says Alex Hay, executive producer at Rabbit: “The campaign really celebrates the positive stories out there amongst refugees and migrants that have settled in Australia; we wanted to promote uplifting stories in this space. A lot of love and passion went into this from Daniel and the rest of the wonderful team who also supported this venture, so it is exciting too for us finally be able to share it.”
Developed by Rabbit, with support from The Editors and Rumble, the films encourage audiences to look beyond an individual’s immigration status and appreciate how enriching diversity can be to Australia’s cultural landscape.
The campaign also reminds refugees and migrants that their ambitions are welcome to thrive in Australia, and that a platform like Welcome Merchant can assist in taking their business to the next step.
WATCH THE THREE PROFILE FILMS HERE
For enquiries about Daniel Fletcher within Australia and New Zealand contact Alex Hay at alex@rabbitcontent.com.au
Client: Welcome Merchant
Founder and Director: Marjorie Tenchavez
Merchants: Racha Abou Alchamat, Erkmen Savaskan, Emmanuel Asante
Special thanks to 3 Tomatoes Café, Ashbury
Production Company: Rabbit
Director: Daniel Fletcher
Executive Producers: Lucas Jenner & Alex Hay
Producers: Morgan Hind & Katrina Maw
Production Assistants: Eloise Jones & Ollie Birt
Rabbit would like to extend a special thank you to all crew involved in the production.
DOP: Christopher Miles
Production Design: Antony Miller
1AC: Scott Wood
2AC: Luke Tysoe
Gaffers: Emerson Adcock & Nicholas Jansz
Key Grip: Adam Kuiper
Post Production: The Editors
Post Producer: Rita Gagliardi
Editor: Harry Learoyd
Colourist: Greg ‘Elvis’ Constantaras
Music & Sound: Rumble Studios
Audio Post Producer: Siena Mascheretti
Sound Design: Tane Lowrey
VO Artist: Madeleine Levins
Copywriters: Gregory and David Stern
3 Comments
…to see how this feels in comparison to the work everyone was arguing about earlier in the week. Specifically, the people who were saying that the best way to represent refugees is in real life scenarios highlighting contributions to their communities. Because that is exactly what this is…and it’s fine, but there’s no way it’s catching eyeballs (and hearts) like the other one.
I think you are confusing film craft for effectiveness. Catching eyeballs? Prove it.
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