BROOKE COLLARD SHARES HER PATH FROM DERBY TO DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Brooke Collard didn’t plan on working in media. She grew up between Derby and the South West, where the options felt limited to hospitality, farming, or surfing.
After finishing school with no clear direction, a personality quiz from Murdoch University pointed her toward film and sound. “I remember getting that result and thinking, oh, I’ve always made little videos – I didn’t think of that as a career,”
That quiz kicked off a path that has led to short films, games, podcasts, and now a $100,000 funding boost from Screenwest’s Producer Talent Accelerator.
Based in Broome with her young son, Collard now develops screen projects centred on First Nations and LGBTQIA+ stories.
She spoke with Ngaarda Radio at the Remote Indigenous Media Festival in Bidyadanga, where she’s also facilitating content workshops.
Her focus is practical. “We’re showing people how to make films with just a phone,” she said. “The whole point is to just start.”
She’s working alongside Patrick McKenzie to teach simple production techniques using tools like the Blackmagic app.
It’s a no-frills approach aimed at giving people the confidence to begin telling their own stories.
Brooke shares, the best format depends on the story and the people involved.
In some cases, she said, a mic and a cup of tea will get more honest conversation than a camera.
One of her current projects is a digital game called Buru and the Old People, still in early development.
She said it mixes fantasy storytelling with social commentary, using the ibis – often called a “bin chicken” – as a metaphor for racial prejudice.
“It’s about changing how people see something they think they already know,” The game, she added, puts the player in someone else’s shoes.
For Brooke, games are one of the most effective ways to shift thinking, especially among younger audiences who may not engage with more traditional formats.
Alongside her screen work, Brooke also works at Magabala Books.
The publisher recently released Cloudmaker, a children’s book by Helen Milroy that helps young readers understand death through the story of a moonbird.
Brooke said the push now is to move away from trauma-only storytelling. “Everyone’s asking for rom-coms,” she said.
“We need to see more Black joy. Relationships, funny stuff, awkward stuff – those stories matter too.” Magabala is currently accepting short romance fiction from First Nations writers, a sign that interest in lighter and everyday stories is growing.