General News
7 October, 2025
Wimmera communities to feature in documentary
Wimmera locals in Dimboola and Nhill will soon be placed on the big screen in a documentary.
Showcasing multicultural communities across regional Victoria, Nandita Chakraborty and her team made the trip to Nhill and Dimboola in June, where they spent four to five days interacting with the community.
Naming the documentary 'Shared Table: Regional Heroes', Ms Chakraborty said she came up with the concept of it, looking at "how the food basket of different communities brings people together".
"It's a story of how we are all migrants, and it's so important as of now with what's going on around Melbourne, where immigration or migration is targeted," she said.
"So this cannot be more relevant and more important for the stories to be told that, after all, we are human, we are the land is a displacement of life and a displacement of our roots and identity.
"But when we are here, we are so much together, and how that shared table brings a residence of culture so that's how we are wanting to uplift these communities.
"We are trying to bring the sidelined to the centre."
The project is supported by the State Government and is conducted under CALD Community Voices, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to uplift and amplify the voices of underrepresented communities while celebrating diversity, equality, and inclusivity.
CALD Community Voices president Niru Tripathi said "everyone deserves to be a hero".
"Some people are also doing a lot in the regional area, and we thought that should be on the screen," she said.
"They deserve to be on the screen too and we have to give opportunity to them."
The team first met with local business owner Wendy Bywaters from Wendy's Retreat upon their arrival in Nhill, who introduced them to the local Karen community.
"The Karen community has become a force and they're doing such extraordinary work with the community," Ms Chakraborty said.
"So we interviewed Thablay and we got to know how awesome, how they've changed the demographic of a male-like population of the Karen community.
"We had an awesome day where we got to share their stories, share their food, share their culture, and it was all jam-packed in Wendy's retreat.
"We had an amazing spread of food, and they were talking about the food and what it means to them and so forth."
After learning about Dimboola from Ms Bywaters and the work the Dimboola Imaginarium owner, Chan Uoy, has done in the community, the team made their way to town.
"She said, 'Look, you're doing such a powerful documentary, why don't you speak to the deputy mayor Chan?'," Ms Chakraborty said.
"I was blown away with what he has started, the Imaginarium, like in a sleepy town."
They discussed Mr Uoy's journey to Dimboola after arriving in Melbourne as a migrant.
"He's a great example of leaving behind Melbourne and coming and staying in that place, and what he was able to achieve in the last three years during lockdown as well, turning the old bank into an emporium," she said.
"That is beauty in itself."
The experience the documentary team had in both Nhill and Dimboola had been nothing but positive.
"They were so grateful when we reached there, and they were so welcoming," Ms Tripathi said.
"We are really happy doing this project."
The documentary also covers residents in Shepparton and Gippsland.
"Being a filmmaker is a privilege that you keep telling what you love, what you do, but you also have the flexibility of bringing those stories to the screen," Ms Chakraborty said.
A red-carpet event to premiere the documentary is in the works, with a tentative date of November 28 at Cinema Nova in Melbourne.
To make sure this goes ahead, the team continues to look for sponsors, with anyone interested encouraged to get in touch with Nandita Chakraborty at info@nanditachakrabortyauthor.com.au.
