Support “Man Wearing a Helmet” - A Short Film by Keinan William McGillivray Pethybridge and Samuel Thorley

We are raising funds to bring Man Wearing a Helmet to life. A powerful short film co-written and co-directed by celebrated Indigenous filmmaker Keinan William McGillivray Pethybridge, and filmmaker Samuel Thorley. 

This project is more than just a short film. It is a raw, experimental exploration of colonial violence, systemic amnesia, and intergenerational trauma. Told through three haunting scenes - capturing grief, loss and mimicry under the mantle of survival in a way that is stark, direct, and unflinching.

While this piece will stand on its own, it is also being created as a proof of concept for a larger feature project. Your support will help us take the first step in bringing this important story to a wider audience.

About the Film

A child is abducted, a mother grieves, an Aboriginal man drowns himself in a bath.

Three fragmented stories of lived histories and a mirror to the violence embedded in Australia’s past. This project will be shot on black & white 16mm Kodak film to capture the textured and tactile - with a claustrophobic, visceral soundscape to produce an environment that suffocates the audience with memories of truth.

Man Wearing a Helmet is a memory of dreaming, of a dream of a memory.

Why This Matters

Australia’s history and its subsequent trauma that continues to permeate and bleed through families and communities are often under-represented, silenced or ignored, out of guilt and discomfort for the pain inflicted and damage done. This film refuses that silence. It embraces the uncomfortable nature of the subject, it is an act of remembrance, and of truth.

By supporting this project, you are helping to amplify Indigenous voices, preserve stories that matter, and invest in the future of bold, boundary-pushing cinema.

How Funds Will Be Used

Every dollar raised will go directly towards production costs, including:

How You Can Help

Final Words

This project is about more than filmmaking. It is about truth, healing, and creating space for stories that have been under-represented or tokenised in 119 years of Australian cinema.

Together, we can help bring Man Wearing a Helmet into the world.

Thank you for supporting us.