Melbourne’s August grant went to the amazing Jacqui Hocking and her adventure to East Timor to film Spinning Dreams, a documentary of the 3rd annual Tour de Timor . The race brings riders in from all over the globe to show the world that East Timor is a beautiful and peaceful place. The race is also one of the most unforgiving tracks a cyclist can attempt and it’s even more unforgiving to a film maker. Last year’s race left Jacqui with two damaged cameras, a broken microphone and a tripod lost somewhere in the jungle. That all happened while Jacqui was riding backwards on a motorcycle capturing the event, but that didn’t stop her from making the trip again this year, but really how could you say no when the president of East Timor invites you back personally. Check out Jacqui’s work from last year’s race below or see the complete version here

Jacqui’s big heart has her filming non-profit documentaries to raise money for charities constantly so this month’s grant was a deal breaker for Jacqui getting another opportunity to film an event as special as Tour de Timor. It is always rewarding to give the grant to someone who already gives so much of them self. Congratulations Jacqui and good luck at this year’s Tour de Timor!