FOLLOWING THE FENCE LINE

In mid 1996 a group of 14 women - mainly mid­dle aged - rode motorbikes all the way around Australia to promote breast cancer awareness. Sydney based documentary maker Pat Fiske has produced a road movie with a difference - a record of the journey, punctuated by portraits of the women, and the information sessions, morn­ing and afternoon teas and roadside chats at which they spread the word. Vignettes of the people they met along the way give an indication of the extent to which their journey made many people more aware of the risks, and of the fact that there can be full time life after breast cancer. Spectacular shots of the women traversing the Australian landscape on their bikes provide the backdrop for the ride with its disappoint­ments, tribulations and tensions but above all its humour, which is at times ribald. The result is a picture of a group of women grabbing life and embracing it, getting strength from one another, growing in self esteem and self confidence, demonstrating the importance of communicat­ing and learning to live together in a life affirm­ing way.