Meet the Wallers

We all agree that art is an important part of our lives. But how far would you go in devoting your life to art when it means not paying all the bills while your family need school lunches? That's the crisis at the heart of Meet the Wallers, a documentary by Brisbane-based director, Jim Stevens.

During the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, my partner and I watched artist Mark Waller's YouTube painting tutorials and enjoyed his work. Little did we know that Stevens and his film crew had been following Mark and his family around for 20 years. Meet the Wallers documents Mark's dedication to his art and the difficulties that causes in the 'real world' of mortgages and family commitments. Mark has the tenacity to stick to his vision for his art, even when people around him are doubting his sanity.

We see Mark and his wife Nicole recount their first meeting – a love-at-first-sight encounter when Nicole collects a painting Mark has completed as a gift for a friend's wedding. But the whirlwind romance of living with a free-spirited surfer and painter soon stalls as Nicole becomes pregnant with their first child and the reality of everyday life looms large.

This documentary is really like two episodes of an ABC TV Australian Story feature. In the first part, Mark is completing a self-development course in 2001, trying to get his art business on track. The course culminates in a trip to New York, and he is packing to get ready when the September 11 attacks interrupt proceedings. But Mark's dream never waivers and he is only spurred on by the random acts of kindness he hears about after 9/11. Mark comes up with a concept for a 'ripple effect' gallery show in New York and he and his artist friends go about finding supportive sponsors. It's a lesson in life's harsh realities and the stark contrast between the corporate and the art worlds. To make the fault lines even more clear, Nicole is forced to take a job with a superannuation scheme to help make ends meet.

The second part of the tale comes just as Mark and his local community of artists have transformed the shopfronts of his home town of Lennox Head with their cooperative arts movement. And Mark is seeing some success with his new business manager, art gallery and website. He's also involved in charity work and teaching. But, just as his artistic vision is finally coming to fruition, there's a halt as Mark undergoes a life-threating operation. How will his health impact on his relationship with wife Nicole and daughters Jasmine and Emily? If successful, will the operation affect his artistic vision and capabilities?

This is an interesting and compelling story, with a brave 'warts and all' approach by the Waller family, with no fake drama or false tears. Like most people, the family may look back at events from 20 years ago and rethink their reactions and plans. Who wouldn't? But there's something cathartic in seeing their honesty, their failings and successes in the harsh light of the video camera. And, as an objective outside viewer, you always want this family to sort out their problems and meet their challenges head on. Director Jim Stevens and his editor Michael Craft have done a brilliant job in honing down what I suspect was hours of footage to tell this story. It does feel like an awful lot of crucial family moments occur over Vegemite sandwiches in the kitchen – but that will resonate with most Aussie families. While most Australians don't generally show a full appreciation of art, I suspect that, with crafting and painting making a big comeback in everyday lives over the last two years, most of us will appreciate the family's struggles and see something of our own ambitions and dreams in Meet the Wallers.

Beth Keehn

Meet the Wallers is distributed by Antidote Films and can be streamed online: https://watch.antidotefilms.com.au

Find out more: https://www.meetthewallers.com.au

Images: Antidote Films.