Rabbit Hop Films’ Sascha Estens and Mike Boudreaux have both been chosen as two of nine finalists from all over the country in the QantasLink Spirit My Town competition.

In July, QantasLink Spirit magazine launched the competition, inviting people from all over the country to submit a 30 to 60-second video highlighting why their town is the best place in Australia to visit.

Entries were uploaded to Instagram using the hashtag #MyTownSpirit, with judges looking for creative and original entries that showcase the places and the people that are the lifeblood of their nominated town and why it belongs on every traveller’s bucket list.

Of close to 100 entrants, nine finalists, including Sascha and Mike, were announced on Monday night.

Sascha said she was “stoked” that both her and Mike had been named finalists, which means Moree has two chances of winning the top prize.

“I’m thrilled,” she said.

“There’s no other town that has two people representing it which is great.

“Mike hasn’t been doing film for long, he started with me, so I’m exceptionally proud. To be in your first year as a filmmaker and be a finalist is something to be proud of.”

Mike has only been working as a filmmaker for the past three months since getting a job at Rabbit Hop Films, so he was thrilled when he got an email on Monday to say he was a finalist.

“I didn’t expect it, I was just doing it to practice [filmmaking],” he said.

“That was the first film I’ve done since school..

“All credit goes to Sascha; she’s taught me a lot in the last three months.”

Although he’s only been in Moree for a short time, it hasn’t taken Mike long to fall in love with the town, particularly the people, which is what inspired him to enter the QantasLink competition.

“I’m from Brisbane so it’s a bit of a different lifestyle but I’m really enjoying it, so I thought, ‘why not’,” he said.

“The people have been so friendly, it’s been really good.

“I’ve been welcomed into town and have started to establish some friends.”

Sascha agrees that it’s the people in Moree that make it such a great town, which is what she decided to focus on in her entry for the QantasLink competition.

“I thought about it and yes, we have beautiful scenery and beautiful sunsets but I was concerned how we’d compete with ocean towns,” she said. 

“I’ve lived everywhere and I seem to always end up coming back. It’s undoubtedly the people – the resilience, the characters.

“Ernie Dingo said in a speech in Moree once that there’s two types of people – freshwater and saltwater and it’s the saltwater ones you’ve got to watch.

“People in the country are lovely, genuine, caring.”

Sascha’s film focuses on the idea that ‘the spirit is in the people’, and she chose shots which not only captured that spirit but showcased the best of the Moree Plains – from luscious paddocks to the artesian pools. 

“I was lucky, I’ve been shooting here for many years, so I was looking for shots that showed the spirit of the people, but I still had to sell Moree in scenic ways so I was looking for shots that showcased Moree in the background – Waa Gorge, beautiful sunsets, kangaroos,” she said. 

“The whole point is how do you attract people to come to your place.”

Sascha said her and Mike’s entries to the competition was a whole Rabbit Hop Film team effort and special mention must go to Merri-May Gill, who appeared in her film and shot some of the footage in Mike’s.

The public now has until midnight on Monday, September 18 to vote for their favourite and Sascha encourages the Moree community to get behind her and Mike because if either of them wins, Moree will receive great promotion.

Spirit magazine will fly a production team to the winning town to film a professional video, showcasing what the town has to offer travellers. The video will be showcased on Qantas’ Travel Insider website and social channels, in Qantas lounges and available to view inflight.

The winning town, two runners-up and a People’s Choice winner will also be highlighted in a professionally photographed feature story in the November/December issue of Spirit magazine.

To support tourism in the winning region, Spirit magazine will make the professional video and images available to the town for its own marketing purposes.

The maker of the winning video will also win 100,000 Qantas Points and three nights’ accommodation in Uluru for two people, staying at Ayers Rock Resort’s five-star Sails in the Desert hotel, including daily activities.

To view each of the finalists and to vote, go to http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/australia/regional-australia/mytownspirit-vote#/gallery/76088198.