The Art of Storytelling: A Filmmaker's Perspective

Home is a connection—with your surroundings, the location, and the community. It's more than just where you live; it's about forging meaningful ties. - Brecon Littleford

One of Brecon Littleford’s fondest childhood memories is sitting around campfires after dusk and listening to the array of humorous, touching, fantastic, far-fetched, scary stories unfold. He loved picturing the stories in his head, reimagining endings and embellishing at will. 

And as he grew up, this passion for storytelling stayed with him. More than that, it led him to a career in filmmaking. Brecon, along with his creative partner, Nathan Drabsch, are the founders and directors of Kin. A multi-disciplinary design studio nestled in the heart of the Blue Mountains. Kin specialise in a uniquely collaborative approach, getting close to their subjects and teasing out a story that is authentic, heartfelt and honest. And they must be doing something right, because they have worked with a number of extremely high-profile clients, including Apple, American Express, Nickelodeon, Ford, Nivea, Kelloggs, Telstra, Infiniti, Coca-Cola, CBS, ABC, NRL and many others. 

But, along the way, they’ve also found time to indulge their passion for environmentalism and the natural world, by working with clients such as Nat Geo, Discovery Channel,  Australian Marine Conservation, The North Face, Kailas and our very own Blue Mountains Tourism. 

And it is in these last three that you find another clue as to the other main passion in Brecon’s life. 

Rock Climbing. 

His love affair with mountains began when he was just a kid. Growing up near the many peaks of the Grampians and Arapiles in coastal Victoria, he quickly developed into a keen and capable climber. But it wasn’t until he visited the Blue Mountains in the late 90’s that he discovered the twin peaks of world class climbing  and vibrant community co-existing within a stone’s throw (quite literally) of each other. This close fusion of two of his favourite things convinced him that he had to move here, and 20 years ago, he did just that. Brecon’s next move was a natural one. He blended his love of filmmaking with his love of mountains and set up Kin.

Life in the Blue Mountains allows Brecon to balance his life as a filmmaker, designer and rock climber with his life as a family man. He has a partner, Mel, and a young daughter of school age, Frankie, who is following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a climber. But just as importantly, the mountains, with their ever-changing vistas and savage, rugged beauty have served as a pressure release valve and constant muse for his creativity.

And then, of course, there’s the community. The heterogeneous mix of climbers, artists, mountain bikers, explorers, bushwalkers, adventurers, retirees, nomads and all the rest, ensure that he always has plenty of material not just for his films, but for his favourite campfire stories.