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Renewed: Shaun Micallef’s Stairway to Heaven, Changing Minds

New and returning docos for ABC, SBS and Discovery receive Screen Australia funding.

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Shaun Micallef will immerse himself in religion once again for SBS.

He will appear in 3 more Stairway to Heaven docos looking at the lives of people whose strong beliefs lead them to take extreme measures.

Screen Australia has also funded a second season of Changing Minds. The three-part series will return to the ABC to inform audiences about mental illness through the lives of patients living with mental health problems.

Other docos to receive funding are a project with former PM John Howard narrating a doco on Robert Menzies and Tim Ross examining the changes of architecture style over time.

Senior Manager, Documentary, Liz Stevens, said, “The Broadcast program was developed after a significant change to the funding guidelines last year. Working in collaboration with producers and broadcasters we are attempting to support a slate of strong stories with relevance to Australian audiences. We are pleased that the programs funded in the inaugural round meet the expectations of the fund. They are great stories that will open up new worlds for audiences to explore.”

Shaun Micallef’s Stairway to Heaven
3 x 52 mins
Artemis International Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Celia Tait, Brian Beaton
Director Russell Vines
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis: Shaun Micallef is on a quest for the meaning of life, as he immerses himself in the lives of people whose strong beliefs lead them to take extreme measures.

Changing Minds 2
3 x 55 mins
Northern Pictures
Producers Alison Black, Jenni Wilks
Executive Producer Karina Holden
Director Cian O’Clery
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis: Changing Minds series 2 will continue to challenge the stigmas, taboos and myths around mental illness as it meets the patients living with mental health problems and follows the staff who are helping them get back to their everyday lives.

Beast of the Abyss
43 mins
Ocean’s Super Predator Films Pty Ltd
Producers Scott De Graw, Leighton De Barros, David Riggs
Executive Producers Jodie De Barros, Michael Lynch
Director Michael Lynch
Broadcaster Discovery Channel Australia
Synopsis: With new evidence of gigantic shark predation off the Western Australian coast, in Beast of the Abyss ocean explorer Dave Riggs will return to the sea launching a high-tech, deep-sea investigation to discover the secrets of a mysterious oceanic zone and the large predators that converge there once a year.

Destination Arnold
57 mins
Pursekey Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Michaela Perske
Directors Natasha Lawrence, Sascha Ettinger-Epstein
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis: Destination Arnold tells the story of two Indigenous women who share a big dream – to make it to the Arnolds – an invitation-only bodybuilding competition being held in Australia for the first time.

Howard on Menzies
2 x 57 mins
Smith & Nasht Pty Ltd
Producers Simon Nasht, Ruth Cross
Executive Producer Stuart Menzies
Writer/Director Simon Nasht
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis: An intensely personal reflection on politics, values and the transformation of Australian society during the era of the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister.

Streets of Your Town
2 x 57 mins
Mint Pictures Pty Ltd
Series Producer Dan Goldberg
Executive Producer Adam Kay
Director Sally Aitken
Writer Tim Ross
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis: From Modernism to McMansionism, Tim Ross – comedian, broadcaster and aficionado of architecture and design – takes us on an intimately personal journey into our Australian suburbs, then and now, in a bid to understand how they’ve changed and what that says about who we are.

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