Latest ABC, SBS 10 doco funding

An ABC documentary profiling #metoo campaigner Tracey Spicer, more Body Hack and Employable Me are amongst recent documentaries funded through Screen Australia.

Including film, television and online $1,385,000 in production funding was allocated through the Producer program, and $2,165,000 through the Commissioned program. An additional $140,000 was provided in development funding to 10 documentaries.

“We continue to be blown away by the ability of Australian documentary makers to connect and move audiences with complex human stories and issues of the moment. These latest projects will share the stories of remarkable Australians from those with neuro-diverse conditions looking for love, to the life of Oscar-nominated screenwriter Luke Davies,” said Bernadine Lim, Head of Documentary at Screen Australia. “I’m also pleased to see Australian documentary makers continue to tackle international stories, sharing our perspective on the world around us.”

Commissioned Program

Australia Says Yes (already screened)
1X53 mins
Treehouse Moving Images Pty Ltd
Producers Margie Bryant & Kirk Marcolina
Director & Writer Kirk Marcolina
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis A vivid picture of the five decades of struggle that created the personal and political change that brought about marriage equality in Australia.

Body Hack 3.0
8×48 mins
Essential Media Group
Executive Producers David Alrich, Chris Hilton, Todd Sampson
Director Jeff Siberry
Writer Jeff Siberry & Todd Sampson
Broadcaster Network 10
Synopsis Using science as his guide, adventurer Todd Sampson is on a mission to investigate the most extraordinary people on the planet to see what we can all learn from their lives.

Employable Me S2
3 x 57mins
Northern Pictures Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Karina Holden
Producer Jenni Wilks
Director Cian O’Clery
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis The critically acclaimed documentary series Employable Me returns in 2019 following the stories of nine more people with disabilities as they battle to find work.

Love on the Spectrum
4×57 mins
Northern Pictures Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Karina Holden
Supervising Producer Jenni Wilks
Series Producer/Director Cian O’Clery
Writers Karina Holden, Cian O’Clery
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Relationships and the dating game is an exciting and sometimes overwhelming time for everyone but particularly for those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Silent No More (working title)
2×60 mins
Southern Pictures Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Laurie Critchley
Director/Writer Anita Brown
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis This two-part primetime documentary joins campaigner Tracey Spicer to reveal the true story of Australia’s hidden epidemic of workplace sexual harassment, its devastating personal and public cost, and how we can change things for the better.

The Artful Dissident (working title)
1 x 60 mins
Identity Films and Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Danny Ben-Moshe
Director Danny Ben-Moshe
Writer Danny Ben-Moshe
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Undisclosed at this time

The Pool
2×58 mins
Mint Pictures
Executive Producer Adam Kay
Producer Dan Goldberg
Director Sally Aitken
Writer Christos Tsiolkas
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis On the surface the pool is a hedonistic playground regardless of race, sex, creed, colour or religion but beneath its alluring waters lies the surprising – and untold – story of the battleground where feminism was fashioned, racism was swept away, sexuality was liberated … and where sporting heroes were born.

Will Australia Ever Have a Black Prime Minister?
1X55 mins
Joined Up Films Pty Ltd
Producers Danielle MacLean, Jacqueline Willinge
Director Catriona McKenzie
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Is Australia really the land of the ‘Fair Go’ or one that still favours the fair-skinned? We’re going to test this by asking a very simple question: Will Australia Ever Have a Black Prime Minister?

Producer Program

Geeta
1 x 80 mins
Colour Films Pty Ltd
Producers Nayana Bhandari, Adam Farrington-Williams, Dipanjali Rao
Executive Producers Clement Dunn, Tony Nagle, Geoffrey Smith
Writer/ Director/ Producer Emma Macey-Storch
Synopsis GEETA is a feature documentary about a mother’s inspiring and transformative love for her daughters and the change that follows.

Jelena: Unbreakable
1 x 90 mins
Cordell Jigsaw Productions Pty Ltd
Director Amanda Blue
Writer Amanda Blue, Andrew Farrell
Synopsis Jelena Dokic – Unbreakable. Refugee, tennis prodigy, fighter, survivor.

Milkman
1 x 90 mins
Carver Films Pty Ltd
Producer Sarah Shaw
Executive Producers Luke Davies, Andrew Mackie, Anna McLeish, Richard Payten
Co-Directors Eddie Martin, Luke Davies
Synopsis Milkman is the story of Luke Davies – poet, author and Oscar-nominated screenwriter – whose semi-autobiographical novel Candy and its big screen adaptation placed him at the intersection of fiction and his own reality. Milkman tells the story of a life still being written.

My Big Fat Italian Kitchen
1 x 85 mins
Yarra Bank Films Pty Ltd
Producer Trevor Graham, Lisa Wang
Writer/ Director Trevor Graham
Synopsis A delicious, feel good story with entrée, main course & dessert.

No Time for Quiet
1 x 85 mins
Film Camp Pty Ltd
Producers Philippa Campey, Samantha Dinning, Hylton Shaw
Executive Producer Claire Jager
Writer/Directors Hylton Shaw, Samantha Dinning
Synopsis Struggling to establish a sense of belonging and identity, a group of teenagers find their voice through a unique rock n roll community.

The Bikes of Wrath
6 x 50 mins (series)
1 x 100 mins (feature)
Doss Flamingoss Pty Ltd
Writer/Director/Producers Cameron Ford, Charlie Turnbull
Synopsis Five Australian friends attempt to cycle from Oklahoma to California in honor of the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s. The Bikes of Wrath is a story of adventure, humanity, and America today, told through the lens of Steinbeck’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath.

Video Nasty: The Making of Ribspreader
8 x 8 mins
Closer Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Katrina Lucas
Writer/ Director Matthew Bate
Synopsis Infamous for creating ‘splatter-punk video nasties’, filmmaker Dick Dale is about to make his first no-budget feature film, which promises to be an epic lo-fi filmmaking odyssey that will either make or break his career.

The Burnside Conversations
10 x 10 mins
Rymer Childs Pty Limited
Producers Lois Harris, Judy Rymer
Director Judy Rymer
Synopsis In 10×10 short docs for digital viewing Julian Burnside is in conversation with some of the world’s leading defenders of human rights in the West. With assylum as their focus, they share their future predictions, frustrations and fears about where the world is heading.

HeadOn
6 x 5 mins
Darius Devas
Producer Anne Chesher, Darius Devas, David Elliot-Jones, Coralie Tapper
Writer/Director Darius Devas
Synopsis HeadOn is a documentary web-series presented by acclaimed short-form filmmaker Darius Devas that examines the lives of young Australians suffering in the midst of the mental health crisis. The series is driven by Darius’ desire to understand the loss of his friend to suicide and his own journey through anxiety.

Under the Volcano
1 x 90 mins
Rush Films Pty Ltd
Producer Cody Greenwood, Richard Harris
Director Gracie Otto
Synopsis On a remote Caribbean island, in the shadow of a volcano, the world’s biggest recording artists made music and myth that defined an era.