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Screen Aus docs funded for NITV, SBS.

New docos on filmmakers Warwick Thornton & Valerie Taylor and a series on Immigration funded by Screen Australia.

New documentaries on Warwick Thornton & Valerie Taylor and a series on Immigration have been funded by Screen Australia.

A total of $965,000 was allocated through the Producer program and $720,000 through the Commissioned program.

The latest slate includes The Beach, an NITV series which follows award-winning director Warwick Thornton as he turns his back on the limelight and life in the fast lane, to experience life on an isolated beach in the remote Dampier Peninsula on the north-west coast of Western Australia.

The Beach is one of the most important projects of my life. It’s about my life. It is my life,” said Thornton.

Three part SBS doco Who Should Get A Passport? (working title) which follows migration lawyers and agents will be produced by ITV Studios Australia.

Wildbear Entertainment has a feature film about shark fanatic and filmmaker Valerie Taylor in The Real Jaws: The Valerie Taylor Story.

Screen Australia’s Head of Documentary Bernadine Lim said: “We’re thrilled to see such a range of documentaries in this production slate, spanning environment, immigration, sport, true crime and personal profiles. Through these projects, audiences will experience the unique power of documentary to not only record our Australian stories, but offer a means to engage with them.”

The Beach
6 x 26 mins
World Wide Mind Pty Ltd
Producers Michelle Parker, Mitchell Stanley, Tanith Glynn-Maloney
Executive Producer Ben Nott
Director Warwick Thornton
Broadcaster National Indigenous Television (NITV)
Synopsis Award-winning film director, Warwick Thornton, alone in one of the most stunningly beautiful yet brutal outback environments in the world, attempts to disconnect and contemplate life’s essentials; food, shelter and Country.

Who Should Get A Passport? (working title)
3 x 55 mins
ITV Studios Australia
Executive Producer Ben Ulm
Producer Elle Gibbons
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Approximately every three minutes someone gains permanent residency in Australia. More than 60% of our annual population growth is due to net immigration. Who Should Get A Passport? is an immersive, emotional, high stakes observational documentary series following the migration lawyers and agents who advocate for those who aspire to live here. With privileged access, the series captures life-changing moments, giving an insight into the characters and the life changing outcomes.

A Game of Three Halves
6 x 3 mins
Closer Productions
Producer Katrina Lucas
Director Matthew Bate
Synopsis Soccer is a game of three halves: The first half, the second half, and… something else.

Lucy in the Sky
1 x 80 mins
Samantha Griffin T/A One With Salt , Essential Media Group
Executive Producer Chris Hilton
Producers Sam Griffin
Co-producer Maya Kuzina
Director Maria Dudko
Writer Maria Dudko
Synopsis Lucy Dudko spent 7 years in prison for hijacking a helicopter to pluck her lover from jail. The director, her daughter Maria, explores events that led to her mother’s conviction, the impact on herself and the truth behind Lucy’s claims of innocence.

The Fight
1 x 85 mins
UNF Pty Ltd
Producers Daniel Fallshaw, Redelia Shaw, Violeta Ayala
Director Violeta Ayala
Writers Daniel Fallshaw, Violeta Ayala
Synopsis Feliza and Marcelo lead a group of people with disabilities on a march that sees them trek in their wheelchairs over the Andes, only to find themselves fighting toe-to-toe with the Bolivian government.

The Real Jaws: The Valerie Taylor Story
1 x 90 mins
Wildbear Entertainment Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Alan Erson
Producer Bettina Dalton
Director Sally Aitken
Synopsis Valerie Taylor is a shark fanatic. A pin up novelty in the nascent days of SCUBA, her incredible love affair with the ocean’s most fearsome predators spans half a century and whole lot of danger. Until now her remarkable life story has never been told.

Wild Things
1 x 85 mins
360 Degree Films Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Shaun Miller
Producer Sally Ingleton
Directors Sally Ingleton, Caro Macdonald
Synopsis Wild Things is a feature documentary about environmental activism in a time of crisis.

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