Airdate: The Australian Dream

Acclaimed documentary The Australian Dream, which centres around former AFL champion and Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, comes to ABC in late February.

This is directed by Daniel Gordon and written by Stan Grant.

The not-to-be missed feature film uses the inspirational story of Indigenous AFL legend Adam Goodes as the prism through which to tell a deeper and more powerful story about race, identity and belonging. The film unpicks the events of the 2013-15 AFL seasons and asks fundamental questions about the nature of racism and discrimination in Australia.

Walkley award-winning writer Stan Grant and BAFTA award-winning director Daniel Gordon joined forces to tell this remarkable story of one of the most decorated and celebrated players in AFL history. Goodes; two-time Brownlow medalist and former Australian of the Year, is the very epitome of resilience and survival. A cultural hero, he continues to fight for equality and reconciliation.

This powerful documentary has screened at several international film festivals, including Melbourne International Film Festival,Toronto, London, Telluride and Hawaii. It has also won numerous awards including the Walkley Documentary Award, AACTA Award for Best Documentary, Best Feature Film Production and Feature Documentary Production of the Year at the 2019 Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Awards, MIFF 2019 People’s Choice Award Best Documentary, Audience Award Best Documentary Feature at the Hawaii International Film Festival, and the Student Choice Award at the Philadelphia Film Festival. The documentary was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2019. In February the film will screen at FIFO (Festival International Du Film Documentaire Oceanien, Tahiti).

Directed by Daniel Gordon. Written by Stan Grant. Produced by Sarah Thomson, Nick Batzias, Virginia Whitwell, John Battsek. Executive Producers, Paul Wiegard, Andrew Ruhemann, Ben Simmons, Julian Bird, Joel Kennedy and Tommy Gordon. ABC Commissioning Editor, Jo Chichester. ABC Head of Regional Local Sports & Events, Kath Earle.

The Australian Dream is an Australian-UK co-production between GoodThing Productions and Passion Pictures. Production investment from Screen Australia, Lorton Entertainment, ABC and Film Victoria. Australian distribution by Madman Entertainment. International sales by Lorton Entertainment.

The Australian Dream is the first of many programs and content offerings that will feature across the ABC as part of our Walking Together project. Walking Together will reflect, listen and build on the shared national identity of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and in doing so, celebrate Indigenous culture and invite all Australian’s to walk together on the journey to reconciliation.

Sunday, February 23, 8.30pm on ABC.