SBS docos in latest Screen Australia funding

Season 3 of Every Family Has a Secret and a new three part series on poverty for SBS, Could You Survive on the Breadline? have been funded through Screen Australia.

There are also a number of doco projects from producers which are yet to detail if they are TV, film or online.

Screen Australia’s Head of Content Sally Caplan said, “We’re very pleased to support these documentaries that will shine a light on issues including mental health and wellbeing, racism and the natural environment, and are sure to spark conversations. We’re excited to back the first ever Israeli documentary co-production with compelling feature Prisoner X, from a strong creative team who are well placed to maximise opportunities in financing and pathways to audience across both countries.”

“Lune Media have a strong track record of delivering topical information in an accessible way and I look forward to seeing them explore the nuance around financial disadvantage in upcoming SBS series Could You Survive on the Breadline?”

Commissioned Program

Could You Survive on the Breadline?
3 x 60 mins
Lune Media Pty Ltd
Executive Producers David Galloway, Leonie Lowe
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis As more and more Australians find themselves on welfare, or facing financial struggles in the wake of the COVID pandemic, three Australians will experience what it’s like to live with disadvantage, as they search for an answer to the question – ‘Could You Survive on the Breadline?’

Every Family Has a Secret Season 3
4 x 53 mins
Artemis Media Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Steve Peddie
Series Producer Claire Forster
Line Producer Robin Eastwood
Executive Producer Celia Tait
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Presented by Australian actor Noni Hazlehurst, Every Family Has a Secret is an observational documentary series following everyday Australians on life changing journeys as they seek out the hidden secrets within their families. However confronting the revelations, it allows the participant to emerge with a new sense of identity.

Producer Program

How to Thrive
1 x 60 mins
Beyondedge Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Duy Huynh
Producers Duy Huynh, Andrew Kelly
Executive Producers Mitzi Goldman, Michael Collins
Synopsis Positive Psychology coach Marie McLeod takes on 10 volunteers with complex psychological issues to help them learn ‘how to thrive.’

Kutcha’s Carpool Koorioke Season Two
10 x 7 mins
Tamarind Tree Pictures Pty Ltd
Writer/Director John Harvey
Producers John Harvey, Anna Grieve
Associate Producers Kutcha Edwards, Fiona Dean
Synopsis Shot on Wurundjeri country – Fitzroy streets are the stompin’ ground- for this multiplatform documentary series featuring acclaimed Mutti Mutti song man Kutcha Edwards, icon Uncle Jack Charles and a host of Indigenous performers young and old.

Prisoner X
1 x 90 mins
Sweet Shop and Green Pty Ltd
Directors Tony Krawitz, Hilla Medalia
Producers Gal Greenspan, Hilla Medalia, Katy Roberts, Tom Lee Zigelman
Synopsis When a government arrests a man and censors it in the name of “security,” the currency of democracy is devalued, rendering all citizens vulnerable to the fate of “Prisoner X”.

Sharko
1 x 100 mins
Bonsai Films and Scope Red
Writer/Director Luke Graham
Producers Luke Graham, Kylie Pascoe, Jonathan Page
Executive Producer Jonathan Shteinman
Australian Distributor Pivot Pictures
Synopsis The story of how a working class boy from Otahuhu became one of Rugby League’s greatest players and the personal cost echoed through generations.

Standing on the Solution (Working Title)
1 x 85 mins
Wildbear Entertainment Pty Ltd in association with New Town Films Pty Ltd
Director TBA
Co-Director Ljudan Michaelis-Thorpe
Writers Bettina Dalton, Rachel Ward and TBA
Producers Bettina Dalton, Rachel Ward
Executive Producers Alan Erson, and for Regen Studios: Damon Gameau and Anna Kaplan
Synopsis Besieged by drought, bushfires and ecological despair, farmer Rachel Ward finds hope in the soil beneath her feet and embarks on a journey of discovery to regenerate her land, and herself.

The Secret World of Fungi
1 x 45 mins
Fungi Imax Pty Ltd
Writers Catherine Marciniak, Joseph Nizeti, Paul Phelan
Directors Gisela Kaufmann, Paul Phelan
Producers Jo-anne McGowan, Jennifer Peedom, David Gross
Synopsis There are more fungi on Earth than plants, and millions of undiscovered species. They are central players in nature’s story of birth, death and rebirth. Life as we know it would not exist without them. Join acclaimed British biologist Dr Merlin Sheldrake as he discovers how this ancient lifeform may now hold the key to solving some of humanity’s most urgent problems.

Unheard
6 x 22mins
Ladbible Australia Pty Limited
Directors Daniel Mansour, Luke Cornish, Jack Steele, Ellen Dedes-Vallas, Olivia Suleimon, Cathy Vu
Writers Daniel Mansour, Luke Cornish, Jack Steele, Ellen Dedes-Vallas, Olivia Suleimon, Cathy Vu, Shahn Devendran
Producers Daniel Mansour, Luke Cornish, Jack Steele, Ellen Dedes-Vallas, Shahn Devendran
Executive Producer/Series Producer/Creator Shahn Devendran
Synopsis An investigative documentary into racial injustice in Australia.

Who I Am
1 x 30 mins
Walking Fish Productions Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Naomi Ball
Producers Naomi Ball, David Elliot-Jones, Cadance Bell
Synopsis A transgender teen who’s also on the spectrum learns to stand up for himself and find the support he needs, with the help of his own original characters, The Fallens.