Funding for new ABC, SBS, NITV, 10 documentaries.

Screen Australia has announced funding for new ABC, SBS, NITV and 10 documentaries around Family Court Murders, the fertility industry, the Sydney Opera House and indigenous youth.

There are also other documentaries around Israel Folau, Tasmanian Tiger and First Nations activism, but yet to be announced with a broadcaster.

Screen Australia’s Head of Documentary, Alex West said, “We were impressed by the broad mix of applications and these documentaries are a testament to the talented filmmakers creating local stories with great impact. These projects will explore contemporary social issues including how First Nations artist Richard Bell’s work uses art to effect change in War & Order, as well as the complexities of teen parenting in Kids Raising Kids. They are also set to celebrate Australian icons like the Sydney Opera House and the Tasmanian Tiger, and I look forward to seeing them hit our big and small screens.”

Producer program:

Everybody’s Oma
1 x 90 mins
Oma’s Applesauce Pty Ltd
Director Jason van Genderen
Producer Roslyn Walker
Editor/Co-Director Gavin Banks
Co-Producer Olivia Olley
Synopsis Jason van Genderen makes home videos about his ageing mother ‘Oma’, and accidentally turns her into an internet sensation.

Israel Folau (Working Title)
1 x 90 mins
In Films Pty Ltd
Director Nel Minchin
Assistant Director Vanilla Tupu
Producer Ivan O’Mahoney
Synopsis A homophobe to some, a persecuted freedom warrior to others – what Israel Folau’s case says about modern day Australia.

Harley & Katya
1 x 90 mins
Stranger Than Fiction Films
Writer/Director Selina Miles
Producers Blayke Hoffman, Jo-anne McGowan, Aayliah-Jade Bradbury
Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom
Synopsis The pursuit of Olympic glory takes a young Indigenous figure skater from Mount Druitt to Moscow, on a journey of triumph, tragedy and transformation.

Tiger On The Rocks
1 x 55 mins
Bower Bird Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Cathryn Vasseleu
Producer Pat Fiske
Synopsis The Tasmanian Tiger once roamed throughout Australia, leaving lasting connections with the land and its First Peoples.

The Last Daughter
1 x 90 mins
Gravity Films Pty Ltd
Directors Brenda Matthews, Nathaniel Schmidt
Producers Simon Williams, Brendon Skinner
Executive Producers Kyle Slabb, Michael Tear, Taryn Brumfitt
Synopsis When an Aboriginal girl is taken from her white foster family, they lose all connection; until decades later, she embarks on a journey to reconnect with her family and find healing.

War & Order
1 x 85 mins
GoodThing Productions Company Pty Ltd
Director Larissa Behrendt
Producers Charlotte Wheaton, Nick Batzias, Josh Milani
Executive Producers Richard Bell, Virginia Whitwell
Synopsis 50 years of First Nations activism in Australia through the lens of contemporary Australian Aboriginal artist Richard Bell.

Commissioned program:

The Family Court Murders (Working Title)
4 x 50 mins
Easy Tiger Productions in association with SAM Content
Director Sally Aitken
Producers Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, Sally Aitken, Aline Jacques
Broadcaster Network 10
International Sales Fremantle International
Synopsis Examining a case of homegrown terrorism, domestic violence and the upsurge of conservative men’s rights groups in response to the progressive Family Courts, this powerful and engaging new series exposes a chapter of Australian life that has frightening relevance today.

Kids Raising Kids
Only Human Productions
1 x 52 mins
Writer/Director Patrick Abboud
Producers Marie Maroun, Patrick Abboud
Associate Producer Marta Jelec
Broadcaster SBS
International Sales Flame
Synopsis Exclusive access inside a one of a kind high school for teen parents.

Multicultural History Series (Working Title)
3 x 51 mins
Chemical Media Pty Ltd
Producer Tony Jackson
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Well-known personalities from different faiths, countries and cultural backgrounds explore the history of their community.

Inconceivable
1 x 60 mins
SAM Content Pty Ltd
Director Sally Aitken
Producers Aline Jacques, Sally Aitken, Marianne Leitch
Broadcaster SBS
International Sales Flame
Synopsis A child of the fertility industry grows up, and unravels its secrets.

Inside The Opera House
3 x 57 mins
Barking Mad Productions Pty Ltd and Fremantle Australia Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Steve Bibb, Chris Oliver-Taylor
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis For the first time, cameras will go behind the scenes to reveal what it takes to run one of the world’s greatest performing arts centres, the Sydney Opera House.

Keeping Hope
1 x 52 mins
Joined Up Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Presenter Mark Coles Smith
Director Tyson Mowarin
Producer Marlikka Perdrisat
Executive Producers Jacqueline Willinge, Dan Brown
Broadcaster NITV
International Sales TBA
Synopsis Under the surface and out of sight, there are complexities to living in the magical Kimberley. Over the past few decades it has become a place where our young Indigenous people are struggling to keep hope…Why?

The Eagle & The Ant (And Everything In Between)
3 x 58 mins
Wild Pacific Media
Director Nick Robinson
Writers Nick Robinson, Peta Ayers
Producers Nick Robinson, Peta Ayers
Executive Producer Electra Manikakis
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales Off The Fence
Synopsis The story of connectivity that links organisms and ecosystems – from the tiniest ant to the tallest tree – creating a planet just right for us.