Latest Screen Australia documentary funding

Screen Australia has announced $4.6 million documentary funding for two documentaries through the First Nations Department, 12 documentaries through the Producer Program and 7 projects through the Commissioned Program.

They include a second season of Our Law narrated by Deborah Mailman, which has already screened on NITV, and ABC’s Designing A Legacy, War on Waste, and Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep?

Screen Australia’s Head of Documentary Alex West said, “We’re pleased to announce this latest mix of documentaries which explore various chapters of Australia’s history, highlight where we may be headed in the future and shine a light on Australians making a difference. In doing so, I hope this extensive offering will also provide viewers with insights on topics including art, health and science, our environment, gender and multiculturalism – which can help add to important contemporary conversations.”

Angela Bates, Head of First Nations at Screen Australia said, “We are proud to support two experienced teams in their mission to deliver compelling documentaries, Rebel with a Cause and Our Law season 2. Our Law will continue to provide an honest insight into the challenges First Nations police officers face as they aim to change the system from within, while Rebel with a Cause celebrates four outstanding trailblazers in Queensland, who have each left lasting legacies in their respective fields.”

First Nations Dept:

Rebel with a Cause
4 x 51 mins
Inkey Media Pty Ltd
Directors Douglas Watkin, Sio F. Tusa, Jill Robinson, EJ Garrett
Producers Dena Curtis, Citt Williams
Synopsis Rebel with a Cause celebrates the personal journey of four outstanding First Nations trailblazers from Queensland, who against the odds created amazing pathways for future generations.

Our Law S2
8 x 30 mins
Our Law S2 Pty Ltd
Director Perun Bonser
Producers Taryne Laffar, Sam Field
Synopsis Our Law: Australia expands nationwide with its unique brand of intimate and candid access to First Nations police officers, recruits, and cadets as they attempt to break the cycle of Indigenous incarceration and repair deeply troubled Aboriginal-police relationships, while giving a rightful voice to the First Nations communities being policed.

Commissioned program:

A Forgotten Cure (Working Title)
1 x 54 mins
Genepool Productions
Writer/Director Emma Watts
Producers Sonya Pemberton, Anna Mantzoros
Executive Producer Sonya Pemberton
Synopsis An intimate real-time journey with superbug infected patients who, left with no other option, are being injected with trillions of viruses – viruses that could save their lives and also give hope to the world.

Designing A Legacy S2
2 x 60 mins
SAM Content and Modernister
Director Chris Eley
Producer Aline Jacques
Executive Producers Sally Aitken, Tim Ross
Synopsis Architecture tragic Tim Ross travels the country to see buildings and meet people that help reveal a new story of what it means to be Australian, hidden in the architecture around us.

Devil’s Last Stand
1 x 55 mins
Quoll Farm Pty Ltd
Director Simon Plowright
Producer Simon Nasht
Synopsis Set in the spectacular landscape of north-west Tasmania, Simon Plowright will spend a year immersed in the intimate daily life of a remarkable animal, the often-misunderstood Tasmanian Devil.

Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep?
1 x 57 mins
Sea Dog TV International Pty Ltd
Director Leighton De Barros
Producers Jodie De Barros, Leighton De Barros
Executive Producer Jodie De Barros
Synopsis Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep? is a ground-breaking, investigative, environmental film that explores the impact humans are having on wild dolphins through hand feeding tourism programs in Australia at Monkey Mia and Bunbury in Western Australia, and Moreton Bay and Tin Can Bay in Queensland.

The Nameless ‘Nazi’ (Working Title)
1 x 60 mins
Mint Pictures Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Dan Goldberg
Producer Dan Goldberg
Executive Producer Adam Kay
Synopsis A Jewish boy witnesses the murder of his family, survives the Holocaust by becoming the Nazis’ youngest soldier, has four false names, two mistaken family reunions and now, thanks to DNA, is on the cusp of discovering his true identity on his deathbed…is it too remarkable to be true?

Lessons From The Unknown
1 x 85 mins
Blackfella Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Chris Phillips
Co-Writer Jacob Hickey
Producers Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey
Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom
Synopsis An Australian scientist staging world first psychedelic trials hopes to change the course of the mental health epidemic.

War On Waste S3
3 x 60 mins
Lune Media
Director Jodi Boylan
Producers Craig Reucassel, Mariel Thomas
Executive Producers Leonie Lowe, David Galloway
Synopsis This three-part series will put the critical issue of waste back on the agenda and highlight the connection between waste and climate change. The series reveals how far we’ve come, and how far we’ve fallen behind – and what we can all do to stem the waste tide.

Producer program

After School (Working Title)
1 x 90 mins and 2 x 60 mins
FremantleMedia Australia Pty Ltd
Director Thomas Hyland
Producers Catherine Bradbury, Josie Mason Campbell, Jim Wright
Executive Producers Josie Mason Campbell, Jim Wright
Synopsis A humorous and heart-warming coming of age story unfolds when a cast of neurodiverse teenagers confront their own challenges, dreams & desires as they prepare for their first high school musical. This is a simple story with complex characters of teen life on the margins.

Breakaway Femmes
1 x 90 mins
Goldynaut Pictures
Writer/Director Eleanor Sharpe
Producer Nickolas Bird
Synopsis For six glorious years during the 1980s, a women’s Tour de France was held alongside the men’s race… their story has never been told, until now.

The Carnival
1 x 85 mins and 1 x 52 mins
Sideshow Films
Writer/Director Isabel Darling
Producer Tom Zubrycki
Co-Producer Isabel Darling
Synopsis The Carnival is a documentary capturing the intimate moments of a six-generation carnival family, the Bells.

Dead By June
1 x 90 mins
Third Man Films Pty Ltd
Directors Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross
Writers Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross
Producers Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross
Executive Producers Paul Wiegard, Karl Stefanovic, Josh Pomeranz
Synopsis The meteoric rise, heartbreaking fall and the unfathomable comeback of motorcycle racing’s 5-time World Champion, Mick Doohan.

Killjoy
1 x 90 mins
Pandora’s Docs Pty Ltd and Fringe Dweller Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Vincent Lamberti
Producer Lisa Albert
Associate Producer Jess Hill
Project Advisor Ivan O’Mahoney
Synopsis A mother’s death, a community’s silence, and a child’s journey to understand how the law allowed them to be raised by their father – the man who killed their mother.

The Love Of My Life
1 x 28 mins
Yarra Bank Films Pty Ltd
Directors Francesca Rizzoli, Trevor J Graham
Producer Trevor J Graham
Executive Producer Catherine Barrett
Synopsis A vivid, transgender love story, Gail and Lisette waited 60 years to live their lives freely and to love and marry as their true selves.

Rose Gold
1 x 90 mins
Wooden Horse
Director Matthew Adekponya
Creative Consultant Kriv Stenders
Writers Matthew Adekponya, Allan Clarke
Producer Richard Finlayson
Executive Producers Richard Finlayson, Jude Troy
Synopsis After nearly 70 years of valiantly trying, what will it take for the Boomers to finally bring home an Olympic medal?

Songs Inside
1 x 80 mins
Shalom Almond
Writer/Director Shalom Almond
Producers Shalom Almond, Katrina Lucas, Lauren Drewery
Co-Producer Nancy Bates
Synopsis Most women leaving prison eventually end up back inside, but one musician and her guitar want to prove that music can be a powerful tool for change and healing, behind bars and beyond. Will music open the door to a different future and set these women prisoners free?

Turning The Tide
1 x 27mins
Edge Atelier Pty Ltd
Director Franck Dubuc
Writer Francesca Partridge
Producers Steve Thomas, Francesca Partridge
Synopsis Captain Sarah Parry takes a group of teenagers from refugee and Aussie backgrounds on a remarkable, life-changing voyage aboard Windeward Bound, the tall-ship she built in Tasmania.

Watandar, My Countryman
1 x 67 mins
Watandar Pty Ltd
Director Jolyon Hoff
Writers Jolyon Hoff, Muzafar Ali
Producers Jolyon Hoff, Muzafar Ali, Hamish Gibbs Ludbrook
Synopsis When the Taliban take over Afghanistan a former refugee finds a new home in the Australian desert.

The Weeping Tree
1 x 60 mins
Rummin Productions Pty Ltd
Director Matthew Newton
Producer Catherine Pettman
Executive Producer Andry Sculthorpe
Synopsis A deeply moving and engaging portrait of a Vandemonian tree with the ability to survive blizzards, weep alcohol and bring grown men to tears.

Woven Threads Stories From Country
8 x 5 mins
Woven Threads Productions Pty Ltd
Director Tony Briggs
Producer Michi Marosszeky
Synopsis This series will look at the effect of colonisation past and present on Indigenous Australian communities, exploring themes of identity (not just skin colour), youth justice, mental health, disability, employment, LGBTQI related issues and out of home care.