Screen Australia: latest doco funding

Screen Australia has announced new documentary funding which includes three television projects across ABC, SBS and NITV.

Angela Bates, Head of First Nations at Screen Australia said, “Our Medicine shines a light on First Nations medical practitioners, and frontline health workers who play a critical role in caring for, and healing Indigenous patients through Western medicine – balanced with individual social, emotional and wellbeing needs. This program also explores a new model that incorporates ancient traditional practices to help address the low life expectancy in our communities, and the many barriers our mob face in the health system. It’s an important and timely series and one we are proud to support.”

Our Medicine:
A 6 x 30-minute documentary series for NITV following First Nations professionals working on the medical front-line as they try to achieve better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and communities. The series examines how these professionals navigate the medical system with their culture and identity at the forefront and look at the strategies necessary to close the unacceptable gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes. Attached is series director Kimberley Benjamin (Family Rules), co-director Karla Hart (Yokayi Footy, Family Rules) and post director Jeremy Thomson, with Karla Hart and Sam Bodhi Field of Our Law producing. It has received major production investment from NITV with support from Screenwest, Lotterywest and the WA Regional Screen Fund.

The Jury Project:
From Northern Pictures, The Jury Project is a four-part series for SBS that puts the jury system on trial and explores the challenges and intricacies of the justice system. The Jury Project is directed by Tosca Looby and executive produced by Karina Holden, whose credits include Asking For It and See What You Made Me Do. It has received major production investment from SBS.

The Kimberley:
A 3 x 58-minute series for the ABC covering the land that defies time – a 400,000 square kilometre stretch in the North-Western corner of Australia containing sprawling savannas, towering gorges, rivers, tropical coastlines and desert. This natural history series captures never-before-seen animal sequences as it explores a year in the lives of the unique wildlife that calls the Kimberley home, and follows the missions of the Aboriginal custodians and passionate experts working to save the incredible biodiversity of the region. From the team behind Australia’s Wild Odyssey, The Kimberley is directed, written and produced by Nick Robinson, written and produced by Peta Ayers and produced by Electra Manikakis, with Mark Coles Smith of Keeping Hope and Mystery Road: Origin also writing and producing. It is financed with support from the ABC. The series will also broadcast internationally on Love Nature and Arte. Blue Ant Studios will manage international sales.