Brian Beaton.
The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) has announced Brian Beaton as the posthumous recipient of this year’s Stanley Hawes Award, which recognises outstanding contribution to the documentary sector in Australia.
Beaton, who was a documentary producer and EP with Perth-based Artemis International, passed away last June. The award will be accepted on Beaton’s behalf by his business partner and Artemis MD Celia Tait, and older brother and fellow documentarian John Beaton. The pair will jointly deliver the 2017 Stanley Hawes Oration.
Beaton’s career spanned over 35 years. He founded Artemis alongside Tait in 1999 and produced projects such as Saving Andrew Mallard, Shaun Micallef’s Stairway to Heaven, The Dreamhouse, Desperately Seeking Sheila and, with co-producer Serendipity Productions, seven seasons of Who Do You Think You Are?
“I had the honour of meeting Brian when I worked briefly in Western Australia in the late 1980s,” said AIDC CEO Andrew Wiseman. “Like everyone, I was immediately taken by his warmth, good humour and infectious enthusiasm for this work.”
“It can be a long and sometimes arduous journey making documentaries and it’s wonderful when, along the way, you meet someone who makes the path that little bit more enjoyable. I’m delighted that John and Celia will be delivering this year’s Stanley Hawes oration.”
To celebrate AIDC’s 30th anniversary this year, the National Film and Sound Archive has also curated a special compilation of 10 early films from former Stanley Hawes recipients, available to view on-demand at ACMI during the conference. Of the 10 films, made between 1947 and 2006, some of the most famous are Bob Connolly’s Rats in The Ranks, John Heyer’s Journey of a Nation and John Hughes’ Far From the Frontline.