Perth writer/director Perun Bonser is the 2022 recipient of the ABC and Australian Documentary Conference’s (AIDC) Indigenous Documentary Placement.
Designed to fast-track the careers of Indigenous non-fiction screen practitioners, the four-month mid-career placement with the ABC’s factual and culture team in Sydney will focus on learning the development, commissioning, and editorial production process behind the broadcaster’s content.
Screenwest will provide support for Bonser to travel from Perth to Sydney for the internship.
The Ngarluma creative is the series director and co-writer of NITV series Our Law, currently in production, and previously wrote and directed the 2017 short film Blight, which screened and received nominations at multiple film festivals, winning Best Director and Best Actress at the 2018 Fringe World Next Gen Short Film Festival.
He was also a writer on the 2018 series Nyoongar Footy Magic, A TV and multi-platform documentary project that profiled the lives and careers of 24 great Western Australian AFL footballers of Nyoongar heritage. The series screened on NITV and online, as well as at Optus Stadium, the MCG, and Federation Square.
Bonser said he would use the internship to “learn as much as possible and find new ways to tell authentic First Nations stories”.
ABC acting director for entertainment and specialist Jennifer Collins was pleased to welcome Bonser to the factual and culture team.
“Through this initiative, the ABC is actively working to increase the diversity of stories and voices on our screens and helping to build the careers of local creatives,” he said.
AIDC CEO/creative director Natasha Gadd said her organisation was “firmly committed” to supporting opportunities for Indigenous creatives to sharpen their craft and access new platforms to tell their stories.
“Congratulations to Perun, we’re looking forward to tracking what he will bring to the placement, as well as the new skills and career opportunities he will take away from the experience,” she said.
This will be the second edition of the placement, which last year went to documentary filmmaker, editor, and cinematographer Daniel King.
Having produced stories for Artworks and Catalyst online, in addition to spending time in the commission team, King is in pre-production for his second feature-length documentary, titled Her Name Is Nanny Nellie, for NITV, and recently directed an episode of Rachel Griffiths-fronted ABC series Great Southern Landscapes for Mint Pictures.