Screen Australia will invest more than $2.3 million in 10 documentary projects, which it says will trigger more than $8 million in production.
Screen Australia’s documentary manager Liz Stevens said: “It’s very encouraging to see so many projects with solid international deals in this round. Australian producers are creating good opportunities in the international marketplace with strong stories, know-how and support from domestic broadcasters and Screen Australia – it’s a great collaboration. In the domestic arena the National Documentary Program continues to fund significant Australian stories that will resonate with Australian audiences.”
NATIONAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
AFGHANISTAN: THE AUSTRALIAN WAR
3 x 55 mins
Essential Media and Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producer Alan Erson
Writer/Director Victoria Midwinter-Pitt
Sales Agent ABC Commercial
Broadcaster ABC TV
Synopsis The complete story of Australia’s longest and most expensive modern war told by the generation of Australians who fought it, those who ordered it, our allies and enemies.
GENERAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
BODYLINE: THE ULTIMATE TEST
57 mins
Serendipity West Pty Ltd
Producers Kate Pappas, Charlotte Wheaton
Executive Producers Alex West, Margie Bryant
Writer Alex West
Director Bruce Permezel
Sales Agent ABC Commercial
Broadcaster ABC1
Synopsis This is the story of one of the most extraordinary, well-known, but perhaps least understood, moments of conflict and controversy in the history of sport: the infamous Bodyline test cricket series of 1932/33.
THE BOFFIN, THE BUILDER AND THE BOMBARDIER
28 mins
For Valour Pty Ltd trading as Bearcage Television
Producers Michael Tear, Serge Ou, Harriet Pike, John Concannon
Writer John Concannon
Directors Chris Bamford, Serge Ou
Sales Agent Flame Distribution
Broadcaster ABC TV
Synopsis The Boffin, the Builder and the Bombardier is a fast-paced, fun, living history documentary in which three mates deconstruct history by reconstructing the devices that made it.
MARY & MOHAMMAD
28 mins
Jotz Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Tom Zubrycki, Heather Kirkpatrick
Writer/Director Heather Kirkpatrick
Broadcaster ABC TV
Synopsis Mary is 71 years old and has been a Christian all her life. When the government announces the arrival of a detention centre, her local knitting club agrees to knit beanies for the asylum seekers, though Mary is originally not in support. She meets Mohammad, a 26-year-old Muslim from Afghanistan, and begins to question her own beliefs.
THE TIPPING POINTS: OCEANS THE LAST FRONTIER
52 mins
Unboxed Media Pty Ltd
Producers Liz Courtney, Veronica Sive
Writer/Director Liz Courtney
Sales Agent Electric Sky UK
Broadcaster NITV
Synopsis For generations families have lived off the oceans – and off the grid – on islands across Oceania. But after seasons of extreme weather tracked across these lands, people are now finding themselves facing a whole set of new challenges and the ultimate question: how long before they become climate refugees? This documentary sets out to identify and explore the culprits that are altering the oceans existence and our very way of life.
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
FRANK GEHRY’S TREEHOUSE
57 mins
Essential Media and Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producer Alan Erson
Writer Helen Vatsikopoulos
Director Sally Aitken
Sales Agent Essential Media and Entertainment
Broadcasters ABC TV, BBC Imagine
Synopsis Drawing on a life’s work defined by controversial and ground-breaking ideas, the world’s greatest architect creates his first Australian building in Sydney – where debate already rages over whether it will be an eyesore or icon.
JFK: THE SMOKING GUN
90 mins
Cordell Jigsaw Productions and Muse Entertainment
Producers Michael Cordell, Jesse Prupas
Executive Producers Simon Egan, Michael Prupas
Writer Steve Lucas
Sales Agents Cordell Jigsaw Distribution, Muse Distribution International, Zodiak Rights
Broadcasters Discovery Canada, SBS Australia, ReelzChannel USA
Synopsis A former undercover Australian police detective/crime writer sets out to uncover the truth behind the JFK assassination.
THE REAL JAWS
52 mins
Prospero Productions
Producers Ed Punchard, Julia Redwood
Writer/Director Adam Geiger
Sales Agent PBS Distribution
Broadcasters Nine Network Australia, NOVA
Synopsis Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water… a series of fatal shark attacks in Western Australia shows it is anything but.
TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED
3 x 60 mins
Genepool Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Sonya Pemberton, Michael Cordell
Series Producer Peter Rees
Sales Agent Cordell Jigsaw Distribution
Broadcasters SBS, Smithsonian Networks
Synopsis Tales of the Unexpected is a contemporary science documentary series that will take you out of your comfort zone and into a world where you need to think, and then think again…The science is contemporary, counterintuitive and often controversial.
TRUCKING HELL
44 mins
Prospero Productions
Producers Ed Punchard, Julia Redwood
Director Eliot Buchan (Field Director)
Sales Agent NGTI
Broadcaster Seven Network Australia
Synopsis Behind the wheel of monstrous road trains, daredevil Aussie truckers put their lives on the line to drive some of the world’s toughest roads. Their mission – to haul crucial supplies, thousands of kilometres across the vast island continent of Australia.