Funding approvals
2017–2018 documentary production

Producer Program | Commissioned Program | Doco180 | Love Bites | The Guardian initiative| Pitch Australiana| Art Bites

Producer program

AUGUST 2018

BONE TO PICK
1 x 80 mins
FanForce Productions Films Pty Ltd
Producer Danny Lachevre
Executive Producer Timothy White
Director Jo-Anne Brechin
Writer Jo-Anne Brechin
Synopsis A pet owner switches his dog from processed food to a raw diet in an effort to cure a range of chronic illnesses. The dog’s dramatic recovery compels the owner to embark on a journey to confront the pet food industry and end the global epidemic of sick pets.

CRYPTOPIA – BITCOIN, BLOCKCHAIN AND THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET 
1 x 70+ mins
3D Content Hub Pty Ltd
Producer Torsten Hoffmann
Executive Producer Brinda Paul
Director Michael Watchulonis, Torsten Hoffmann
Writer Torsten Hoffmann
Synopsis Is Bitcoin the biggest Ponzi scheme of our time or can its underlying technology called Blockchain provide a blueprint to build a better Internet? Join award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffmann (Bitcoin: The End Of Money As We Know It) on his five-year exploration of this complex and controversial technology and its sub-culture. Co-directed by Michael Watchulonis (The Wild Pacific).

FIRESTARTER – THE STORY OF BANGARRA
1 x 90 mins
In Films Pty Ltd
Producer Ivan O'Mahoney
Executive Producer Nial Fulton
Director Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin
Writers Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin, Ivan O'Mahoney
Synopsis Firestarter tells the story of Australia’s most iconic performing arts company - Bangarra Dance Theatre. Marking Bangarra's 30th anniversary and told through the eyes of its celebrated artistic director Stephen Page, Firestarter interweaves archive footage with exclusive interviews and intimate behind-the-scenes access to the company, its dancers and its staff. 

HEART OF THE QUEEN
1 x 85 mins
People Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Tait Brady
Producers Carolina Sorensen, Clare Lewis
Director Matthew Walker
Writer Matthew Walker
Synopsis Wanita, a chaotic, talented, force of nature who has sacrificed everything for music, takes one last glorious stab at her lifelong dream – to become a country music great in Nashville.

MARTHA
1 x 90 mins
Projector Films 
Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom
Producer Daniel Joyce, Bethany Bruce (co-producer)
Director Selina Miles
Synopsis In the 1970s, photographer Martha Cooper captured the birth of the New York graffiti scene. Decades later, at age 60, she finds fame as an unlikely icon of the street art world, having unwittingly inspired the spread of graffiti around the globe.

THE BAMBOO BRIDGE
1 x 52 mins
Matadora Films Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Pat Fiske, Katherine Gibson
Producer Claire Fletcher, Alejandra Canales
Director Juan Salazar
Writers Juan Salazar, Katherine Gibson
Synopsis As the longest bamboo bridge in the world is dismantled for the last time, three generations of Cambodian bridge-builders share it’s stories from the past and its lessons for the future.

ULURU & THE MAGICIAN
1 x 90 mins
Brindle Films Pty Ltd
Producers Rachel Clements, Trisha Morton Thomas, Anna Broinowski
Director Anna Broinowski
Writer Anna Broinowski
Synopsis A struggling kids' magician decides to make Uluru disappear - with unexpected results.

STATES OF CONSENT 
1 x 20 mins
Jerboa Films
Producer Mariel Thomas
Director Blue Lucine
Writer Blue Lucine, Mariel Thomas
Synopsis Sexual consent should be simple, but in the courtroom it’s up for grabs. Who would know that the State or Territory where you take action can be the difference between guilty and not guilty….That we live in different States of Consent.

VIRTUAL YAGAN VR
6 x 5 mins 
Periscope Pictures Pty Ltd
Producer Alice Wolfe
Director / Writer Sam Field & Karla Heart
Synopsis This ‘time travel’ VR documentary immerses audiences in pre-contact Whadjuk Noongar culture, using the latest advances in interactive technology to give users a firsthand role in an important first contact story.  

AUSTRALIA SAYS YES
1 x 53mins
Treehouse Moving Images Pty Ltd
Producers Kirk Marcolina, Margie Bryant
Director / Writer Kirk Marcolina
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis: A vivid picture of the five decades of struggle that created the personal and political change that brought about marriage equality in Australia.

JUNE 2018

THE HUNT
1 x 60mins
Ruby Entertainment Pty Ltd with Robot Army Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Stu Ross, Stephen Luby, Mark Ruse
Director / Writer  Stu Ross
Synopsis With too many sightings to ignore, The Hunt explores the evidence of a wild big cat population in the Australian bush, and the colourful characters who have dedicated their lives to proving their existence, despite society labelling them as crazy.
Production funding for this project was revoked in May 2019.

FUTURE DREAMING
1 x 42mins (VR)
Stuart James Thomas Campbell t/a Sutu Eats Flies
Producer Robyn Marais 
Executive Producer / Director / Writer Stuart Campbell
Synopsis An immersive Virtual Reality documentary that brings to life the future dreams of four Australian Aboriginal youth.

THE VICTORIA PROJECT
1 x 90mins
DNX Media Pty Ltd
Producers Ruth Cross, Simon Nasht, Jennifer Peedom, John Smithson
Executive Producer Stuart Menzies 
Director / Writer Jennifer Peedom
Synopsis Undisclosed at this time
Production funding for this project was revoked in October 2018.

THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM
1 x 90mins
Good Thing Productions Company Pty Ltd, Passion Pictures
Producers Nick Batzias, John Battsek, Sarah Thomson, Virginia Whitwell
Executive Producers Paul Wiegard, Andrew Ruhemann
Director Daniel Gordon
Writer Stan Grant
Synopsis The Australian Dream is a theatrical feature documentary that uses the remarkable and inspirational story of AFL legend Adam Goodes as the prism through which to tell a deeper and more powerful story about race, identity and belonging.

BRIGHT LIGHTS - THE PERILS OF THE POKIES
1 x 10-15mins
Marhaba Films Pty Ltd
Producer / Director / Writer Charby Ibrahim
Executive Producers Helen Gaynor, Jennifer Peedom
Synopsis A 25 year addiction to the pokies has cost Sharon almost everything… and very nearly her life. A short animated documentary on the perils of an Australian pokies addiction.

RONE
1 x 30mins (VR)
Lester Francois Sole Trader
Producers Anna Brady, Lester Francois
Director / Writer Lester Francois
Synopsis A distinctive portrait of the street artist Rone, whose stunning large-scale portraits of women’s faces can be found adorning soon to be forgotten spaces.

APRIL 2018

STORM IN A TEACUP
1 x 60mins
Artemis Media Pty Ltd 
Producers Celia Tait, Nia Pericles
Executive Producer Celia Tait
Director / Writer Nia Pericles
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis An intimate portrait of renowned Western Australian Artist Leon Pericles as he faces his biggest challenge

ATTENTION WARS
1 x 52mins
Serendipity Productions Pty Ltd 
Producer Margie Bryant
Director Kirk Marcolina
Writer Margie Bryant, Kirk Marcolina
Synopsis Presented by Vanessa Hill, a tech loving sceptic, who examines the claim that the big tech companies who virtually own the Internet are making billions by enabling the largest, most standardised and most centralised form of attention control in human history.

LITTLE JOE
12 x 8mins
Ratner&co. Pty Ltd 
Producer David Ratner
Executive Producers Janine Hosking, Paul Watters
Director / Writer David Ratner
Synopsis Little Joe is a black comedy documentary series based on the remarkable true stories of a western suburbs debt collector.
Production funding for this project was revoked in October 2018.

THE ANTARCTICA EXPERIENCE
1 x 25mins
White Spark Pictures Pty Ltd 
Producer Briege Whitehead
Executive Producer Ray Pedretti, Briege Whitehead
Directors Briege Whitehead, Phil Harper
Writers Briege Whitehead, Ray Pedretti
Synopsis The virtual reality expedition into the coldest place on earth.

THE COMING BACK OUT BALL – THE MOVIE
1 x 80mins
CBOB Films Pty Ltd 
Producers Adam Farrington-Williams, Sue Thomson, Roger Monk (co-producer), Tristan Meecham (co-producer)
Executive Producers Michael McMahon, Shaun Miller, Tony Nagle
Director Sue Thomson 
Writers Sue Thomson, Roger Monk
Synopsis The Coming Back Out Ball explores the heartbreaking and heart-warming stories of a group of older LGBTI+ people as they prepare to attend a Ball celebrating their gender and sexual identities.

December 2017

GUN RINGER
3 x 12mins
Ronde Pty Ltd 
Producers Tom Lawrence, Ash Davies (Series Producer)
Executive Producer Ben Davies 
Director Ash Davies
Writer Ben Davies 
Platform iview
Synopsis For the money and the glory, in one of the most brutal corners of the Australian outback, Indigenous Ringer Jeff Harrower does one of the most dangerous jobs on earth – feral bull catching.

DEATH ART
1 x 58mins
Ruby Girl Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Julia Peters
Director / Writer Sascha Ettinger Epstein
Broadcaster ABC Arts
Synopsis One woman’s journey to explore what it means to use the human dead body in artwork.
Production funding for this title was revoked in January 2019.

MISSION: WHALESONG
1 x 46mins
Prospero Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Julia Redwood, Ed Punchard
Executive Producers Julia Redwood, Ed Punchard
Director / Writer Russell Vines
Synopsis Mission: Whalesong travels to a far flung corner of the Indian Ocean to unlock the mysteries surrounding the largest creature on the planet…the Blue Whale.

THE FIGHT
1 x 80mins
UNF Pty Ltd, United Notions Film LLC, Pinches Gringos
Producers Violeta Ayala, Daniel Fallshaw
Directors Violeta Ayala, Daniel Fallshaw
Writer Violeta Ayala
Synopsis What happens when people with disabilities in Bolivia have to fight for their survival? The Fight is a film about the collective willpower of the most vulnerable fighting against the most powerful.

THE HORRORS
15 x 4mins
Mashup Pictures Pty Ltd
Producer Rob Innes
Executive Producer Mish Armstrong
Directors Rob Innes, Scott Brennan
Writer Scott Brennan
Synopsis A risk-taking documentary series that examines the common themes of Australian life, by retelling the true stories of when things go horribly wrong in creative and innovative ways.

WORKING CLASS BOY
1 x 90mins
CJZ
Producer Toni Malone
Executive Producers Andrew Farrell, Michael Cordell
Director / Co-producer Mark Joffe
Synopsis Long before Cold Chisel, long before ‘Barnsey’, there was the true story of James Dixon Swan. A feature documentary on the early life of Australia’s biggest rock star – Jimmy Barnes. Based on his book by the same name. 

September 2017

THE COMING BACK OUT BALL
1 x 80mins
CBOB Films Pty Ltd 
Producers Adam Farrington-Williams, Sue Thomson, Roger Monk, Tristan Meecham
Executive Producers Michael McMahon, Tony Nagle, Shaun Miller
Director Sue Thomson
Synopsis Set against the backdrop of a spectacular ball, The Coming Back Out Ball is a feature documentary that explores the lives of a group of LGBTI elders, who are faced with the uncertainty of life in aged care.

KIDS
1 x 90mins
Kids Films Pty Ltd 
Producers Larissa Behrendt, Rachel Edwardson, Sophie Hyde, Maya Newell
Executive Producer Felicity Hayes
Director Maya Newell
Synopsis Set in Mparntwe Alice Springs, Kids is an observational feature documentary following ten-year-old Dujuan both in and beyond the school gates as he navigates the cultural divide in education, offering a chance to see learning and success in a new light.

NOLAN – THE MAN AND THE MYTH
1 x 58mins
Flaming Star Films Pty Ltd 
Producer Lavinia Riachi
Executive Producers Julia Peters, Sharyn Prentice  
Director / Writer Sally Aitken
Broadcaster ABC, BBC
Synopsis Sidney Nolan is unquestionably one of the best- known names in the history of modern Australian art. His images are iconic, treasures of the Australian visual language. Everyone feels they know ‘ Sid Nolan' but there’s more to the man than the public image. This film will explore and celebrate the artist and the man, going well beyond his early years to his stellar international career and all the success and turmoil that came with it.

POWER MARYS
1 x 75mins
Media Stockade Two Pty Ltd 
Producers Madeleine Hetherton, Rebecca Barry, Joanna Lester
Director Joanna Lester
Synopsis Power Marys follows Papua New Guinea’s first national women’s rugby league team, the PNG Orchids, on their journey to the 2017 World Cup in Australia as they prepare to face world champions, the Australian Jillaroos. These trailblazers must beat not only the sporting competition, but also intense prejudice, a lack of funding, and their own personal demons to reach their biggest stage yet.

ROCKABUL
1 x 75mins
Rockabul Pty Ltd 
Producers Brooke Silcox, Travis Beard, Christian Falch (co-producer), Torstein Parelius (co-producer)
Executive Producers Eddie Martin, Bill Gould, Leslie Knott, Clementine Malpas
Director Travis Beard
Synopsis Inside a decimated nation, witness the birth, rise and implosion of Afghan rock music

Commissioned Program

OCTOBER 2018

REVELATION
3 x 60mins
In Films Pty Ltd
Producer Nial Fulton
Director Deb Masters
Presenter Sarah Ferguson
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis After years of resistance, The Royal Commission finally broke the silence of the Catholic Church and unveiled the dark legacy of abuse of those in its care. In Revelation, Gold Walkley-winning journalist Sarah Ferguson pieces together the forces at play in one of the most profound stories in Australia’s history and the extraordinary drama that brought it to light. 

TRANS MISSION
1 x 51mins
Mint Pictures Pty Ltd 
Producer & Director Catherine Scott
Writer/Producer Dan Goldberg
Executive Producer Adam Kay
Broadcaster SBS 
Synopsis ‘Trans Mission’ follows transgender truck driver Holly Conroy, a in her bid to stage a Mardi Gras in Australia’s No. 1 Christian town: Wagga Wagga. Holly will battle priests, pastors and politicians as she works tirelessly to educate and create positive awareness of her fellow trans community.

SECRET LIFE OF DEATH
1 x 51mins
Mint Pictures Pty Ltd & Tangerine Pictures
Producer Nia Pericles 
Writer/Director Dan Goldberg
Executive Producers Adam Kay & Gary Russell
Broadcaster SBS 
Synopsis Secret Life of Death opens a multicultural window into the hidden world of two family-owned funeral homes in Sydney, following two young, and funny women: one who works with the living; the other who works with the dead.

BUSINESS AS USUAL (working title)
1 x 51mins
Heiress Films Pty Ltd 
Producer Jennifer Cummins 
Director / Writer Bruce Permezel
Broadcaster SBS 
Synopsis Business as Usual will be anything but, as we are given a behind the curtains peek into the colourful and chaotic world of Manjits, a family-run Events empire where ritual and family are the spice of life.

YOUNG, DATEABLE AND DISABLED
1 x 52mins
Southern Pictures Pty Ltd 
Executive Producer Laurie Critchley 
Director Liz Allen
Broadcaster SBS 
Synopsis Straight-talking relationship counsellor Liz Dore is on a mission to help six young people with intellectual disabilities find love.   

JUNE 2018

FIRST WARS
3 x 51mins
Blackfella Films Pty Ltd
Producers Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey 
Director Rachel Perkins
Writer Jacob Hickey
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis A powerful documentary series that tells the story of Australia's frontier conflicts.

MARRY ME, MARRY MY FAMILY SEASON TWO
3 x 60mins
Cordell Jigsaw Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Andrew Farrell, Michael Cordell
Series Producer Sophie Meyrick 
Broadcaster SBS
International Distributor TCB Media
Synopsis Love, heartbreak, colour and chaos! The amazing story of cross-cultural weddings in Australia.

AFTERMATH – BEYOND THE FIRESTORM
1 x 57mins
Renegade Films (Australia) Pty Ltd 
Producers Lucy Maclaren, Joe Connor, Ken Connor
Director / Writer Tony Jackson
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis In 2009, the Black Saturday bushfires, Australia's worst peacetime disaster, killed 173 people. What happened in the Aftermath?

MARCH 2018

GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM SERIES 4 LIVE
3 x 60mins
Cordell Jigsaw Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Toni Malone
Executive Producers Michael Cordell, Rick McPhee
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Go Back Live will present a dynamic snapshot of the global refugee crisis by following refugee narratives in real time over three consecutive nights as a live documentary.

JANUARY 2018

THE ROYALS DOWN UNDER
2 x 57mins
Fredbird Entertainment
Executive Producer Craig Graham
Director / Writer Bernice Toni
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis A two part television event, charting the political and emotional history of Australia’s relationship with the British Monarchy, as we search for answers to an enduring question – should we maintain the British Monarch as Australia’s Head of State?

WAR ON WASTE S2
3 x 54mins
Lune Media Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Leonie Lowe, David Galloway, Jodi Boylan
Directors Jodi Boylan, Sandra Welkerling
Writer David Galloway
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis In the new three-part documentary series War on Waste – the Battle Continues, we’ll delve deeper into the issue of waste in Australia, and investigate ways we can all help reduce the staggering amounts we produce as a nation – from plastic water bottles, to children’s toys and the emerging new problem of e-waste.

DECEMBER 2017

THE SECRET LIFE OF FOUR YEAR OLDS
5 x 46mins
Screentime Pty Ltd
Producers Niamh Linnie, Paul Millgate, Erica Foley
Executive Producer Jennifer Collins, Emily Griggs
Writer Basia Bonkowski
Broadcaster Network 10
Synopsis An illuminating documentary series, revealing the secret world of 4 and 5 year olds, at a pivotal age of their development.

November 2017

DOUBLE HAPPINESS
1 x 70mins
Media Stockade Two Pty Ltd
Producers Rebecca Barry, Madeleine Heatherton 
Director Olivia Martin-McGuire  
Broadcaster ABC 
Synopsis Double Happiness takes us on a billion-dollar ride of fantasy, aspiration, hope, reconciliation and status-symbolism in the making, which explores contemporary China through the window of the pre wedding photography industry and the eye of celebrated photographer Olivia Martin-McGuire.

The Magical Land of Oz
4 x 57mins
Northern Pictures
Executive Producer Sue Clothier, Karina Holden, Caroline Hawkins, Clare Birks
Director / Writer Tosca Looby
Broadcaster ABC, BBC
Synopsis Shaped by a distinctive climate and years of isolation, Australia has more unique, endemic species than most other countries on earth. We tell the stories of this alien world; from the exotic creatures that call this strange land their home to the jaw-dropping geography and geology more evocative of a far-away planet than Mother Earth.

Filthy Rich and Homeless Season 2
3 x 51mins
Blackfella Films Pty Ltd
Producer Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey (Series Producer)
Writer Jacob Hickey
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Five high profile Australians swap their privileged lives to discover what life is like for the nation’s 105,000 homeless people.

OCTOBER 2017

THE CULT OF THE FAMILY
3 x 56mins
Big Stories Co.
Producer Anna Grieve
Director / Writer Rosie Jones
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis A three part investigation into the rise and fallout of an insidious cult. 

September 2017

MY FAMILY SECRET
3 x 51mins
Artemis Media Pty Ltd
Producers Claire Forster, Robin Eastwood
Executive Producer Celia Tait
Director Steve Peddie
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis My Family Secret helps Australians uncover hidden truths and scrutinise the silences of both our family’s and our country’s past. 

DIGGING DEEP: LEST WE FORGET
1 x 56mins
Since1788 Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Tanith Glynn-Maloney
Director Erica Glynn
Writer Tanith Glynn-Maloney, Erica Glynn
Broadcaster NITV
Synopsis The documentary follows descendants as they record the untold stories of Indigenous diggers who served in the Light Horse culminating in the descendants’ participation in the Centenary commemoration in Be’er Sheva, Israel.

August 2017

AUSTRALIA IN COLOUR
4 x 51mins
Stranger Than Fiction Films Pty Ltd & Arrow Media
Producer Jo-anne McGowan
Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom, Nick Metcalfe
Directors / Writers Alec Morgan, Lisa Matthews 
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Australia In Colour will show the nation’s history as never seen before – in vivid colour.

100 DAYS TO VICTORY: HOW THE GREAT WAR WAS WON
2 x 58mins
Electric Pictures Pty Ltd & Bristow Global Media Inc
Executive Producers Andrew Ogilvie and Andrea Quesnelle (Aus), Marlo Miazga and Julie Bristow (Can)
Director Don Featherstone (series)
Broadcaster Foxtel, BBC Scotland, History Channel Canada
Synopsis The exciting story of how Australia and its allies turned the tide in the final months of 1918 to win the Great War.

BLACK AS SERIES TWO – WE’RE BACK 
10 x 8mins
Rebel Films Pty Ltd
Producer Jeni McMahon
Executive Producer David Noakes 
Director / Writer David Batty 
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis The Black As boys are challenged at every turn by tides, breakdowns and ever present crocs in their latest Arnhem Land adventure.

HERoes
1 x 59mins
Her Films Pty Ltd
Producers / Directors / Writers Nicole Minchin, Angela Pippos
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis HEROES is a celebration of the history-making first AFL Women’s season from its breathtaking opening night through to its dramatic conclusion – as told by football’s new wave of pioneers.

TEENAGE BOSS
15 x 28mins
McAvoy Media Pty Ltd
Producer / Director Matt Tomaszewski
Executive Producers John McAvoy, Simon Steel
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Teenage Boss is an observational documentary series that teaches Australian teenagers about the value of money and the important of financial literacy.

July 2017

MAKING CHILD PRODIGIES
6 x 28mins
Screentime Pty Ltd
Producers Jeff Siberry (series), Niamh Linnie
Executive Producer Jennifer Collins
Directors Jeff Siberry, Helen Barrow
Writers Anita Brown, Jeff Siberry
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis This series examines six extraordinary Australian children who excel in their chosen field, and asks 'What does it take to become a child prodigy?'

DOCO180

A HAIRY PROBLEM
Producer Rebecca Thomson
Director Rebecca Thomson
Synopsis Women’s body hair is still a topic of much public discussion, judgment and shaming. But why is it anyone else’s business whether a woman chooses to mow or to grow?!

ASKING FOR IT
Producer Mariel Thomas
Director Blue Lucine
Synopsis Fear, shame and intimidation prevent most sexual assault victims from ever taking legal action. When you are a stripper, and the alleged assault happened during a show, will anyone take you seriously, or will they believe you were ASKING FOR IT?

INNER DEMONS
Producer Taylor Litton-Strain
Director Hawanatu Bangura
Synopsis We all have our inner demons, but is being a curvy woman a blessing or curse? We see Rosaline’s tug-of-war story and how she banished her demons to become a celebrated mixed race plus size model.

MOTHER/LOVER
Producer Erin McBean
Director Holly Zwalf
Synopsis Can you be a solo mum and still have it all? And what exactly does it mean, these days, to truly ‘have it all’?

TOGETHER SHE SUCCEEDS
Producers Sam Weingott, Sascha Shipley
Director Laura Clelland
Synopsis As a female business owner and filmmaker, Laura Clelland believes the fight for gender parity has seen the rise of a 'girls' club' where women support other women - but she's putting her beliefs to the test to discover if there is a darker reality to acknowledge.

Love Bites

BEYOND THE MIRRORBALL
Producers Josh Feeney, Luke Cornish
Director Luke Cornish
Synopsis We came out under the glittering disco light of the 70s, we survived the AIDS epidemic and the hedonism of the party scene. Now, we're over drugs and over 50… What's next for the LGBTQI community after the mirror ball stops spinning?

CLUB ARAK
Producer Alissar Gazal
Director Fadia Abboud
Synopsis Club Arak a queer Arab dance party that brought Arab queers in Sydney out of the closet and onto the dancefloor.

DANCES
Producer Stephanie Westwood
Director Ramon Watkins
Synopsis Dances' is a 5-minute documentary which explores queer experiences with dating app culture through dance and animation.

DANI BOI
Producer Zena Bartlett
Director Logan Mucha
Synopsis Provocative drag king 'Dani Boi' Explores how radical performance art challenges gender conformity.

DESPERATELY SEEKING SHAVERS
Producer Christina Radburn
Director / Writer Emmett Aldred
Synopsis A short bathroom sink documentary about hair and why trans and gender diverse people must ask themselves the question, to shave or not to shave.

FEZ
Producer Jessica Magro
Executive Producer Kate Paul
Director Jermaine D’Vauz
Synopsis FEZ is a high energy, short spectacle celebrating Samoan-Australian entertainer Fez Faanana and his trailblazing artistic journey from growing up in small town Ipswich, Queensland to representing Australia on the world stage in dazzling drag, with his co-founded all male burlesque company 'Briefs Factory'.

MONSTA GRAS
Producer Jain Moralee
Director Kelli Jean Drinkwater
Synopsis Queer kraft kweens The Glitter Militia host one of Sydney’s most iconic art parties, MONSTA GRAS - a feminist political playground that redefines what it means to be Queer and celebrates Sydney's vibrant underground club culture.

QUEEN BIRYANI
Producer Kate Vinen
Director Gary Paramanathan
Synopsis Ali, a new migrant to Sydney from Karachi, challenges gender and cultural norm by cooking delicious South Asian food and serving it with his partner at catering events, dressed in glittering saris.

SAME SAME
Producer Lizzie Cater
Director / Writer Thomas Wilson-White
Synopsis SAME SAME is a short autobiographical documentary about growing up with gay parents, that challenges the accepted norms by re-imagining the nuclear family as queer.

WICKED WOMEN: THERE’S NO STOPPING US NOW!
Producer / Director Anna Brownfield
Synopsis When erotic magazine Wicked Women hit the stands, it turned lesbian Australia upside down and liberated lesbian sex for generations to come.

THE GUARDIAN INITIATIVE

THE BIG WAIT
1 x 20mins
Corrugated Films Pty Ltd
Producers Melissa Hayward, Pete Gleeson, Yannick Jamey 
Director / Writer Yannick Jamey
Synopsis Amidst a featureless desert, a couple are employed to maintain a remote airstrip and a tiny adjoining “township” that would only fill in the event of an emergency. As they wait for an eventuality which may never arrive, the infinite space becomes both their playground and prison.
Production funding for this title was revoked in February 2019.

LOST RAMBOS
1 x 30mins
Pursekey Productions Pty Ltd 
Producer Michaela Perske
Director / Writer Chris Phillips 
Synopsis What happened when M16s replaced bow and arrows in the tribal fighting of the highlands of Papua New Guinea?

OPERATIONS FROM THE BOTTOM
1 x 20mins
JOTZ Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Tom Zubrycki
Director / Writer Gemma Quilty 
Synopsis A young African entrepreneur and his group of friends dream of hosting the biggest dance parties in Western Sydney. Against all odds they form Operations from the Bottom and are out to prove that they can go from the bottom to the top and still be family at the end.

WHERE THE RIVER RUNS RED
1 x 15mins
Gravy Productions
Producer Nicholas Flynn
Director / Writer Brodie Poole
Synopsis After the closure of its economic centrepiece, the Mt Lyell Mine, the proud locals of Queenstown in western Tasmania attempt to transform their small mining town into a town with a mine, albeit with conflicting ideas for the future.

PITCH AUSTRALIANA

SHOOTING CATS
1 x 20mins
Pony Films Pty Ltd
Producer Dylan Blowen 
Director / Writer Inday Ford
Platform Vice.com
Synopsis An observational documentary that explores the catastrophic impact feral cats have on Australian wildlife and the complexities environmentalists face in their attempt to find solutions to this epidemic.

ART BITES

THE UNMISSABLES
6 x 5 mins
Film Camp Pty Ltd
Producer Samantha Dinning
Executive Producer Philippa Campey
Director / Writer Madeleine Martiniello

Synopsis Three artists confront the challenge of creating a work of public portraiture to reignite the search for those who have disappeared.

STUDIO A
6 X 5 mins
Plum Soda Pty Ltd
Producer Jessica Giacco
Executive Producers Lyn Norfor, Yaara Bou Melhem
Director / Writer Georgia Quinn
Synopsis For six individuals who struggle with mainstream communication, art has become a tool to connect with the world around them while challenging expectations of what people with an intellectual disability can do.

AGAINST THE GRAIN
6 x 5 mins
Arenamedia Pty Ltd
Producers Chloe Brugale, Kate Laurie
Executive Producer Robert Connolly
Director / Writer Santilla Chingaipe
Synopsis Six emerging Australian artists from culturally diverse backgrounds explore belonging.

BIOGENESIS
6 x 5 mins
Blue Forest Media Pty Ltd
Producer Dominique Pratt 
Executive Producer Brendan Hutchens
Director / Writer Steven Hughes
Synopsis Meet a group of ground-breaking biological artists who boldly challenge what we know about nature, our own bodies and life itself, forcing us to reconsider what it means to be alive.