Funding Approvals
2020-2021 Documentary PRODUCTION

Commissioned Program | Producer Progam

Commissioned Program 

THE FAMILY COURT MURDERS (WORKING TITLE)
4 x 50 mins
Easy Tiger Productions in association with SAM Content
Director Sally Aitken
Producers Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, Sally Aitken, Aline Jacques
Broadcaster Network 10
International Sales Fremantle International
Synopsis Examining a case of homegrown terrorism, domestic violence and the upsurge of conservative men’s rights groups in response to the progressive Family Courts, this powerful and engaging new series exposes a chapter of Australian life that has frightening relevance today.

KIDS RAISING KIDS
Only Human Productions
1 x 52 mins
Writer/Director Patrick Abboud
Producers Marie Maroun, Patrick Abboud 
Associate Producer Marta Jelec
Broadcaster SBS
International Sales Flame
Synopsis Exclusive access inside a one of a kind high school for teen parents.

MULTICULTURAL HISTORY SERIES (WORKING TITLE)
3 x 51 mins
Chemical Media Pty Ltd
Producer Tony Jackson
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Well-known personalities from different faiths, countries and cultural backgrounds explore the history of their community.

REEF LIVE
2 x 58 mins
Northern Pictures Pty Ltd
Series Director Karina Holden
Live Directors Tracey Hoddinett, Greg Clarke
Supervising Producer Kate Bailey
Executive Producer Karina Holden
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales NHMF
Synopsis For the first time on broadcast television, we experience the most spectacular event in Nature’s calendar with the spawning of the Great Barrier Reef.

TALL POPPY: A SKATER’S STORY
1 x 90 mins
Tall Poppy Movie Pty Ltd
Director Justine Moyle
Producer Jo Austin
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales Garage Entertainment (A division of Madman)
Synopsis Confronted with the harsh realities of competition, an ordinary girl with extraordinary talent navigates adolescence as a professional skateboarder.

NURSES
10 x 60 mins
ITV Studios Australia Pty Ltd
Director Lisa Storer
Producers Lisa Storer, Lexi Landsman
Executive Producers Ben Ulm, Steve Bibb
Broadcaster Seven Network
Distributor ITV Global Distribution
Synopsis Save a life, you're a hero. Save 100 lives, you're a nurse. With privileged access to 3 hospitals in Sydney's East and North, Nurses is an observational series that documents the great range of work undertaken by nurses in the NSW Health System. It's a diverse, character filled workforce.

OUTBACK RINGER SERIES 2
7 x 22 mins
Ronde Media
Series Producer Liam Taylor
Series Director (field) Tom Lawrence
Post Producer Jess Brown
Executive Producer Ben Davies
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales DCD
Synopsis Deep in the Australian Outback a handful of families risk their lives catching feral bulls and buffalo. Through the eyes of Australia's feral bull catchers, see the Outback like never before.

SHIPWRECK HUNTERS AUSTRALIA
6 x 60 mins
VAM Media and Terra Australis in association with Barking Mad Productions
Director Brendan Hutchens
Producers Brendan Hutchens, Johnny Debnam
Series Producer Katherine Barrett
Executive Producer Steve Bibb
Broadcaster Disney+
Synopsis A fearless ocean adventure team dives into one of the planet’s most spectacular and remote marine environments, bringing to life epic shipwreck stories from Western Australia’s vast and treacherous coast in this premium documentary series.

THE SCHOOL THAT TRIED TO END RACISM
3 x 57 mins
Screentime Pty Ltd
Directors John Karabelas
Writer Allan Clarke, Julia Moriarty
Producers Emily Gardner, Farz Edraki, Erica Foley, Ryan Lee
Executive Producers Johnny Lowry, Deborah Spinocchia
Post Producers Jennifer Woodward, Suresh Devadas, Mariel Thomas
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis A ground-breaking program designed to educate 12-year-old school children in unconscious racial bias.

COULD YOU SURVIVE ON THE BREADLINE?
3 x 60 mins
Lune Media Pty Ltd
Executive Producers David Galloway, Leonie Lowe
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis As more and more Australians find themselves on welfare, or facing financial struggles in the wake of the COVID pandemic, three Australians will experience what it’s like to live with disadvantage, as they search for an answer to the question – ‘Could You Survive on the Breadline?’

EVERY FAMILY HAS A SECRET SERIES 3
4 x 53 mins
Artemis Media Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Steve Peddie
Series Producer Claire Forster
Line Producer Robin Eastwood
Executive Producer Celia Tait
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Presented by Australian actor Noni Hazlehurst, Every Family Has a Secret is an observational documentary series following everyday Australians on life changing journeys as they seek out the hidden secrets within their families. However confronting the revelations, it allows the participant to emerge with a new sense of identity.

AUSTRALIA VS ANXIETY
1 x 55 mins
Joined Up Films Pty Ltd
Director Sally Aitken
Executive Producers Dan Brown, Jacqueline Willinge
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Celia Pacquola is on a mission to find out how Anxiety is affecting Australia.

CAN SCIENCE PREVENT SUICIDE?
1 x 60 mins
Lune Media
Director Jodi Boylan
Writers Paul Scott, Jodi Boylan
Executive Producers Jodi Boylan, Paul Scott, David Galloway, Leonie Lowe
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis A very personal journey to investigate how new science, innovative thinking and technology is helping prevent suicide.

NINGALOO
3 x 57 mins
Artemis Media Pty Ltd
Director Peter Rees
Writer Tim Winton
Co-Writer Peter Rees
Line Producer Karen Williams 
Executive Producer Celia Tait
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Celebrated Australian author Tim Winton takes us on a lyrical and passionate exploration of Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range and Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia to reveal how this pristine natural environment can enrich all of humanity.

OUR AFRICAN ROOTS
1 x 51 mins
Chemical Media Pty Ltd
Director Tony Jackson
Writers Santilla Chingaipe, David Collins
Producers Santilla Chingaipe, Tony Jackson
Executive Producer David Collins
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Uncovering Australia’s forgotten African history, from the First Fleet to the Eureka Rebellion and beyond.

REBUILDING MALLACOOTA
3 x 60 mins
Renegade Films (Australia) Pty Ltd
Director Tony Jackson
Writer David Collins
Producers Joe Connor, Lucy Maclaren, Ken Connor
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis After a bushfire almost wiped them off the face of the earth, can a ragtag band of citizens from a deeply divided community overcome their differences and seize control of their own destiny to save their town from dying?

MICROWORLDS REEF
1 x 60 mins
Wildpacific Media Pty Ltd
Director Nicholas Robinson
Writer Nicholas Robinson
DOPs/Technical Directors: Pete West, Daniel Stoupin
Producers Nicholas Robinson, Peta Ayers, Pete West, Daniel Stoupin, Louise Polain
Executive Producer Electra Manikakis
Broadcaster Netflix
Synopsis Join us as we tell the real story of a coral reef, from the inside out. For the first time we reveal the slow, the fast, and the almost-alien world of the microscopic creatures that underpin the reef ecosystems.

LOVE ON THE SPECTRUM SEASON 2
4 x 57 mins
Northern Pictures
Director Cian O'Clery
Producers Cian O'Clery, Jenni Wilks
Executive Producer Karina Holden
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Relationships and the dating game is an exciting and sometimes overwhelming time for everyone … particularly for those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

FINDING THE ARCHIBALD
3 x 57 mins
Mint Pictures Pty Ltd
Director Ariel White
Writer Dan Goldberg
Producer Dan Goldberg
Executive Producers Adam Kay, Rachel Griffiths
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis As the Archibald celebrates its centenary with the Art Gallery of NSW's most ambitious exhibition yet, art lover and acclaimed actor Rachel Griffiths embarks on a cultural romp through our most coveted and controversial arts prize to find the one portrait that encapsulates the changing face of Australia.

GOING COUNTRY
2 x 60 mins
EQ Media Group
Director Kriv Stenders
Writer Paul Clarke
Series Producer Bernice Toni
Executive Producers Sam Griffin, Brendan Dahill
Broadcaster ABC
International Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis Hosted by Justine Clarke, Going Country is a broad-appeal and innovative presenter-led road trip through a curated song list of iconic Australian country music to reveal the surprising ways this music and its lyrics has underscored, defined and expressed what it is to be Australian.

PRODUCER PROGRAM

EMBRACE KIDS
1 x 90 mins
Body image Movement / SLA Films
Writer/Director Taryn Brumfitt
Producers Taryn Brumfitt, Anna Vincent, Bonnie McBride
Executive Producers Celeste Barber, Teresa Palmer, Natasha Stott Despoja
Distributor Transmission
Synopsis Filmmaker, author and globally heralded activist Taryn Brumfitt is at it again, this time turning the lens on the issue of kids’ body image to understand why 70% of Australian school kids consider body image to be their number one concern, and what can be done about it.

GLORIAVALE 
1 x 80 mins
Forward Media Pty Ltd
Writer/Directors Noel Smyth, Fergus Grady
Producers Noel Smyth, Fergus Grady
Executive Producers Kim Ingles, Richard Fletcher
Synopsis An eye-opening look at the infamous Gloriavale Christian Community and the institutional failures that have allowed one of the world’s biggest and longest running cults to continue.

ITHAKA
1 x 100 mins
Shipton House Pty Ltd
Director Benjamin Lawrence
Producers Gabriel Shipton, Adrian Devant
Synopsis A feature documentary that follows John Shipton’s battle to save his son, Julian Assange.

JOHN FARNHAM – FINDING THE VOICE
1 x 90 mins
Beyond Oz Pty Ltd in association with Blink TV
Director Poppy Stockell
Producer Olivia Hoopmann
Executive Producers Paul Clarke, Martin Fabinyi
Synopsis Nobody ever questioned that John Farnham could sing, but his journey to find an artistic voice and become Australia’s most beloved performer was a challenging one and took half a lifetime.

KNOWING THE SCORE
1 x 75 mins
Knowing the Score Pty Limited
Directors Janine Hosking, Simon Target
Writer Janine Hosking
Producer Margaret Bryant
Executive Producer Jonathan Page
Synopsis Simone Young's achievements are phenomenal and unprecedented. Knowing the Score gets up-close and personal with Simone in this luscious music documentary exposing a struggle for gender parity and for artists to be valued in times of crisis, or sometimes even at all.

THE GIANTS
1 x 90 mins
General Strike Pty Ltd & Matchbox Productions Pty Ltd
Director/Producer Laurence Billiet
Executive Producer Helen Panckhurst
Synopsis The Giants is a poetic, cinematic portrait of environmentalist Bob Brown and the Forest. This film draws on emerging science about trees and Brown’s experiences of activism to inspire a new chapter in our relationship with trees.

WASH MY SOUL IN THE RIVER’S FLOW
1 x 88 mins
Wash My Soul Productions
Writer/Director Philippa Bateman
Producers Archie Roach, Kate Hodges, Philippa Bateman
Executive Producers Emma Donovan, Ian Darling
Synopsis A portrait of two of Australia’s great artists: Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter. A story in song about loss, love and the redemptive power of music and Country.

WINX
1 x 90 mins
I Kandy Films Pty Ltd
Director Janine Hosking
Writers Andrew Rule, Janine Hosking
Producers Janine Hosking, Katrina McGowan
Cinematographer Kevin Scott
Distributor Transmission
Synopsis WINX is the untold story of one of Australia’s greatest living legends.

HOW TO THRIVE
1 x 60 mins 
Beyondedge Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Duy Huynh
Producers Duy Huynh, Andrew Kelly
Executive Producers Mitzi Goldman, Michael Collins
Synopsis Positive Psychology coach Marie McLeod takes on 10 volunteers with complex psychological issues to help them learn ‘how to thrive.’

KUTCHA'S CARPOOL KOORIOKE SEASON TWO
10 x 7 mins
Tamarind Tree Pictures Pty Ltd
Writer/Director John Harvey
Producers John Harvey, Anna Grieve
Associate Producers Kutcha Edwards, Fiona Dean
Synopsis Shot on Wurundjeri country - Fitzroy streets are the stompin' ground- for this multiplatform documentary series featuring acclaimed Mutti Mutti song man Kutcha Edwards, icon Uncle Jack Charles and a host of Indigenous performers young and old.

PRISONER X
1 x 90 mins
Sweet Shop and Green Pty Ltd
Directors Tony Krawitz, Hilla Medalia
Producers Gal Greenspan, Hilla Medalia, Katy Roberts, Tom Lee Zigelman
Synopsis When a government arrests a man and censors it in the name of “security,” the currency of democracy is devalued, rendering all citizens vulnerable to the fate of “Prisoner X”.

SHARKO
1 x 100 mins
Bonsai Films and Scope Red
Writer/Director Luke Graham
Producers Luke Graham, Kylie Pascoe, Jonathan Page
Executive Producer Jonathan Shteinman
Australian Distributor Pivot Pictures
Synopsis The story of how a working class boy from Otahuhu became one of Rugby League’s greatest players and the personal cost echoed through generations.

STANDING ON THE SOiLUTION (WORKING TITLE)
1 x 85 mins
Wildbear Entertainment Pty Ltd in association with New Town Films Pty Ltd
Director TBA
Co-Director Ljudan Michaelis-Thorpe
Writers Bettina Dalton, Rachel Ward and TBA
Producers Bettina Dalton, Rachel Ward
Executive Producers Alan Erson, and for Regen Studios: Damon Gameau and Anna Kaplan 
Synopsis Besieged by drought, bushfires and ecological despair, farmer Rachel Ward finds hope in the soil beneath her feet and embarks on a journey of discovery to regenerate her land, and herself.

THE SECRET WORLD OF FUNGI
1 x 45 mins
Fungi Imax Pty Ltd
Writers Catherine Marciniak, Joseph Nizeti, Paul Phelan
Directors Gisela Kaufmann, Paul Phelan
Producers Jo-anne McGowan, Jennifer Peedom, David Gross
Synopsis There are more fungi on Earth than plants, and millions of undiscovered species. They are central players in nature’s story of birth, death and rebirth.  Life as we know it would not exist without them. Join acclaimed British biologist Dr Merlin Sheldrake as he discovers how this ancient lifeform may now hold the key to solving some of humanity’s most urgent problems. 

UNHEARD
6 x 22mins
Ladbible Australia Pty Limited
Directors Daniel Mansour, Luke Cornish, Jack Steele, Ellen Dedes-Vallas, Olivia Suleimon, Cathy Vu
Writers Daniel Mansour, Luke Cornish, Jack Steele, Ellen Dedes-Vallas, Olivia Suleimon, Cathy Vu, Shahn Devendran
Producers Daniel Mansour, Luke Cornish, Jack Steele, Ellen Dedes-Vallas, Shahn Devendran
Executive Producer/Series Producer/Creator Shahn Devendran
Synopsis An investigative documentary into racial injustice in Australia.

WHO I AM
1 x 30 mins
Walking Fish Productions Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Naomi Ball
Producers Naomi Ball, David Elliot-Jones, Cadance Bell
Synopsis A transgender teen who’s also on the spectrum learns to stand up for himself and find the support he needs, with the help of his own original characters, The Fallens.

ANONYMOUS CLUB
1 x 90 mins
Film Camp Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Danny Cohen
Producers Philippa Campey, Samantha Dinning
Distributor Film Art Media
Synopsis With unprecedented access to the personal and private life of notoriously shy, but widely acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, Anonymous Club delicately and intimately explores the inner life of an artist in conflict with herself.

BEYOND THE STARS
1 x 22 mins
White Spark Pictures Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Briege Whitehead
Producer Jess Black
Executive Producer Briege Whitehead
Synopsis Experience the greatest scientific endeavour in history as you step onto the Australian site of the incredible Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope and be transported to the edge of the Universe in spectacular 360° virtual reality.

BLACK SUMMER
1 x 15 mins
Tiny Beast Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Chris Phillips
Producer Katy Roberts, Chris Phillips
Synopsis In the midst of a nation on fire, Australian photographer Matthew Abbott immerses himself in an unprecedented environmental catastrophe to deliver imagery which will reverberate around the world.

CLEANING TRAUMA
1 x 85 mins
Walking Fish Productions Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Lachlan McLeod
Producer Charlotte Wheaton, David Elliot-Jones
Executive Producers Virginia Whitwell, Nick Batzias
Synopsis Cleaning Trauma charts the journey of larger-than-life trauma cleaning business owner Sandra Pankhurst, as she begins a search for her birth mother and reinvents herself as an icon for resilience.

THE FRONT
1 x 90 mins
Carver Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Eddie Martin
Producers Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw, Katy Roberts, Katia Nizic
Synopsis Through first-hand footage from those on the ground, the audience is put directly on the frontlines of Australia’s most devastating bushfire season, delivering a uniquely powerful insight into a disaster that captivated the world.

THE VILLAGE
1 x 52 mins
Roar Film Pty Ltd
Director Eliya Cohen
Writers Steve Thomas, Martine Delaney
Producers Kath Symmons, Steve Thomas, Martine Delaney
Impact Producer Felicity Blake
Executive Producer Craig Dow Sainter
Synopsis At a time when aged care is under intense scrutiny, a radical new development in Hobart aims to turn dementia care on its head by focussing on the individual and their life experiences as the basis for future care.

LOGAN DOCUMENTARY (WORKING TITLE)
1 x 90 mins
Arenamedia Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Sari Braithwaite
Producer Chloe Brugale
Executive Producer Robert Connolly, Robert Patterson
Synopsis Janet has two adult children by blood, three by marriage, a husband, too many pets, and too many bills to pay. This is the story of a neuro-diverse family living in a working-class suburban fringe, dreaming and scheming of big new futures in a world that is closing in on them. Janet is loosening the ties which have bound her family together in order to survive. Everyone must navigate rites of passage. Tender and wondrous, this film affords a voice to its subjects as they let go, untangling the universal need to seek meaning beyond the reach of the everyday.

MEET THE WALLERS
1 x 90 mins
Petrie Street Pictures Pty Ltd
Director Jim Stevens
Writer Gil Scrine
Producers Jim Stevens, Gil Scrine
Executive Producer Trish Lake
Synopsis Step inside the family home and meet the Wallers, a happily married couple with two beautiful daughters living the middle-class life in sunny Australia - what could possibly go wrong?

MUM - MISUNDERSTANDINGS OF MISCARRIAGE 
Neon Jane Pty Ltd
1 x 83 mins
Writer/Director Tahyna MacManus
Producer Kelly Tomasich
Executive Producers Jennifer Cummins, Michael Lawrence
Synopsis Tahyna MacManus embarks on a personal journey to understand the physical, emotional and psychological impacts of miscarriage as she tries to fall pregnant again.

PHIL LIGGETT: THE VOICE OF CYCLING
1 x 113 mins
Goldynaut Pictures Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Eleanor Sharpe
Producer Nickolas Bird
Executive Producers John Croft, Mark Bird, Shaun Miller, David Doepel, Michael Agar, Mat Kesting
Synopsis The man behind the voice.

REVENGE: MY DAD THE NAZI KILLER
1 x 90 mins
Identity Films and Productions Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Danny Ben-Moshe
Producers Danny Ben-Moshe, Lizzette Atkins
Synopsis 70 years after a body is found floating in a Sydney river, middle aged Jewish doctor Jack learns his father, a Holocaust survivor, is responsible for the unsolved murder of an alleged Nazi and sets out on a quest to find the truth.

REWILD
6 x 10 mins
PHORIA
Directors Rayyan Roslan, Trent Clews-de Castella, Joseph Purdam
Writers Angie Davis, Gemma Hannan, Trent Clews-de Castella  
Producers Rayyan Roslan, Angie Davis, Blair Burke
Synopsis Nature’s most beautiful and fragile ecosystems are under threat. Rediscover the wild world we call home, thriving inside your living room in AR. Now is the time to connect with nature, rewild balance, and become a voice for our planet.

STAGE CHANGERS
1 x 60 mins
Ella Wright
Director Ella Wright
Producers Janelle Landers, Aidan O'Bryan, Ella Wright
Synopsis Given one shot at glory, can four small town independent theatre makers scale up to make their first major international festival work? Or will their dreams come crashing down as the curtains fall?

STRONG WOMEN
3 x 22 mins
Strong Women Documentary Pty Ltd
Writer/Directors Corinne Innes, Alexandra Gaulupeau
Producers Corinne Innes, Alexandra Gaulupeau, Ann Megalla
Synopsis Powerful and resilient women support and empower each other while rivalling to becoming Australia's strongest women.

THE DEPARTMENT
1 x 85 mins
Shark Island Institute
Director Sascha Ettinger Epstein
Producers Mary Macrae, Ian Darling
Synopsis THE DEPARTMENT will tell a compassionate and intimate story of workers and families entwined within NSW’s child protection system.

THERE IS NO ‘I’ IN ISLAND
5 x 3 mins
Rummin Productions Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Rebecca Thomson
Producers Catherine Pettman, Rebecca Thomson
Synopsis A series of animated films that document the voices and experience of the Tasmanian community living in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and weave them into a journey through a fantastical landscape.

UNDER COVER
1 x 80 mins
SA Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Sue Thomson
Producers Adam Farrington-Williams, Sue Thomson, Alexandra Curtis
Synopsis Under Cover is a timely portrait of hidden homelessness, and the thousands of older women who are its victims.

The Guardian initiative

JUVIE
1 x 27 mins
Marhaba Films Pty Ltd
Director Charby Ibrahim
Producers Charby Ibrahim, Britt Arthur
Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom
Platform The Guardian
Synopsis Against the torrent of ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric, young people caught in the sticky web of the juvenile justice system, find their voice.

MOVEMENT AT THE STATION
1 x 30 mins
Arcadia and Grumpy Originals
Director Pete Ward
Writers Pete Ward, Sam Emery
Producers Lisa Shaunessy, Pete Ward, Sam Emery
Executive Producers James Boyce, Alexandra Burke
Platform The Guardian
Synopsis A NSW stockman on a mission to rehome wild Australian brumbies discovers the remarkable effects of the human-animal bond.