Funding Approvals
IN THE ARCHIVE
2022-2023 Documentary PRODUCTION
THE LAST GOODBYE (WORKING TITLE)
3 x 60 mins
BBC Studios Productions Australia Pty Ltd
Director Benjamin Jones
Writer Allan Clarke
Producer Benjamin Jones
Executive Producers Sky Kinninmont, Deborah Spinocchia
Synopsis The series explores Australia’s changing attitudes and approaches to death and how we, as a nation, choose to farewell and remember our dead.
THE IDEA OF AUSTRALIA
4 x 51 mins
Blackfella Films Pty. Limited
Director Benjamin Jones
Writer Julianne Schultz
Producer Darren Dale
Series Producer Jacob Hickey
Executive Producer Julianne Schultz
Synopsis By exploring our past and inspiring questions about the future, this revelatory and seminal series asks Australians to understand where the nation has come from, and challenges what we might become.
TONY ARMSTRONG’S EXTRA-ORDINARY THINGS
5 x 57 mins
FremantleMedia Australia Pty Ltd
Director Hayden Guppy
Producers Hayden Guppy, Ash Gibb
Executive Producers Josie Mason Campbell, Sophie Meyrick
Synopsis Tony Armstrong travels around the country meeting everyday Australians with extraordinary objects that reveal the untold history of our nation.
BIG MIRACLES SEASON 2
6 x 44 mins
Big Miracles Pty Ltd
Director Danika Armytage
Series Producer Chris Murrihy
Co-executive Producer Liam Taylor
Executive Producer Ben Davies
Synopsis Starting a family is the ultimate dream for many people. But what happens when pregnancy seems impossible?
LIFE ON THE HOSPITAL FRONTLINE (WORKNG TITLE)
3 x 52 mins
Smashing Films
Writer/Director Anthony Barwell
Executive Producer Dan Brown
Series Producer Jo Siddiqui
Synopsis Life on the Hospital Frontline (working title) will explore the challenges facing the Australian public health system by going behind the scenes at one of Australia’s busiest public hospitals – St Vincent’s in Sydney.
THE WAY WE WORE
3 x 60 mins
Stranger Than Fiction Films Pty Ltd
Director Nel Minchin
Writers Nel Minchin, Mel Haywood
Producers Nel Minchin, Jo-Anne McGowan, Sarah Noonan
Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom
Synopsis A fabulous history and a little bit of a roast of the Australian fashion industry revealing how the clothes we wear provides an unexpectedly intimate insight into the evolution of our country.
BETTER DATE THAN NEVER
6 x 30 mins
Northern Pictures Productions Pty Ltd
Director Cian O’Clery
Senior Casting Producer Prue Hamill
Post Producer Callum Denness
Executive Producers Karina Holden, Cian O'Clery,
Synopsis Better Date Than Never is a documentary series telling the stories of a diverse group of singles seeking love for the first time.
A FORGOTTEN CURE (WORKING TITLE)
1 x 54 mins
Genepool Productions
Writer/Director Emma Watts
Producers Sonya Pemberton, Anna Mantzoros
Executive Producer Sonya Pemberton
Synopsis An intimate real-time journey with superbug infected patients who, left with no other option, are being injected with trillions of viruses - viruses that could save their lives and also give hope to the world.
DESIGNING A LEGACY S2
2 x 60 mins
SAM Content and Modernister Films
Director Chris Eley
Producer Aline Jacques
Executive Producers Sally Aitken, Tim Ross
Synopsis Architecture tragic Tim Ross travels the country to see buildings and meet people that help reveal a new story of what it means to be Australian, hidden in the architecture around us.
DEVIL’S LAST STAND
1 x 55 mins
Quoll Farm Pty Ltd
Director Simon Plowright
Producer Simon Nasht
Synopsis Set in the spectacular landscape of north-west Tasmania, Simon Plowright will spend a year immersed in the intimate daily life of a remarkable animal, the often-misunderstood Tasmanian Devil.
DOLPHINS: IS OUR LOVE TOO DEEP?
1 x 57 mins
Sea Dog TV International Pty Ltd
Director Leighton De Barros
Producers Jodie De Barros, Leighton De Barros
Executive Producer Jodie De Barros
Synopsis Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep? is a ground-breaking, investigative, environmental film that explores the impact humans are having on wild dolphins through hand feeding tourism programs in Australia at Monkey Mia and Bunbury in Western Australia, and Moreton Bay and Tin Can Bay in Queensland.
THE NAMELESS ‘NAZI’ (WORKING TITLE)
1 x 60 mins
Mint Pictures Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Dan Goldberg
Producer Dan Goldberg
Executive Producer Adam Kay
Synopsis A Jewish boy witnesses the murder of his family, survives the Holocaust by becoming the Nazis’ youngest soldier, has four false names, two mistaken family reunions and now, thanks to DNA, is on the cusp of discovering his true identity on his deathbed…is it too remarkable to be true?
LESSONS FROM THE UNKNOWN
1 x 85 mins
Blackfella Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Chris Phillips
Co-Writer Jacob Hickey
Producers Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey
Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom
Synopsis An Australian scientist staging world first psychedelic trials hopes to change the course of the mental health epidemic.
WAR ON WASTE S3
3 x 60 mins
Lune Media
Director Jodi Boylan
Producers Craig Reucassel, Mariel Thomas
Executive Producers Leonie Lowe, David Galloway, Jodi Boylan
Synopsis This three-part series will put the critical issue of waste back on the agenda and highlight the connection between waste and climate change. The series reveals how far we’ve come, and how far we’ve fallen behind – and what we can all do to stem the waste tide.
SCHOOL DAYS (WORKING TITLE)
1 x 90 mins
In Films and Roadshow Films
Director Adam Kamien
Producer Ivan O'Mahoney
Co-Producer Edwina Waddy
Executive Producers Joel Pearlman, Nial Fulton
Synopsis A feature length documentary on an historical high school controversy.
MOZART’S SISTER
1 x 90 mins
Media Stockade Two Pty Ltd
Director Madeleine Hetherton-Miau
Producers Madeleine Hetherton-Miau, Rebecca Barry
Synopsis A stunning new investigation explores the fascinating theory that Maria-Anna Mozart – Mozart’s sister, music partner and early creative collaborator played a larger role than previously known - and turns our gaze to the unrecognised female creators of our time.
THE C WORD
1 x 75 mins
Northern Pictures
Director Tosca Looby
Producer Karina Holden
Editor Rachel Grierson Johns
Synopsis The World’s most powerful nations were ready to act on climate change three decades ago. The C Word is an archive powered exposé of the moments in recent human history when science was trumped by misinformation, political will was checked and climate change shifted from fact to fable.
STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE SEASON 2
8 x 28 mins
Wooden Horse Pty Ltd, WildBear Entertainment Pty Ltd and Cream Productions Inc., an Australia-Canada co-production
Directors Steph Weimar, Nathan Maynard
Writers Marc Fennell, Adam Thompson
Producers Kate Pappas, Felicity Justrabo
Executive Producers Alan Erson, Michael Tear, Richard Finlayson, Jude Troy, Kate Harrison, David Brady
Synopsis The British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today, those objects are often housed in museums and galleries across the UK and the world. Marc Fennell is on a global adventure to unravel the mysterious true histories behind those objects - and meet those who want them back.
REWARDS FOR THE TRIBE
1 x 80 mins
Film Camp
Writer/Director Rhys Graham
Producers Molly O'Connor, Philippa Campey
Script Collaborator and Director Mentee Jana Castillo
Synopsis A playful documentary following the collaboration between a group of contemporary dancers as they create a performance that challenges ideas of creative and physical “perfection”.
THIS IS US
1 x 30 mins
Savage Films
Writer/Directors Maggie Miles, Maggie Eudes
Producers Lucy Maclaren, Maggie Miles, Maggie Eudes
Synopsis Celebrating the occasion of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, players from Australia’s national women’s football team join with supporters to celebrate the team’s amazing story.
ELLIS PARK
1 x 90 mins
Good Thing Productions Company Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Justin Kurzel
Producers Nick Batzias, Charlotte Wheaton
Synopsis Everyone can impact the world around them in their own way; in the dark times of the Covid-19 pandemic Warren Ellis found his way to make a difference.
AQUARIUS
1 x 75 mins
Tilt Media + Entertainment
Directors Wendy Champagne, Oren Siedler
Writer Wendy Champagne
Producer Sam Griffin
Executive Producers Chris Hilton, Rhoda Roberts, Tom Zubrycki, Paul Wiegard
Synopsis The story of a radical 10-day Festival in 1973 where the idealists face down police interference, internal chaos, drugs and personal dramas to create a living template for survival on earth…and almost succeed.
WELCOME TO BABEL
1 x 90 mins
Babel Film Pty. Ltd.
Director James Bradley
Producers James Bradley, Graeme Isaac, Carl-Ludwig Rettinger
Executive Producer Andrew Myer
Synopsis An obsessed artist, a crazy dream, and the fraught history of Communism combine in a journey following the creation of an epic artwork.
NEVER GET BUSTED!
4 x 60 mins
Projector Films Pty Ltd
Creators David Ngo, Erin Williams-Weir
Director Stephen McCallum
Writer David Ngo
Producers Daniel Joyce, Erin Williams-Weir, David Ngo
Executive Producers John Battsek, Chris Smith
Synopsis Barry Cooper was one of Texas' top narcotics officers, that is until he turned against the police force: exposing crooked cops, helping addicts evade arrest and picking a one man fight with the War on Drugs.
REVEALED: RENEE GRACIE
1 x 90 mins
Rush Films Pty Ltd
Directors Frances Elliott, Samantha Marlowe
Writers Frances Elliott, Samantha Marlowe
Producer Cody Greenwood
Synopsis Australia’s first female Supercar-Star Renee Gracie attempts to re-enter V8 racing after being pushed out of the sport and becoming Australia’s top earner on OnlyFans.
AFTER SCHOOL (WORKING TITLE)
1 x 90 mins and 2 x 60 mins
FremantleMedia Australia Pty Ltd
Director Thomas Hyland
Producers Catherine Bradbury, Josie Mason Campbell, Jim Wright
Executive Producers Josie Mason Campbell, Jim Wright
Synopsis A humorous and heart-warming coming of age story unfolds when a cast of neurodiverse teenagers confront their own challenges, dreams & desires as they prepare for their first high school musical. This is a simple story with complex characters of teen life on the margins.
BREAKAWAY FEMMES
1 x 90 mins
Goldynaut Pictures
Writer/Director Eleanor Sharpe
Producer Nickolas Bird
Synopsis For six glorious years during the 1980s, a women’s Tour de France was held alongside the men’s race... their story has never been told, until now.
THE CARNIVAL
1 x 85 mins and 1 x 52 mins
Sideshow Films
Writer/Director Isabel Darling
Producer Tom Zubrycki
Co-Producer Isabel Darling
Synopsis The Carnival is a documentary capturing the intimate moments of a six-generation carnival family, the Bells.
DEAD BY JUNE
1 x 90 mins
Third Man Films Pty Ltd
Directors Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross
Writers Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross
Producers Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross
Executive Producers Paul Wiegard, Karl Stefanovic, Josh Pomeranz
Synopsis The meteoric rise, heartbreaking fall and the unfathomable comeback of motorcycle racing’s 5-time World Champion, Mick Doohan.
KILLJOY
1 x 90 mins
Pandora's Docs Pty Ltd and Fringe Dweller Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director Vincent Lamberti
Producer Lisa Albert
Associate Producer Jess Hill
Project Advisor Ivan O'Mahoney
Synopsis A mother’s death, a community’s silence, and a child’s journey to understand how the law allowed them to be raised by their father – the man who killed their mother.
THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
1 x 28 mins
Yarra Bank Films Pty Ltd
Directors Francesca Rizzoli, Trevor J Graham
Producer Trevor J Graham
Executive Producer Catherine Barrett
Synopsis A vivid, transgender love story, Gail and Lisette waited 60 years to live their lives freely and to love and marry as their true selves.
ROSE GOLD
1 x 90 mins
Wooden Horse
Director Matthew Adekponya
Creative Consultant Kriv Stenders
Writers Matthew Adekponya, Allan Clarke
Producer Richard Finlayson
Executive Producers Richard Finlayson, Jude Troy
Synopsis After nearly 70 years of valiantly trying, what will it take for the Boomers to finally bring home an Olympic medal?
SONGS INSIDE
1 x 80 mins
Shalom Almond
Writer/Director Shalom Almond
Producers Shalom Almond, Katrina Lucas, Lauren Drewery
Co-Producer Nancy Bates
Synopsis Most women leaving prison eventually end up back inside, but one musician and her guitar want to prove that music can be a powerful tool for change and healing, behind bars and beyond. Will music open the door to a different future and set these women prisoners free?
TURNING THE TIDE
1 x 27mins
Edge Atelier Pty Ltd
Director Franck Dubuc
Writer Francesca Partridge
Producers Steve Thomas, Francesca Partridge
Synopsis Captain Sarah Parry takes a group of teenagers from refugee and Aussie backgrounds on a remarkable, life-changing voyage aboard Windeward Bound, the tall-ship she built in Tasmania.
WATANDAR, MY COUNTRYMAN
1 x 67 mins
Watandar Pty Ltd
Director Jolyon Hoff
Writers Jolyon Hoff, Muzafar Ali
Producers Jolyon Hoff, Muzafar Ali, Hamish Gibbs Ludbrook
Synopsis When the Taliban take over Afghanistan a former refugee finds a new home in the Australian desert.
THE WEEPING TREE
1 x 60 mins
Rummin Productions Pty Ltd
Director Matthew Newton
Producer Catherine Pettman
Executive Producer Andry Sculthorpe
Synopsis A deeply moving and engaging portrait of a Vandemonian tree with the ability to survive blizzards, weep alcohol and bring grown men to tears.
WOVEN THREADS STORIES FROM COUNTRY
8 x 5 mins
Woven Threads Productions PTY LTD
Director Tony Briggs
Producer Michi Marosszeky
Synopsis This series will look at the effect of colonisation past and present on Indigenous Australian communities, exploring themes of identity (not just skin colour), youth justice, mental health, disability, employment, LGBTQI related issues and out of home care.