Screen Australia has announced more than $2.7 million of documentary funding for five projects though the Documentary Producer Program, two through the Documentary Commissioned Program, one through the First Nations Department and one through the Online Production Fund.
Projects include a feature documentary exploring and celebrating 30 years of iconic Australian band, The Wiggles; gripping true story Fighting for Hakeem, about imprisoned refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi and the power of global social media; and online documentary Finding Yeezus which investigates a cult internet religion and will be released on Aunty Donna’s secondary YouTube channel Grouse House.
Alex West, head of documentary at Screen Australia said, “We’re proud to announce such a diverse slate of projects that will explore stories of human resilience, challenging prejudice and the lives of some of Australia’s biggest music icons. Screen Australia is also very excited to prioritise history projects like Her Name is Nannie Nellie and First Weapons that will focus on Indigenous achievements told by First Nations people.”
The Documentary Funded Through The First Nations Department Is:
First Weapons: First Weapons showcases the inherent science and knowledge behind some of the world’s oldest, most innovative, and deadliest weapons used by First Australians for thousands of years.
The Documentary Producer Program Projects Are:
Fighting for Hakeem (working title): A feature documentary from writer/director Matthew Bate (Sam Klemke’s Time Machine) about refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi and the global campaign that fought to free him from prison.
The Wolves Always Come At Night: A feature documentary that explores the journey of Mongolian nomadic families who are displaced from their life as herders and forced to migrate.
Gudinski: This feature documentary is the story of music pioneer, the late Michael Gudinski, who transformed the business on the back of his determination to let Australian music find its own voice.
Her Name is Nanny Nellie: In this documentary for NITV, writer-director and Yuin/Awabakal man Daniel King documents his mother’s journey to restore and recover a trio of nameless statues buried in the archives of the Australian Museum to honour her ancestors and reclaim their life stories.
The Untitled Wiggles Project: Four music mates decided to don yellow, red, blue and purple skivvies and make rock ‘n’ roll for children.
The Documentary Commissioned Projects Are:
Me and My Tourette’s: Around one in every hundred Australians are diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome (TS). Me and My Tourette’s is an observational documentary for SBS’s Australia Uncovered strand that follows three people with TS as they challenge society’s prejudices and strive towards acceptance.
The School (working title): A three-part series for SBS from the team behind The Mosque Next Door, which will follow the leader of one of Australia’s fastest growing Islamic schools as he embarks on a bold new social experiment: a pilot program for students and their families that aims to break down the barriers between communities and breach the fault lines of modern multicultural Australia.
The Documentary Funded Through Online Production Is:
Finding Yeezus: Comedians, pop culture detectives and writers/producers Cameron James and Alexei Toliopoulos will embark on an all new investigation into a world of re-imagined realities, hip hop heads, new age cults and the very nature of belief, all through the lens of a barely remembered online video game.
The projects receiving documentary development funding can be found here.