Screen Australia has announced it will fund 14 new documentaries in its latest funding round, including a feature documentary about cricketer Shane Warne titled SHANE.
The new bursary splits its $2.1million between 12 produced and two commissioned projects. It follows a recent change by the agency to make applications for its Documentary Development Program open year-round.
SHANE is directed by Jon Carey and Adam Darke, who were previously responsible for the lower-profile cricket documentary Beyond the Boundary: Inside the Battle for the Ashes 2019. Per a film bio, SHANE will track the rise of the controversial cricketer’s career and his infamously public lifestyle, “while exploring universal themes about national identity and a shared need for love and acceptance”. It will be produced jointly in the UK.
Screen Australia Head of Documentary Bernadine Lim said the international co-productions opened up Australian films to “international opportunities in financing as well as audience reach”.
“The past few months have presented several challenges for the sector but it’s been great to see that many documentary projects have been able to continue production in some form, and we’re impressed with the adaptability and resilience teams have shown,” he said in a statement.
Two online documentaries of note also received funding. Strange Beasts, directed by Darcy Prendergast, explores the story behind a tiger and lion park in 1970s Melbourne, while A Big Life, written and directed by Anna Brownfield, tells a short part of Australia’s transgender history through the life of Bobbie Nugent.
A two-part documentary examining the catalysts for the COVID-19 pandemic also received funding. A Plague on our Houses, written and directed by Sally Browning, focuses on the work of a multi-disciplinary team in Australia and the US developing data linking human and animal health, to help predict and stop further pandemic events.
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A full list of the documentaries receiving funding is here.
Last week, Screen Australia released new guidelines to restart local film and TV production, requiring every production to draw up their own “COVID-Safe Risk Mitigation Program”. Last month, Screen Producers Australia revealed 119 local productions have been halted by the coronavirus pandemic.