Notizie

From war-torn Sudan to Wagga Wagga, a tight bond between director and subject fuels this deeply humane documentary about one woman’s struggle to fit in

Does the strength of every documentary ultimately lie with its subject? A supposed truism says that yes, it does, but for a long time I’ve been in two minds about it. Extraordinary real-life stories can be explored in ordinary films (the recent The Family about Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s notorious LSD and peroxide-enhanced Australian cult comes to mind) just as profound experiences can be shaped from seemingly superficial settings, as in Gayby Baby director Maya Newell’s first doco, Richard – a touching portrait of a Chihuahua-loving toyshop owner.

But still, documentaries like the inspiring and deeply humane Constance on the Edge – about Constance Okot, a lively, compassionate but troubled Sudanese refugee – make me think twice.

Continue reading...

Ian Darling..

Good Pitch Australia.s founder, moderator and chair Ian Darling was named Australia's leading philanthropist at the Philanthropy Australia Awards last week.

Under Darling.s guidance, Good Pitch has raised more than $14 million for 19 documentaries and their outreach campaigns over the past three years. These include That Sugar Film, Gayby Baby, Prison Songs, The Hunting Ground, Frackman, Call Me Dad, Constance on the Edge, Zach.s Ceremony, Whiteley and Blue.

Darling is also chair and founder of the Shark Island Institute, and founder and patron of the Documentary Australia Foundation. Outside of film, Darling has chaired the The Caledonia Foundation since 2001.

CEO of Philanthropy Australia Sarah Davies said Darling's work was an example of philanthropy at its best..

.The Leading Philanthropist Award goes to an individual in recognition of their outstanding individual philanthropic work: they embody Philanthropy Australia.s vision for a more giving Australia and they influence...

Ian Darling..

Good Pitch Australia.s founder, moderator and chair Ian Darling was presented with the Leading Philanthropist Award at the annual Philanthropy Australia Awards last week.

Under Darling.s guidance, Good Pitch has raised more than $14 million for 19 documentaries and their outreach campaigns over the past three years. These include That Sugar Film, Gayby Baby, Prison Songs, The Hunting Ground, Frackman, Call Me Dad, Constance on the Edge, Zach.s Ceremony, Whiteley and Blue.

Darling is also chair and founder of the Shark Island Institute, and founder and patron of the Documentary Australia Foundation. Outside of film, Darling has chaired the The Caledonia Foundation since 2001.

CEO of Philanthropy Australia Sarah Davies said Darling's work was an example of philanthropy at its best..

.The Leading Philanthropist Award goes to an individual in recognition of their outstanding individual philanthropic work: they embody Philanthropy Australia.s vision for a more giving Australia...

Gunpowder & Sky, the roughly one-year-old digital studio founded by former top execs from Viacom and Endemol -- Van Toffler and Floris Bauer, respectively -- have acquired Supergravity Pictures, which is behind films like The Chosen and Gayby Baby, for an undisclosed sum.

Gunpowder & Sky initially tendered an equity investment in Supergravity in July 2015, and the two companies announced plans to co-produce a slasher film called Skate Or Die last June. Gunpowder and Supergravity are also teaming on a project called Team Nocuous, about the world of competitive gaming, in collaboration with the Fine Brothers and others.

Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

The ambitious entertainment company that snapped up FilmBuff last year has bought the content creator launched in 2014 by Max Benator and Marc Hustvedt.

The deal — financial terms were not disclosed — follows a strategic investment by Gunpowder & Sky in Supergravity in July 2015 in which the former took an equity stake and struck a feature co-production partnership.

The companies are working together on horror project Skate Or Die as well as Team Nocuous, a series about the world of competitive video gaming in conjunction with the Fine Brothers, Mad Cow Productions and Third String Kicker.

Benator and Hustvedt will segue from executive roles into a producing capacity across a number of existing projects.

“Since making the investment, Supergravity has made great progress; building the team, developing, selling and producing more series and films, and launching Antigravity, their marketing arm,” said Gunpowder & Sky president and former Endemol executive Floris Bauer (pictured), who co-founded the company with former MTV executive and Viacom...

One of this year's six Good Pitch Australia docos, 'Guilty', focuses on ending the dealth penalty (Photo Credit: Matthew Sleeth).

This year.s Good Pitch Australia event, held yesterday at the Sydney Opera House, saw $6.6 million in philanthropic funds pledged towards six documentaries and their social impact campaigns.

The six films presented this year were 2040, Ghosthunter, Dying To Live, Kids , Beautiful Minds.and Guilty..The slate focuses on a diverse variety of social issues including environment, sustainability and innovation; adult survivors of childhood trauma; organ and tissue donation; Indigenous education and culture; women in science and Stem and ending the death penalty..

.The scale of our ambition has been matched by the heart and generosity of our supporters, without whom none of this would be possible,. said executive director of Good Pitch Australia Malinda Wink.

.This is an immense privilege and I am grateful for those who have embraced the opportunity to do things differently,...

Hollie Fifer's 'The Opposition', a Good Pitch Australia film..

While this year marks the last Good Pitch Australia event, the Shark Island Institute has stumped up $2 million to fund the organisation.s operations over the next five years.

The funding commitment will enable Good Pitch Australia to provide ongoing management support to the 19 documentaries in its portfolio, including the six new films and their social impact campaigns to be presented at the Sydney Opera House tomorrow.

The money will also support annual .Good Pitch Impact Labs. at the Shark Island Institute for 20 selected filmmakers over the next five years.

Shark Island Institute hosts Good Pitch Australia in partnership with the Documentary Australia Foundation. It is the philanthropic arm of Ian Darling.s Shark Island Productions which, inspired by Robert Redford.s Sundance Institute, aims to support the art of documentary filmmaking and storytelling.

.Whilst this will be...

Hollie Fifer's 'The Opposition', a Good Pitch Australia film..

While this year marks the last Good Pitch Australia event, the Shark Island Institute has stumped up $2 million to fund the organisation.s operations over the next five years.

The funding commitment will enable Good Pitch Australia to provide ongoing management support to the 19 documentaries in its portfolio, including the six new films and their social impact campaigns to be presented at the Sydney Opera House tomorrow.

The money will also support annual .Good Pitch Impact Labs. at the Shark Island Institute for 20 selected filmmakers over the next five years.

Shark Island Institute hosts Good Pitch Australia in partnership with the Documentary Australia Foundation. It is the philanthropic arm of Ian Darling.s Shark Island Productions which, inspired by Robert Redford.s Sundance Institute, aims to support the art of documentary filmmaking and storytelling.

.Whilst this will be...

Maya Newell's Gayby Baby, a Good Pitch Australia alumnus.

Good Pitch Australia has announced the selection of six new feature documentaries for its next event at the Sydney Opera House in November.

Hosted by Ian Darling.s Shark Island Institute in partnership with Documentary Australia Foundation, Good Pitch brings filmmakers together with NGOs, foundations, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, potential corporate and brand partners, broadcasters and media to forge alliances around social impact films.

Darling, who is also chair and moderator, said Good Pitch Australia represented high impact philanthropy at its best, "with all of the key elements of collaboration, scale, partnership, and leverage - using the power of documentary to bring a community together for social change..

Good Pitch was originally devised by Britdoc in partnership with Ford Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, and is held in various major cities around the world. Philanthropy Australia and Pro...

Gayby Baby, a Good Pitch Australia film in 2014.

Good Pitch Australia has announced the selection of six new feature documentaries for its next event at the Sydney Opera House in November.

Hosted by Ian Darling.s Shark Island Institute in partnership with Documentary Australia Foundation, Good Pitch brings filmmakers together with NGOs, foundations, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, potential corporate and brand partners, broadcasters and media to forge alliances around social impact films.

Darling, who is also chair and moderator, said Good Pitch Australia represented high impact philanthropy at its best, "with all of the key elements of collaboration, scale, partnership, and leverage - using the power of documentary to bring a community together for social change..

Good Pitch was originally devised by Britdoc in partnership with Ford Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, and is held in various major cities around the world. Philanthropy Australia and Pro Bono Australia...

Gayby Baby will have its La premiere on Thursday, April 28 at the Chaplin Theatre at Raleigh Studios.

The Us rollout comes at an interesting time, with the last Us state holding out on allowing adoption by same-sex couples recently passing it, making it legal nationwide.

In addition to Los Angeles, the film's New York City premiere will take place May 1 at The Center, co-Presented by Newfest.

An encore screening will also take May 4th at 7pm at The Lang Center hosted by The New School..

Director Maya Newell and producer Charlotte Mars will be stateside from approximately April 28-May 4, to coincide with the film's roadshow rollout and a VOD/Est release May 1.

The film is being released in the States by Supergravity Pictures.

.We have a truly special film here,. said Supergravity founder Marc Hustvedt..

.Supergravity is honored to bring this groundbreaking documentary to audiences across the globe and help...

Gayby Baby.

Us-based Supergravity Pictures have acquired Maya Newell's feature documentary.Gayby Baby and will release the film in the Us, UK and Ireland next month, in partnership with music label and digital media agency Heard Well.

Event-style theatrical screenings of the film will begin in over fifty Us cities from April 1, ahead of a VOD/Est release May 1.

The timing of the May 1 release coincides with International Family Equality Day..

Produced by Charlotte Mars, Gayby Baby screened at the Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Doc NYC and Hot Docs in Toronto over the past year, picking up the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Sff and a nomination for best documentary at the Aacta awards.

.We have a truly special film here,. said Supergravity founder Marc Hustvedt..

.Supergravity is honored to bring this groundbreaking documentary to audiences across the globe and help amplify the conversation around family equality.

A company best known for distributing feature films led by digital media stars has acquired the rights to a documentary with a relevant message for the Lgbt community. Supergravity Pictures has picked up Gayby Baby, which follows four children growing up in same-sex households in Australia.

Gayby Baby hails from Australia, where it was first released last year. Its director, Maya Newell, conceived of her film as a way to add a much-needed perspective to the gay marriage debate (which remains a hot-button issue Down Under). Newell chose four kids she profiled from a pool of more than 30 and followed their lives as they grow up with either two mothers or two fathers.

By distributing the film internationally, Supergravity hopes to expose it to a wider audience. Gayby Baby will be screening in theaters in 50 cities beginning on April 1st before it is released via video on-demand platforms on May 1st.

Plus: Rlj Entertainment picks up Kickboxer: Vengeance; CinemaCon honour for Bryce Dallas Howard; and more…

Focus Features will release Jeff Nichols’ upcoming drama Loving in the Us in an exclusive release on November 4 followed by wide expansion a week later.

Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga star as Richard and Mildred Loving, whose interracial marriage in the 1950s led to banishment, prison, and finally Supreme Court vindication.

Focus paid $9m for Loving for North America and most of the world in Berlin after CAA showed early footage. Nichols’ sci-fi drama Midnight Special starring Michael Shannon, Edgerton, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher, and Kirsten Dunst opens this week in the Us via Warner Bros.

Rlj Entertainment has acquired all Us rights to Kickboxer: Vengeance, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in a return to the franchise that made him famous. John Stockwell directs from a screenplay by Dimitri Logothetis and Jim McGrath. The cast includes newcomer Alain Moussi, Dave Bautista, [link...

Plus: Rlj Entertainment picks up Kickboxer: Vengeance; CinemaCon honour for Bryce Dallas Howard; and more…

Focus features will release Jeff Nichols’ upcoming race drama Loving in the Us in an exclusiverelease on November 4 followed by wide expansion a week late.

Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga star as Richard and Mildred Loving, whose interracial marriage in the 1950s led to banishment, prison and finally a Supreme Court triumph.

Focus pounced on worldwide rights in a $9m deal in Berlin after CAA showed footage. Nichols’ sci-fi drama Midnight Special starring Michael Shannon, Edgerton, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher, and Kirsten Dunst opens this week in the Us via Warner Bros.

Rlj Entertainment has acquired all Us rights to Kickboxer: Vengeance, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in a return to the franchise that made him famous. John Stockwell directs from a screenplay by Dimitri Logothetis and Jim McGrath. The cast includes newcomer Alain Moussi, Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, [link...

Plus: CinemaCon honour for Bryce Dallas Howard; Brightlight Pictures staffs up; and more…

Rlj Entertainment has acquired all Us rights to Kickboxer: Vengeance, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in a return to the franchise. John Stockwell directs from a screenplay by Dimitri Logothetis and Jim McGrath.

The cast includes newcomer Alain Moussi, Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, Georges St-Pierre, and Cain Velasquez. Logothetis produced with Nicholas Celozzi, Ted Field, Allen Knudson, Samuel Cory Timpson and Rob Hickman, who arranged the majority of the financing.

Rlj brokered the deal with Logothetis, Field, Brian O-Shea, and Mike Weber on behalf of the film. Kickboxer: Vengeance will open in theatres and on VOD later this year.

Bryce Dallas Howard will receive the CinemaCon Award For Excellence In Acting in Las Vegas on April 14. The official convention of The National Association Of Theatre Owners takes place from April 11-14 at Caesars Palace. Howard’s next film is the August 12 release of Peter’s Dragon...

The Australian International Documentary Conference wrapped up last night, with delegates gathering for closing drinks at Acmi, where Roy Ackerman announced the winner of Aidc's Access internship.

The paid placement was awarded to Nicole Miller, who will spend a month in the London office of Ackerman's Pulse Films, working across all their strands (series, film, branded content)..

Miller, from Sa, was one of five participants in the Access program at this year's conference.

The others were Ben Croker (Wa), Andrea Distefano (Vic), Mark Harris (Vic) and Joao Dujon Pereira (Vic)..

The group attended mentorship sessions with the likes of Ackerman, The Jinx's Marc Smerling, Gayby Baby's Maya Newell and the UK's Magnus Temple (24 Hours in A&E).

Miller is a producer at Adelaide's 57 Films.

Director whose debut feature film on children of gay parents became the subject of frenzied media debate says the episode was bruising, but ultimately valuable

It has been a big year for Australian film director Maya Newell. Her doco Gayby Baby examined the lives of four children aged 11 or 12 raised by gay parents, premiering at the Hot Docs festival in Canada before pinballing its way around the world’s film festivals. In August it landed on the cover of the Daily Telegraph in a sensational news splash and a spell of mostly manufactured outrage.

We had messages from parents with kids who'd never been bullied before and were being treated really terribly at school

Continue reading...

Sonya Pemberton.s Uranium — Twisting the Dragon.s Tail won three prizes at the 2015 Atom Awards presented in Melbourne on Thursday night.

The Genepool Productions documentary, which chronicles the cultural, scientific and natural history of uranium, was lauded as best documentary- history, TV factual series and best documentary — science, technology and the environment.

Director Maya Newell and producer Charlotte Mars. Gayby Baby was named best documentary-general at the awards for tertiary and general/open categories held at Lux Melbourne on Chapel Street, hosted by Brian Nankervis from RocKwiz.

Best documentary- biography went to Remembering the Man, Nickolas Bird and Eleanor Sharpe.s. film on Tim Conigrave and John Caleo, whose story was told in Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man.

Gillian Armstrong.s Women He.s Undressed, produced by Damien Parer, was best documentary - arts.

Best docudrama was The War That Changed Us, which chronicled how WW1 impacted the soldiers and their families,...

Of course, the best filmmaking advice is the advice that works best for you, so take from this guide what works for you and disregard the rest. It's not meant to answer all of your questions, but rather, to provide you with access to meaningful advice and tips from experts in the field. Every article below was published in 2015. We will continue to update this guide throughout the year. Before You Get Started 25 Documentary Filmmakers to Follow on Twitter: Before you get started you should connect with your peers on social media and join the conversation about documentary techniques and ethics. Find your documentary support network. Attention, Filmmakers: 6 Tips on Making Your First Documentary Feature: Advice from the pros is often what gets you through in the long run. But when you're just starting out, it can sometimes be more helpful to get tips from people who aren't that far...

Cinema on-demand platform Tugg Australia is growing month-by-month, delivering tidy sums to the producers of hot-button documentaries and incremental revenues for narrative features. The top-grossing title so far is Frackman, Richard Todd.s profile of environmental activist Dayne Pratzky, which has generated $160,000 from 90 screenings. Among other films in demand are Maya Newell.s Gayby Baby; Joao Dujon Pereira.s Black Hole, which chronicles the battle against Whitehaven Coal to save a woodland forest from being cleared to make way for an open cut coal mine; and Avi Lewis. This Changes Everything, an attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change filmed in nine countries and five continents over four years. Last week was a milestone as the platform had its biggest week ever since its soft launch in 2013, with 26 screenings and 3,000 ticket sales. .With 27 confirmed screenings through the end of the month, October will deliver more than 80 screenings and...

Six Australian films have secured $4.2 million in philanthropic funding through Good Pitch 2 Australia at the Sydney Opera House.

The films forged more than 60 new strategic partnerships across both the not-for-profit and business communities. ..

Along with funds committed, these partnerships, will support production, build audiences and ensure the lasting positive impact of the films.

The power of Good Pitch has been demonstrated following last year.s inaugural event, with three films so far presented in 2014 . That Sugar Film, Gayby Baby and Frackman . garnering large audiences and influencing policy and social change..

That Sugar Film has become the highest grossing Australian film of all time at the Australian cinema box office.

Good Pitch, an international forum for documentary filmmaking, brings together filmmakers with foundations, not-for-profits, campaigners, philanthropists, policymakers, broadcasters and key players in the film industry, around leading social and environmental issues, to forge coalitions and campaigns that are good for all these partners,...

Controversial Australian film Gayby Baby has expanded its theatrical season due to popular demand.

The film will launch at Palace Electric in Canberra and Palace Centro in Brisbane and will add a second screen in Melbourne at The Sun Theatre in Yarraville from 17 September. .

The Sydney season will also expand with a second screen at the Randwick Ritz from 22 September.

The film has already grossed $58,868 in just one week on three screens only, plus a number of one-off cinema event screenings around the country.

The film first launched and continues to screen at Cinema Nova in Melbourne and at Dendy Newtown in Sydney on September 3, with special filmmaker Q and A screenings and Tugg/cinema on demand screenings across the country.

Despite being banned from screening in Nsw schools, the film has just been nominated for an Australian Teachers of Media (Atom) Award.

Recently nominated for an Aacta and Awgie Award,...

Straight Outta Compton has delivered Universal Pictures another monster release, taking $4.5 million in its first weekend at the Australian box office.

The F. Gary Gray directed biopic, which traces the rise of Nwa from the mean streets of Compton, Los Angeles, in the mid-1980s has blasted Southpaw out of the top spot.

It has overtaken Southpaw's total box office ($4,462,604) in its first weekend.

Straight Outta Compton follows 2015 Universal titles Trainwreck ($13,060,3939) and Jurassic World ($52,838,633).

Vacation, the fifth instalment National Lampoon's Vacation film series came in third spot with with $577,104 taking its total to $4,042,474.

While Ricki and the Flash produced another solid week with $566,939 for the weekend on 243 screens taking cumulative box office to more than $2 million.

Joel Egerton's the Gift also performed strongly with $520,921 this weekend. The Gift's cumulative revenue is now more than $1.5 million in Australia after a strong showing in the Us.

But the story of moment for...

The 59Th BFI London Film Festival Announces Full 2015 Programme

You can peruse the programme at your leisure here.

The programme for the 59th BFI London Film Festival in partnership launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. BFI London Film Festival is Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals. It introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience. The Festival provides an essential platform for films seeking global success; and promotes the careers of British and international filmmakers through its industry and awards programmes. With this year’s industry programme stronger than ever, offering international filmmakers and leaders a programme of insightful events covering every area of the film industry‎ Lff positions London as the world’s leading creative city.

The Festival will screen a...

Maya Newell on making the film, celebrations amid controversy and why a marriage equality plebiscite could have dangerous repercussions

Video: our families are told they are worth less Gayby Baby review – compelling look at children of same-sex couples

After days of controversy the film-maker Maya Newell has finally had a good morning. Even though her film Gayby Baby was not shown at Burwood girls high school as planned, the director spoke with the students, all dressed in purple, and celebrated Wear it Purple Day with 1,800 purple cupcakes.

“They’ve experienced a real coming together of their community which I think is what always happens when you realise that you’re in a little bubble of acceptance and tolerance,” she says.

Continue reading...

Dendy Newtown is offering reduced student ticket prices to new Australian film Gayby Baby after the state government banned the screening of the movie during school hours.

The Cinemas will offer a reduced ticket price to all students who present their student cards on opening weekend.

.Opening on September 3, Gaybe Baby is a portrait of same-sex families..

Tickets will be $12 on the opening weekend for students. They are usually $16.

Gaybe Baby is enabling high schools from around the country to screen the film ahead of the cinema release, for national Wear It Purple Day, (Aug 28). .

The initiative is a partnership with the youth-led, not-for-profit group Wear It Purple. .However, in response to a story in the Daily Telegraph yesterday, the Nsw Education Minister Adrian Piccoli made the decision to ban the screening of the film during school hours.

Gaybe Baby producer Charlotte Mars said, while she was disappointed with the...

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? This week […]

The post This Week In Trailers: Beyond the Horizon, 70 Acres in Chicago: Cabrini Green, Takin’ Place, Gayby Baby appeared first on /Film.

Nine features have been nominated for this year's Awgie Awards for performance writing.

Eight telemovies and miniseries are in contention. The Australian Writers. Guild says nominations in the 25 categories for the 48th Annual Awgie Awards reflect the abundance of outstanding work currently being produced in Australia. Nominees for best original telemovie are Steven McGregor for Redfern Now: Promise Me and Katherine Thomson for House of Hancock, while Christopher Lee.s Gallipoli and Jan Sardi and Mac Gudgeon.s The Secret River contend for best adaptation in a television miniseries. There are four nominees for original television mini-series: The Principal by Alice Addison and Kristen Dunphy; The Kettering Incident by Vicki Madden, Andrew Knight, Cate Shortland and Louise Fox; Deadline Gallipoli by Jacquelin Perske, Stuart Beattie, Shaun Grant and Cate Shortland; and Love Child: Series 2 from Tim Pye, Cathryn Strickland, Chris McCourt, Jane Allen and Tamara Asmar. In the categories...

This is a golden era for Australian feature documentaries as typified by the five critically-acclaimed titles in contention for the best feature doc prize at the fifth Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards.

Maya Newell.s Gayby Baby, Michael Ware and Bill Guttentag.s Only the Dead, Jen Peedom.s Sherpa, Damon Gameau.s That Sugar Film and Gillian Armstrong.s Women He.s Undressed are the nominees.

The Aacta Awards will be presented in Sydney in December, with the Seven Network telecasting the major awards on December 9.

Also revealed today were the nominees for best short animation and best short fiction film. In the running for the former are Adam Elliot.s Ernie Biscuit, Joe Brumm.s The Meek, Mikey Hill.s The Orchestra and Janette Goodey and John Lewis. The Story of Percival Pilts.

The nominees for best short fiction are Matt Holcomb.s Flat Daddy,...

Lisa Nichol.s Wide Open Sky has won the Foxtel Movies Audience award for best documentary feature at the Sydney Film Festival.

The doc chronicles the journey of an outback Australian children.s choir from auditions to their end-of-year concert and choir founder Michelle Leonard.s mission to bring a desolate musical landscape back to life.

Nicol has previously directed A Night at Sea with Louis Tillet, Pray Ho'tell and Outback Choir.

Voted as the best narrative feature was Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, the saga of a self-deprecating high school student who is forced to befriend a classmate who's been diagnosed with leukaemia. Foxtel Movies Audience Award for Best Documentary top 5:

1. Wide Open Sky, directed by Lisa Nicol 2. Gayby Baby, directed by Maya Newell 3. The Lost Aviator, directed by Andrew Lancaster 4. The Bolivian Case, directed by Violeta Ayala 5. Sherpa, directed by Jennifer Peedom...

Portuguese director Miguel Gomes. Arabian Nights has won the top award, the Sydney Film prize, at the 62nd Sydney Film Festival.

The 3-part opus, which draws on the folk tales One Thousand and One Nights to create a portrait of modern-day life in Portugal, took the $62,000 cash prize at the closing night awards at the State Theatre.

Jury president Liz Watts hailed a film of "ambition and political vision which confronts, frustrates, and spellbinds - and ultimately reminds us that cinema continues to be a powerful vehicle to examine the human condition..

Journalist Michael Ware and two-time Oscar winner Bill Guttentag received the $10,000 Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian documentary for Only the Dead; with a special mention to The Lost Aviator directed by Andrew Lancaster. .A Single Body directed and written by Sotiris Dounoukos won the best live action short award; Grace Under Water directed and produced by Anthony Lawrence...

The vibrant personalities of the children at the heart of Maya Newell’s documentary make for a measured but entertaining film

Director Maya Newell’s feature film debut Gayby Baby is the latest documentary to be boosted by Good Pitch Australia, an initiative that helps to connect topical documentaries with audiences via various distribution and post-production funding pools. In 2014, Gayby Baby secured $180,000 in outreach support; earlier this year two other Good Pitch-assisted films reached cinemas: anti-csg doco Frackman and director Damon Gameau’s That Sugar Film.

Like those films, Gayby Baby has an activist bent, though the “do something” component is more subtle in Newell’s documentary. It is modelledon a largely observational fly-on-the-wall style that follows a handful of young subjects with parents who happen to be gay.

Continue reading...

Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man, Simon Stone.s The Daughter, Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Jen Peedom.s feature doc Sherpa will have their world premieres at the Sydney Film Festival.

The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.

Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.

Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.

As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...

When you're a first-time documentary filmmaker (or even an established one), there's always one key hurdle to surmount: funding. As Maya Newell, the Australian director of "Gayby Baby," told a crowd of budding documentarians at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival this week, "No one knows who you are, so they don't want to give you money." But that didn't stop Newell, or the other first-timer directors who spoke on the Bell Media Kickstart panel "My First Doc," Canadians Suzanne Crocker ("All the Time in the World") and Amber Fares ("Speed Sisters"), all of whom shared advice on how to get funding and make your film in the right way. Read More: Making a Living at Documentary Filmmaking is Harder Than Ever. Here's Why Here are six tips from these trailblazing nonfiction filmmakers: 1. Crowdfund. For both Newell and Fares, crowdfunding campaigns provided an initial boost to get their projects moving forward.

Maya Newell.s Gayby Baby and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky will screen as part of an expanded program of family-friendly cinema at the 62nd Sydney Film Festival.

Also premiering will be Tomm Moore.s Oscar-nominated animated documentary Song of the Sea and Indian director M. Manikandan.s live action adventure The Crow.s Egg.

In addition, a kids animation showcase will feature shorts targeted at children aged 3-8.

Gayby Baby tells the stories of four children who recount their experiences of growing up with same-sex parents.

The follow-up to Nicol's ABC documentary Outback Choir, Wide Open Sky chronicles the journey of a children's choir in a remote, disadvantaged region from auditions to end-of-year concert.

Sydney Film Festival director Nashen Moodley said the expanded family program is replete with a range of styles and genres.

"The festival aims to ignite a love of film in audiences both young and old,...

The makers of Frackman, Call Me Dad and Gayby Baby will pitch for funding to support their outreach campaigns at an event in Melbourne on April 15.

The documentary filmmakers will present their ambitions for their films to make a positive difference. Richard Todd.s Frackman focuses on the environmental damage called by coal seam gas mining.

Sophie Wiesner.s Call Me Dad follows men who have perpetrated or are at risk of perpetrating family violence as they attempt to change and heal their. relationships.

Maya Newell.s Gayby Baby features four children of gay and lesbian parents as they share their stories.

That trio was among seven feature docs which received more than $2 million in donations at the inaugural Good Pitch Australia in Sydney last October.

The Funding Network, a non-profit organisation, will host the Melbourne event at the Telstra theatrette in Exhibition Street from 5.30pm - 8.30pm.

It will...

In a single, extraordinary day more than $2 million in donations was pledged to seven Australian feature-length documentaries on Wednesday.

The scale of the financial support stunned the organisers of the first Good Pitch Australia event, which aids social impact documentaries.

Equally surprised were the recipients. .I am speechless,. said producer Marguerite Grey, who is collaborating with director Belinda Mason on Constance on the Edge, which looks at the struggles of a Sudanese refugee, Constance Okot, and her six children in Wagga Wagga.

The docu was the biggest single recipient with pledges of more than $500,000 for the production and an initial outreach strategy which includes hosted regional film screenings and education and training resources.

Screen Australia provided $15,000 for research and development in March and in September Screen Nsw gave $10,000 for filming a trailer for Good Pitch and for broadcasters to help secure project finance.

However the ABC and Sbs rejected the producer's initial requests for investment,...