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New docos for ABC

Biographies on Ian Thorpe, Peter Sculthorpe and Martin Sharp are amongst new docos with Screen Australia investment.

Screen Australia has announced almost $750,000 investment in 5 documentary projects, 4 of which are for the ABC.

Among the projects to be announced are Canberra Confidential which uncovers a century of secrets from inside the nation’s capital.

There are three biographical docos:  Ian Thorpe: The Swimmer documenting the inner struggles of Thorpe as he attempts a comeback plus Peter Sculthorpe: A Journey Through My Life and The Sharp End, which will tell the life story of  ’60s artist Martin Sharp. All will air on the ABC.

“Screen Australia continues to invest in distinctive one-off documentaries. These three biographical documentaries promise to deliver inspiring and insightful accounts of three of Australia’s living legends, as we’ve never seen them before,” said Screen Australia’s Documentary Manager Liz Stevens.

10 Days That Shocked the Nation, will be an online documentary which will tells the story of the events that occurred in the lead-up to the Cronulla Riots, for SBS Online.

NATIONAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM (NDP)

10 DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE NATION
48 mins
Northern Pictures
Producer Sue Clothier
Broadcaster SBS Online
Synopsis 10 Days That Shocked the Nation tells the story of the dramatic events covering the lead-up to and the 10 days between 4th and 13th December 2005 known as the Cronulla Riots.

CANBERRA CONFIDENTIAL
55 mins
Smith & Nasht
Producers Anna Cater, Simon Nasht
Writer/Director Ian Walker
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis A century of secrets from inside the nation’s capital, exploring the passionate interplay of politics and subterfuge that has long been carried out in the shadows of the national stage – this is the unofficial history that Canberra has tried to hide.

GENERAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM

IAN THORPE: THE SWIMMER
57 mins
The Swimmer Film Pty Ltd
Producers Helen Panckhurst, Michael Hilliard, Simone Kessell, Gregor Jordan
Executive Producer Rob Galluzzo
Writer/Director Gregor Jordan
Broadcaster ABC
Sales ABC Commercial
Synopsis The inner struggles of Ian Thorpe as he attempts a comeback and, despite failing to make the Olympic team, discovers a new relationship with swimming and his own legend.

PETER SCULTHORPE, A JOURNEY THROUGH MY LIFE
60 mins
Heliograph Pty Ltd
Writer/Director/Producer John Weiley
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Peter Sculthorpe is recognised as one of Australia’s – and the world’s –great living composers. As he approached his 83rd birthday he reflected that he had in fact told the story of his life through his 17 string quartets from the innocence of his early childhood in Tasmania to his discovery of Aboriginal Australia and the music of our near north and on to be inspired by even wider, global concerns. The backbone of the film will be the concert staged in the Trackdown Studio where the quartets will be interspersed with Peter explaining what they reflected about his life at the time they were written. Visually we will revisit some of the scenes that inspired the music.

THE SHARP END
30 mins
Southern Pictures (formerly Australian Documentaries)
Producer Laurie Critchley
Director Rebecca Baillie
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis In 1963, a handful of idealistic young rebels banded together and launched themselves on the world stage. What they expressed would change Australian culture forever. At their centre was the brilliant young artist, Martin Sharp, who was soon recognised as one of the greatest pop artists of his generation. This is the story of his life, his work, his friendships and magnificent obsessions – and what it all meant.

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