Directors call for more one-off Documentaries

A debate has been raging this week over a decrease in the number of one-off Documentaries commissioned by public broadcasters.

On Monday an article in The Australian, “Documentaries Slaughtered for Ratings Success” by Dr. Trevor Graham (Make Hummus Not War) aimed fire at the ABC, SBS, and Screen Australia, suggesting they were more interested in ratings and were overlooking single docos in favour of series factuals.

In 2009, 50 per cent of documentaries commissioned by the ABC were single documentaries. By this year, series accounted for 70 per cent of ABC commissions, with fewer than 14 hours of one-offs.

It’s even more diabolical at SBS. This year, SBS has broadcast five hours of one-off documentary programs. One has to ask, where is the public in public broadcasting over the past few years of SBS programming? 

Earlier this year Kingston Anderson, General Manager of the Australian Directors Guild told delegates at the  Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) in Adelaide that, a recent ADG survey revealed that 55.5% of members earned less than $45,000 in 2011 -down from 58.6% of members earning less than $60,000 per annum in 2010.

“While it is important and pleasing to note that the number of hours of documentary production has increased, it is clear that directors have been unable to secure their position as both owners of their work and beneficiaries of their work,” Kingston said in a statement this week.

“There are significant forces at play that have caused a major imbalance in the eco system that is the Australian documentary world.”

The ADG also notes current commissions in series factuals are most often produced by larger production companies rather than individual documentary makers.

“Australia’s fine tradition of landmark documentaries is diminishing.  We are not going to see a new generation of Bob Connolly’s or Dennis O’Rourke’s or Pat Fiske’s or Tom Zubrycki’s emerge in this current climate,” Anderson said.

“The national broadcasters have the right to produce the content they feel is required if they want to chase audiences and, in the case of SBS, the commercial imperative has become part of their charter.   But the losers in this new approach are the one-off individual documentary producers who make programs about ideas and issues that they see affecting this country and Australian audiences now and into the future who will lose the opportunity to watch programs of this kind of depth relevance and diversity.

The ADG has been in discussions with SBS and says the new management has indicated a willingness to return to the commissioning of single documentaries.

“We hope this is a significant turning-point and our members look forward to an exciting future with SBS,” he said.

But the ABC recently abolished the position of Head of Documentary, with new Head of Factual Phil Craig to begin in October.

The ADG also blames Screen Australia for directors being forced to relinquish their intellectual property rights in projects, especially emerging directors.

“We hope to get the industry, especially Screen Australia, to support our campaign to get these rights. It is time for directors to be recognised as the creators of much of the content on our screens and not be treated as ‘guns for hire,'” Anderson said.

In responding to The Australian article, Screen Australia COO Fiona Cameron writes in an Open Letter:

In recent years there has been an increase in hours of documentary series and a subsequent decrease in one-off documentaries commissioned by the public broadcasters. Nevertheless, Screen Australia continues to have a demonstrated commitment to one-off documentaries. We recognise the important contribution of these films to a diverse and healthy documentary sector.

Currently we support one-off documentaries through a variety of programs and we are also engaged with the issues Trevor raises in a number of ways:

• Over the past three years we have consistently developed many more one-off documentaries than series. Approximately 65% of our development projects in 2011/12 were one-offs.
• Over the last three years the number of one-off documentaries to which we have contributed production investment has been steady at approximately 45 projects per year.
• Our Signature Program which supports one off documentaries with a strong authorial voice and does not require a broadcast presale in order to receive our support is unique. Last year it was increased from $700,000 to $1.4 million. We have split the funds into two rounds per year in response to feedback from filmmakers
• Screen Australia recently announced a new intensive workshop to inspire Australian filmmakers to create feature documentaries – the Think Big Documentary Lab. The workshop will be led by Simon Chinn Academy Award®–winning producer of Man on Wire, Project Nim and Searching for Sugar Man. He will be supported by Australian filmmakers Gillian Armstrong, Matt Bate and Tony Krawitz.
• Developing new digital platforms and pathways for innovative documentaries through the NDP and more recently our Multiplatform Production Fund has been a particular focus. For example the award winning Big Stories Small Towns (IDFA, SXSW), Goa Hippy Tribe (IDFA, SXSW).
• Screen Australia continues the strong tradition of support for new and emerging Australian documentary filmmakers through the joint ABC-Screen Australia Initiative of one-off documentaries, Opening Shot. This Initiative advances the careers of a new generation of documentary filmmakers.

The ABC declined to comment.