Since his appointment as Head of Documentary at Screen Australia in January, Richard Huddleston has been relishing the opportunity to act as “chief cheerleader” for the sector.
“It has been fascinating; it has been rewarding; it has been challenging. Above all, being head of documentary filmmaking at a national funding agency, it’s an absolute privilege,” the former Head of Factual and Culture at the ABC (where he commissioned such projects as Carbon: The Unauthorised Biography and the series Stuff the British Stole) enthuses to Business Doc Europe.
After all, as he points out, these are very exciting times for Aussie docs. The Australian-produced Ukrainian documentary Porcelain War won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance; Australian director Sally Aitken’s Every Little Thing, about a woman who rescues injured hummingbirds in LA, premiered in Sundance; Jaydon Martin’s docu-fiction Flathead won a Special Jury award at International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Huddleston is at Sunny Side of the Doc this week, leading a strong Aussie delegation that includes several teams with projects in the market. He’s part of Wednesday’s panel, Stuff Australians Make: Follow the Money Honey (26 June, 16.45).
Among the high-profile Australian films screening at Sunny Side is Skin In The Game, presented by media commentator Marlee Silva, a Gamilaroi and Dunghutti woman whose father Rod Silva is a rugby league legend in Australia. The film casts light on some uncomfortable areas, including links between the sport and domestic violence. Its premiere is taking place at Stade Marcel-Deflandre in La Rochelle, one of France’s most venerated rugby stadiums.
Although this title was commissioned before Huddleston took up his role at Screen Australia, he has commented on the part the film can play “in helping to reduce the appalling levels of domestic violence in Australia.”
He is clearly encouraged by the visibility of such a movie at an event like Sunny Side and, more generally, by the emergent of a wave of young directors like Chris Eley, Yaara Bou Melhem, Ben Lawrence, Nel Minchin and Al Hicks.
“There is a real appetite and acknowledgment of Australian stories and Australian producers globally at the moment,” the new Head of Documentary says. “I’m really excited by that and see it as a big part of my job – how I capitalise on that and keep up that momentum on the international stage.”
Huddleston also talks of “having to shake off the commissioner mentality” that he had adopted during his years working with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Huddleston has spent his early months in his new post on a fact-finding mission, canvassing the opinions of those whose interests he now represents. It helped that not long after coming to Screen Australia, he attended two major conferences, AIDC and Screen Forever.
“That enabled me to do a lot of listening to producers and really to get a sense of what their relationship was like with us [at Screen Australia] and what we would do better…it was really just trying to find out as an agency how we would best be placed to help them.”
The Screen Australia team sent out a survey to around 130 leading Australian producers earlier this year asking what they felt were their knowledge gaps, skills gaps and their most pressing practical concerns. Huddleston was also looking for feedback on how they viewed the performance of Screen Australia itself. The agency is still assessing the responses but one trend was obvious.
“There was a real hunger and a real appetite from that Australian community to do more international co-productions and to grow the footprint of Australian footprints globally,” Huddleston observes.
That’s one reason for the strong Aussie presence at Sunny Side, although co-production isn’t anything new for Australian documentary makers. “Despite the tyranny of distance and Australia being relatively isolated, we are part of the global documentary village. We punch above our weight.”
Like filmmakers everywhere else, Aussie doc makers are looking for extra financing opportunities by striking partnerships with international producers. “Finance plans are getting more complicated…you need more partners. And because there is a greater global appetite for stories, it doesn’t matter where the stories come from any more. A story can travel and resonate with an audience at the four corners of the globe. We have great stories and great storytellers…and we’re a culture that travels well.”
There are obvious attractions for international producers in working with Australians. Screen Australia can fund up to 40% of Australian spend in a budget for a theatrical doc, and 30% for a non-theatrical title, through tax offsets. Aussie companies like Genepool, Smith & Nasht, WildBear and SAM Content among many others are already working extensively with international partners.
Huddleston believes that international producers are often envious of the support that doc makers in Australia receive from their federal government, noting the generous levels of public support that are available.
The new doc head sees Sunny Side as an excellent opportunity to network.
“I am getting to know who is who in the sales and distribution world; to build relationships with festivals so our stories can get more exposure globally, and I’ve also been reviewing our processes and systems, seeing if they are fit for purpose,” the new Head of Documentary explains.
Huddleston talks of the “breadth of storytelling,” “Innovation” and “diversity” in the Aussie doc sector. Last year, the Australian Government launched its landmark National Cultural Policy—Revive. This is placing heavy emphasis on “First Nations” storytellers and stories. Screen Australia has its own First Nations department headed up by Angela Bates who works alongside Huddleston and his team.
Screen Australia recently pumped in some “time critical funding” for a producer to come to Paris later this summer for the Olympics to follow Australia’s first female Indigenous boxer to take part in the games. (The project is yet to be formally announced). The agency also funded the hit three-part doc series The Australian Wars by Indigenous filmmaker Rachel Perkins which traces the Australian frontier wars from the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 until the 1920s.
The agency has various different funding programmes for documentary including development, producer and commissioned strands.
Projects with Screen Australia backing to be pitched this week at Sunny Side include Paradise Camp: Homecoming, about Fa’afafine artist Yuki Kihara bringing her Venice Biennale exhibition Paradise Camp back home to Samoa; Nick Robinson’s Eagle Man produced by Wild Pacific Media, and Randall Wood’s The Brain Garden, co-produced by Genepool.
“What’s great about the showcase of our films at Sunny Side is that it’s a mix of experienced teams, emerging teams, and there are global themes involved.”
Huddleston acknowledges Australia is “not immune” to the challenges that have faced documentary in the global theatrical marketplace. “But on the other hand, we have really had some success with our theatrical [releases],” he says citing titles like John Farnham: Finding The Voice and the environmental doc The Giants. The latter title had 150 community screenings alongside its theatrical screenings.
“I know this is something Australian producers are looking towards more and more. As audiences become more fragmented this is a really good way of honing in on communities who care, or are interested in an issue or story. Philanthropic organisations like Shark Island, Documentary Australia and Doc Society play an important role in helping to find more targeted screening opportunities.” Huddleston concludes.
