Screen Australia announces funding for 44 documentary projects that reflect a sector unafraid to innovate and speak with authentic voices 24 February 2026
Screen Australia has today announced 44 documentaries that will share in $5.6 million across production and development funding - projects that reflect the depth and diversity of Australian stories.
Projects include Australian and New Zealand co-production Atomic Paradise, major series TAMPA: The Ship That Turned the Tide from award-winning producers at Mint Pictures, The Man Who Ate a Succulent Chinese Meal exploring the figure behind the internet meme sensation, and YouTube series Tastes of Africa and The Wombat Guy.
Screen Australia Head of Documentary Richard Huddleston said, From brave historical interrogations and intimate character studies to timely geopolitical examinations, natural history epics and fresh digital first storytelling, these stories reflect a sector unafraid to innovate and to speak with authentic and diverse voices.
The projects also speak to the curiosity, craft and ambition of Australian documentarians - it's a privilege to support these teams as they bring unique perspectives to local and global audiences.
Some of the supported projects include:
TAMPA: The Ship That Turned the Tide: From the multi-award-winning producers at Mint Pictures (When The War is Over, The Hunt for the Last Nazis), this series is an in-depth look at the Tampa crisis' - the dramatic eight-day showdown at sea that triggered a diplomatic standoff between Canberra, Jakarta and Oslo. Major production investment from the ABC and Screen Australia, financed with support from Screen NSW. International distribution by ABC Commercial.
Atomic Paradise: From award-winning First Nations director John Harvey (Still We Rise, Off Country), Emmy Award-nominated producer Sally Aitken (Every Little Thing, Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles) and executive producer Aline Jacques (Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles), Atomic Paradise is a cinematic experience that reclaims the Pacific's nuclear testing history through a First Nations lens. A co-production with New Zealand, this bold and unflinching feature is financed with principal production funding from Screen Australia with production support from the Shark Island Foundation and Screen NSW. Local distribution by Umbrella ANZ.
Empire In Colour: An Australian/Canadian Official Co-production, Empire In Colour is led by Emmy Award-winning producer Jo-anne McGowan (Edge of Life, River) and directed by John Harvey (Still We Rise) in Australia and by Sundance and Peabody Award-winning, Emmy-nominated Canadian filmmakers Catherine Bainbridge and Ernest Webb from Rezolution Pictures. Developed in conjunction with SBS and Canadian public education broadcaster TVO, the four-part series uses newly colourised archival footage to explore the lasting impact of the British Empire, prompting an honest exploration with its legacy. Empire In Colour received major production investment from Screen Australia and SBS and was financed with support from Screen NSW, TVO and TFO with support from the Canadian Media Fund. It will be distributed locally by SBS, with international sales by Fremantle.
Tina Arena: Unravel Me: Acclaimed director and Wonnarua man Adrian Russell Wills (Black Divaz), executive producer Mark Fennessey (Mystify: Michael Hutchence) and producer Jessica Carrera (Paper Dolls) unravel five extraordinary decades of pop icon Tina Arena's career, revealing a life devoted to music. Principal production funding from Screen Australia, in association with Screen NSW and the Seven Network.
The Man Who Ate a Succulent Chinese Meal: Multi-award winning director/producer Heath Davis (Book Week) and producer Jonathan Page (Knowing the Score), together with Ruth Harrison and Tim Randall in their filmmaking debut, tell the shocking life story of an internet icon propelled to global fame after his theatrical arrest eating a succulent Chinese meal . Principal production funding from Screen Australia, in association with Screen NSW. Local distribution by Bonsai Films.
Tastes of Africa: From producer and 2025 Digital Originals recipient Kauthar Abdulalim (Salma's Season) and emerging writer/director Rendah Haj (Hayat) comes Tastes of Africa. Hosted by Santilla Chingaipe, this online/direct-to-audience series for YouTube takes viewers across Melbourne's kitchens, community cook-ups and hidden eateries, guided by the traditional wisdom of aunties and younger African-Australians boldly reinterpreting recipes. Principal production funding from Screen Australia, in association with VicScreen.
The Wombat Guy: Directed by Tahnee McGuire (Strong Women) and produced by the all-female Queensland collective Five Storey Films (Rebecca McElroy, Emma Sargent, Jenine Olliver and Anna Jeffries), The Wombat Guy tells the story of shiftworking sparky and passionate wildlife rescuer Josh Neille. With his boundless energy and humour, Josh, his wife Amber and their spirited daughter Ashlee rehabilitate a menagerie of wildlife on their rural hobby farm. Created for social media, this ambitious 24-part series received principal production funding from Screen Australia, with support from Canadian production company Open Door. Developed with the assistance of Screen Queensland.
This is Amy Taylor: Writer/director Eddie Martin (All This Mayhem) follows the frontwoman of punk band Amyl and the Sniffers in This is Amy Taylor. Produced by Shannon Swan (Gurrumul, Lygon Street: Si Parla Italiano) and executive produced by Cody Greenwood (Under the Volcano), the feature received development funding.
MOONSHOT: From award-winning writer/director/producer Anna Broinowski (Aim High in Creation!), executive producer Tim White (Beast), story consultant Alex Proyas (The Crow) and producers Media Stockade (Mozart'
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
03/06/2026
Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with Wasabi continuing as the club's official cloud storage...
03/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP as part of the relocation of its n...
03/06/2026
The Riedel Group has announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 201...
03/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the deployment of its intercom solutions at Itaka Arena ...
03/06/2026
Scott Coker has announced six senior executive appointments for his new global MMA promotion, which launched earlier this year with $60 million in financing. Ad...
03/06/2026
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup 2026, has announced its digital and social media programming for the tournament, running Ju...
03/06/2026
The Bundesliga has announced the launch of Captain, an AI assistant built into t...
03/06/2026
Anthony James Partners (AJP) is serving as technology consultant for a moderniza...
03/06/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the recipients of its annual sales rep firm awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The awards were presented by Jim Schanz, Executive ...
03/06/2026
iodyne will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 alongside RED Digital Cinema and Adob...
03/06/2026
The broadcaster will deploy 39 cameras for game coverage, six cameras for studio...
03/06/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is providing a great opportunity for not only Fox Sports...
03/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p compatible PTZ Auto Framing camera that uses Sony's proprietary AI to automatically recognize and tra...
03/06/2026
Game Creek Video's Flagship A, B, C, and D unit will wind up its first year ...
03/06/2026
According to Caretta Research, the sports-rights market may be hitting the brake...
03/06/2026
Retrieval still courtesy of Tribeca.
By Jessica Herndon
This year, the Tribeca...
03/06/2026
Step sequencer-style panning tool revealed
Alongside their flagship self-titled sound-design platform, Sound Particles offer an array of creative effects an...
03/06/2026
Now features full H90 algorithm library
Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...
03/06/2026
Significant discount available until 1 October 2026
Aim Audio have just announced a promotion that sees a significant discount applied to their Essence micr...
03/06/2026
Clarification: SBS's position on definitions of antisemitism
3 June, 2026
Media releases
Statement by Mandi Wicks, SBS Director of News and Current Aff...
03/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to supply CERTIUM advanced communications system to Memmingen Ai...
03/06/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Screen Australia announces funding for 44 documentary projects that reflect a sector unafraid to innovate and speak with authentic voices 24 February 2026
