Documentary: guidelines debate in the face of a nasty future

Will the new Screen Australia guidelines be radically revised? In the face of a looming budget crisis? Do we plod on regardless?
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Look behind you, NOW! It has huge fangs and will EAT US ALL. Image: still from Grizzly Man, by Werner Herzog, made in 2005.

“I hope this isn’t going to be written up as a massive stoush. We love working with them and we are doing great work with them every day. And we hope to continue.”

Phil Craig, head of factual at ABC TV, is referring to the ongoing conflict around the Screen Australia draft guidelines for documentary funding. A discussion paper was released for comment at the Australian International Documentary Conference in February, which led to the draft guidelines, available for another round of discussion which closes this Friday, on July 18th.

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.