The Australian Dream is a documentary that uses the remarkable and inspirational story of Indigenous AFL legend Adam Goodes as the prism through which to tell a deeper and more powerful story about race, identity and belonging. The film will unpick the events of the 2013-15 AFL seasons and ask fundamental questions about the nature of racism and discrimination in society today. Walkley award-winning writer Stan Grant and BAFTA award-winning director Daniel Gordon join forces to tell this remarkable story of one of the most decorated and celebrated players in AFL history. A man who remains a cultural hero; the very epitome of resilience and survival, who continues to fight for equality and reconciliation.

Director: Daniel Gordon

Brazen Hussies reveals for the first time, an exciting and revolutionary chapter in Australian history, the Women’s Liberation Movement (1965 -1975). Interweaving freshly uncovered archival footage, personal photographs, memorabilia and lively personal accounts from activists all around Australia, Brazen Hussies shows us how a daring and diverse group of women joined forces to defy the status quo, demand equality and create profound social change. These women defined one of the greatest social movements of the 20th Century, at times at great personal cost. This documentary is full of the raw energy and determination that fuelled feminism for the next 50 years.

Director: Catherine Dwyer, Producer: Philippa Campey, Andrea Foxworthy.

FREEMAN is a cinematic portrait of a race that is still etched in our hearts and minds. Drawing on archival footage and a series of intimate conversations with Cathy Freeman, the film takes viewers on a journey through Cathy’s remarkable sporting career and the frenzied build-up to September 2000. Cathy’s fast-paced climb to the top of the world is mirrored by the rise of a people’s movement supporting reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians as her story becomes the symbol of a much larger struggle for equality.

FREEMAN is the story of a nation coming together around an Indigenous female athlete who delivered when it mattered, on the greatest stage on earth. The film sheds light on one of Australia’s proudest moment and explores why, twenty years on, it still means so much to so many of us. In the context of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, it also poses the timely question: where to now?

Director: Laurence Billiet in collaboration with Stephen Page.

A fresh, funny and provocative look at the Cook legend from a First Nations’ perspective. We debunk the myth Cook “discovered” Australia. Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky features a specially created songline that travels across the country. A songline for 21st century Australia – of spirituality, connection to country, resistance and survival. The weaver of the narrative is poet and performer – Steven Oliver. He carries the narrative thread as he travels the land interrogating Cook’s legacy, connecting the songline and unravelling Indigenous stories of the mysterious Cooky. In the year 2020, does Australia have a blurred history of Cook?

Director/Co-Writer: Steven McGregor, Co-Writer/Presenter: Steven Oliver, Producers Anna Grieve, Steve Thomas, Danielle MacLean, Kath Symmons.

The Eleventh is a multi-episode blockbuster podcast from the ABC. It explores everything you never knew about one of the most famous chapters of Australian political history – the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Incredibly, for a story that has been raked over for 40 years, host Alex Mann and The Eleventh’s investigative team still managed to uncover never-before-heard allegations, and key players who’d never spoken before. For 11 months the team worked tirelessly to make contact with the period’s central protagonists, its best storytellers, and its lesser-known players. This meticulous research phase provided the essential ingredients for an artful and gripping narrative that gave an old story new life. While the interviews with would-be Prime Minister John Howard, Whitlam and Frasers’ closest advisers, former New York Correspondent Ray Martin, former spies and a colourful property developer from Adelaide helped to uncover stories that had never been heard before. While the podcast is significant for what it uncovered, it is also significant for the way it was told. Using rare archival tape and intimate first-hand accounts The Eleventh brought to life the scandals and subplots that changed the nation forever. The Eleventh tells a story that Australia can’t afford to forget. Key personnel: Alex Mann – Host/Reporter, Tim Roxburgh – Supervising Producer, Ninah Kopel – Producer, Tim Jenkins – Sound Designer, Nikki Tugwell – Executive Producer.

Trace; The Informer peels back the layers of the enigma that is Nicola Gobbo, asking why a barrister would risk her livelihood and life to feed the underworld’s secrets to police. It also scrutinises whether Victoria Police undermined the very law it was supposed to uphold. The world-exclusive interview involved Brown catching multiple fights to a secret location to record Gobbo’s story, while ensuring the interview didn’t leave bread crumbs for those wishing to find and harm her.
The propulsive narrative delicately balances meticulous investigation and compelling story-telling.
The rich soundscape uses whispers and bugged audio as instrumentation, and showcases independent Australian artists.

Host/Reporter: Rachael Brown & Josie Taylor

Supervising Producer: Tim Roxburgh

Sound Designer: Martin Peralta

Michaela Perske is a Walkley award winning journalist and producer who has been involved in journalism, documentary and production for over 20years. Her feature documentaries include Footy Chicks, Boxing for Palm Island, 88, Destination Arnold, Black Divaz and After the Apology. Her latest feature documentary Girls Can’t Surf was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival and will premiere at the Sydney Festival in 2021. She has been the Executive Producer on Embedded, Servant or Slave, Melon Grab and Dream Baby. Her work has screened on ABC, SBS, BBC, CBC, PBS, The Guardian and has appeared at multiple local and international film festivals including Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne Film Festival, Tribeca International Film Festival, Margaret Mead and Adelaide Film Festival. Her company – Pursekey Productions- has been a leading independent production company with a reputation for fostering new talent and telling bold, innovative, unique and socially conscious stories.