ABC TV and Film Australia Green Light for History Programming

ABC TV AND FILM AUSTRALIA GREEN LIGHT MORE HISTORY PROGRAMMING

Film Australia and ABC TV last night announced plans to continue their 'History Initiative' partnership to produce another 10 hours of programming that aims to significantly contribute to Australians' understanding of themselves and their history.

Kim Dalton, Director of ABC TV announced the new commitment in Perth atthe Australian International Documentary Conference, and it will takeeffect from July 1, 2008.

"The first major series from the "Making History" partnership wasConstructing Australia, which screened last year on ABC TV, achieving anaverage audience of over 1.5 million viewers, and we're immensely proudof it. The series included the programs - The Bridge; Pipe Dreams and AWire Through The Heart." said Dalton.

Daryl Karp, Film Australia's Chief Executive said "Financing big-budgetAustralian history documentaries can be difficult, which is why thisinitiative is so valuable. The continuation of 'Making History', beyondthe original Australian Government commitment of $7.5 million over threeyears, will allow filmmakers to contribute to a growing body of landmarkdocumentaries that explore who we were and what we have become".

Still to be screened on ABC TV from the first initiative are:

* The Prime Minister Is Missing - Reconstructed from eyewitness accountsand declassified government documents, this dramatised documentaryre-examines Prime Minister Holt's bizarre disappearance.

* Mawson: Life And Death In Antarctica - Scientist and adventurer TimJarvis travels to Antarctica to retrace Mawson's footsteps to find outhow one of the greatest stories of lone survival in polar explorationwas possible.

* Menzies And The Fate Of Australia -Through Menzies diaries, lettersand broadcasts, plus the expert analysis of leading scholars, this filmshows how modern Australia was forged in the fires of the London blitzin 1941.

* Rogue Nation - Popular historian, Michael Cathcart goes behind thescenes of the famous Rum Rebellion to show the 'no holds-barred'personalities who created Australia's first revolt, and how passionatearguments over whether convicts should have rights, shaped the countrywe have today.

* Monash And The ANZAC Legend - By focusing on the time when General SirJohn Monash was most under pressure (1917-18), this film will reveal howAustralians made their mark on the Western Front, where the 'noise'around the ANZACs began, and why we're still listening to it today.