SBS has commissioned two Mint Pictures documentaries for the network’s 2019 ‘Untold Australia’ strand.
‘The Secret Life of Death’ (working title) is a one-hour documentary that opens a window into the hidden world of two family-owned funeral homes in Sydney, following two young women: one who works with the living; the other who works with the dead. The doco is written and directed by Dan Goldberg, produced by Nia Pericles and executive produced by Adam Kay, with Gary Russell, who is also an executive producer for Tangerine Pictures, as DOP.
The documentary has been funded by SBS, Screen Australia and Create NSW.
The second documentary is ‘Trans Mission’ (working title) and follows transgender truck driver Holly Conroy in her bid to stage a Mardi Gras in Australia’s No. 1 Christian town: Wagga Wagga. Holly will attempt to win over priests, pastors and politicians as she seeks acceptance for the trans community, all while she continues the process of her gender affirmation surgery. Produced and directed by Catherine Scott (Backtrack Boys), with Adam Kay as EP, ‘Trans Mission’ will bring audiences this local story with global appeal. It has also been funded by SBS, Screen Australia and Create NSW.
‘Untold Australia’ is an annual series of four single documentaries that unearth some of the most fascinating and unreported stories from Australia’s diverse communities. Mint produced ‘Strictly Jewish’ for the first season of Untold in 2016; it was the highest rating show of the season, with over 500,000 viewers, and won the Screen Producers of Australia (SPA) best single documentary of the year award (2016).
