Ian Darling

Last updated

Ian Darling
AO
Ian Darling.png
Born
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupations
  • Documentary Film Director
  • Producer

Ian David Darling AO is a documentary film director and producer. [1]

Contents

He is the executive director of Shark Island Institute and its production arm, Shark Island Productions in Sydney, Australia.

His documentary producer and director credits include The Twins, The Department, The Final Quarter , Paul Kelly - Stories of Me , The Oasis , Suzy & The Simple Man, Life After The Oasis , Polly and Me, The Soldier, In The Company of Actors , and Alone Across Australia . He is an executive producer of Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, Paper and Glue, On the Record , Woodstock for Capitalists, 2040 , The Fourth Estate , The Bleeding Edge , Unrest , Inventing Tomorrow and How to Change the World.

He was founder of GoodPitch2 Australia [2] which funded 19 films, including 2040 , The Hunting Ground , That Sugar Film, Gayby Baby, Prison Songs, Frackman, Zach's Ceremony , The Opposition, Ghosthunter, Whiteley, Blue, The Leadership, and In My Blood It Runs.

Darling has been chair of The Caledonia Foundation since 2001, and was co-founder and managing director of the Caledonia Investments group from 1992 to 2004.

He is a member of the Impact Partners Advisory Board in New York, founder and patron (and former chair) of Documentary Australia, and Patron of the ArtsLab, Kangaroo Valley.

He was chair of the Sydney Theatre Company and the STC Foundation, from 2006 to 2010. He has been a director of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), chair of The Oasis Youth Support Network, and member of The Salvation Army Advisory Board.

Darling received the Byron Kennedy Award for innovation and the relentless pursuit of excellence at the 2018 AACTA Awards. [3]

Darling's photographs have been finalists in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the National Photographic Portrait Prize, the Sydney Life Photography Prize and his portrait of Jon Muir was hung in "The Look" in 2019 and is now part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. [4]

In 2021 Darling co-wrote and acted in The Twins with comedian Greg Fleet. The play opened at the 2021 Adelaide Fringe Festival and won the Mental Health Awareness Award. It went on to tour to Sydney, Kangaroo Valley, Canberra and Melbourne. [5]

Biography

Darling's first documentary in 2001 Woodstock for Capitalists [6] was a film featuring investors and philanthropists Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger and won the CINE Golden Eagle Award. His next film in 2004 Alone Across Australia about extreme adventurer Jon Muir was voted one of the "20 best adventure films of all time" by Men's Journal Magazine and won over 32 international awards. [7] In The Company of Actors was a 2007 film that followed the journey of the Sydney Theatre Company cast of Hedda Gabler from rehearsal room in Sydney through to opening night in New York. The cast featured Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Robyn Nevin. The Oasis was a multi-award-winning documentary that was filmed over two years about Australia's homeless youth. The film had a strong social and education outreach campaign which led to the most significant national inquiry into youth homelessness in 20 years. [8] The Oasis was named one of "Australia's Top 50 Philanthropic Gifts of All Time". [9] The Oasis became the inspiration to Darling filming two docu-dramas Polly and Me (a tale of child abuse and neglect, seen through the eyes of an 8-year-old girl), and Wall Boy (about a runaway forced into teenage prostitution and the courageous outreach worker who attempts to rescue him). The Soldier was a documentary on Ken Depena, a devotee of the Salvation Army since 1949 [10] who featured in The Oasis, the film garnered a 'Special Mention' at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival. [11] Paul Kelly - Stories of Me based on prominent Australian singer songwriter Paul Kelly opened at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2012 and won the Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Documentary Award. Stories From the Inside looked into a group of young first time offenders in Port Philip Prison. Suzy & The Simple Man an environmental love story featuring Suzy and Jon Muir, discusses sustainability and survival in a remote country community. The film premiered in 2016 at the Sydney Film Festival and had sold out screenings at Melbourne International Film Festival. Life After The Oasis re-connected with original participants from The Oasis ten years later, premiering in the Sydney Film Festival in 2019. The Final Quarter (2019) re-examines the final three years of Sydney Swans footballer Adam Goodes’ playing career. Made entirely from archival footage, photos and interviews sourced from television, radio and newspapers, the film reviews the national conversation that took place over this period. Darling directed the music clip video for the end credit song by Paul Kelly "Every Day My Mother's Voice" released for Mother's Day 2019. Darling shared some of his personal story in the 2021 play "The Twins" co-written by school friend Greg Fleet and Sarah Butler, Darling and Fleet played themselves onstage. The play toured to the Adelaide Fringe Festival (one of only a handful of performances originating outside of South Australia during the pandemic) and then Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. [12]

Darling is the founder and patron of Documentary Australia, a not for profit organisation which encourages collaboration between philanthropic grant makers, charities and documentary filmmakers and winner of the Stanley Hawes Award in 2013. [13] [14] He was chair of the Documentary Australia Foundation from 2006 to 2011. Darling is chair of Good Pitch2 Australia, a not-for-profit event hosted in Australia by Shark Island Institute and Documentary Australia. [15] The three Good Pitch events raised more than $15 million in philanthropic grants for the funding of 19 social impact documentaries and their impact campaigns.

Darling was chair of The Caledonia Foundation from 2001 to 2022, a private foundation focusing on the education, training and welfare of disadvantaged young Australians. He was the founder and managing director of the Caledonia Investments group from 1992 to 2003. He is supporter of the Arts, he is patron of the Kangaroo Valley Upper River Hall ArtsLab, and a member of Impact Partners New York. [16] He has been an Ambassador of Antenna Documentary Film Festival [17] and a Patron of Human Rights Arts Film Festival (HRAFF), he was also a Foundation Donor for the Marriage Equality Campaign.

Darling was chair of the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) and STC Foundation from 2006 to 2010. He appointed Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton as Co-Artistic Directors in 2008 [18] and after leaving STC as chairman, his position was replaced by David Gonski. [19] He has been a member of the advisory board of The Salvation Army [20] and Chair of The Oasis Youth Support Network, and a Director of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

Darling was recipient of the 2007 Creative Partnerships Australia (formerly Australia Business Arts Foundation) Business Leadership Award, [21] and recipient of Australia's Leading Philanthropist Award from Philanthropy Australia in 2017. [22] [23] In 2018 Ian Darling was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to documentary film production, to the performing arts, education and community engagement, and to social welfare organisations through philanthropic endeavours". [24] Also in 2018, Darling was the recipient of the Byron Kennedy Award for brave, innovative and wide-ranging pursuit of excellence, presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). He was named Australian National University's 2020 Alumnus of the Year.[ citation needed ]

Darling holds an MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, a BA from the Australian National University and has studied at the New York Film Academy. [25]

Filmography

Awards

Good Pitch Australia

Shark Island Institute and Documentary Australia Foundation host Good Pitch2 Australia, [30] and brought the first of these events to Sydney in October 2014. The 2015 event was held in September and the last in a trilogy of events was held at the Sydney Opera House in November 2016. [31] The community partners for the event are Philanthropy Australia and Pro Bono Australia. Since 2014, more than $14 million has been raised in philanthropic grants for the funding of 19 social impact documentaries and their impact campaigns, forging priceless pro bono support and 300+ powerful strategic partnerships between community groups, the corporate sector, NGOs and policy makers. [32] Supported documentaries include: That Sugar Film , Frackman , Gayby Baby , Zach's Ceremony , Call Me Dad, Constance On The Edge, Blue, Happy Sad Man, The Hunting Ground , Prison Songs, The Opposition, On Richard's Side, Whiteley (about Australian artist Brett Whiteley), Guilty, 2040, Ghosthunter, Dying to Live , In My Blood It Runs, The Leadership. Good Pitch is a BRITDOC project in partnership with Ford Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. [33]

Honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas M. Wright</span> Australian actor

Thomas Michael Wright is an Australian actor, writer, film director and producer. He is the co-founder (2006) and director of theatre company Black Lung and director of the feature films Acute Misfortune (2019) and The Stranger (2022). As an actor he came to attention in Jane Campion's series Top of the Lake, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the (US-Canadian) Critics' Choice Awards. The Stranger premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nial Fulton</span> Australian television producer

Nial William Fulton is an Australian film and television director, producer and writer. Focused on social justice issues, his works include investigative documentaries Revelation, Hitting Home, Borderland, The Queen & Zak Grieve and Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra.

Don Featherstone is an Australian filmmaker. His work includes documentaries about significant figures in Australian arts and culture, including authors David Malouf and Tim Winton, artist Brett Whiteley and dancer Robert Helpmann. Featherstone's works address social and historical issues such as beach culture, The Beach, gangs, The One Percenters about the Milperra Massacre, and war, Kokoda.

Vickie Gest is a documentary and drama producer from Brisbane.

Paul Charlier is an Australian composer and sound designer who works primarily in theatre and film. He has also worked in radio and was a founding member of the Sydney post-punk band SoliPsiK. His theatre work includes the Sydney Theatre Company productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Uncle Vanya, as well as the Company B productions of Faith Healer (Composer) and The Diary of a Madman. His film credits include The Final Quarter (Composer), Looking for Alibrandi, Candy, Paul Kelly - Stories of Me and Last Ride (Composer).

The Inaugural Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known more commonly as the AACTA Awards, presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), honoured the best Australian and foreign films of 2011 took place on two separate events, in Sydney, New South Wales: the AACTA Awards Luncheon, on 15 January 2012, at the Westin Hotel, and the AACTA Awards Ceremony, on 31 January 2012, at the Sydney Opera House. Following the establishment of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts, by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), these awards marked the inauguration of the AACTA Awards, but served as a continuum to the AFI Awards, which were presented by the AFI since 1958. The ceremony was televised on the Nine Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amiel Courtin-Wilson</span> Australian film director

Amiel Courtin-Wilson is an Australian filmmaker. He has directed over 20 short films and several feature films. His debut feature film, Hail, premiered internationally at Venice Film Festival in 2011. He is also a musician, music producer, and visual artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kriv Stenders</span> Australian writer, producer, and director

Kriv Stenders is an Australian writer, film producer, and director, best known for his 2011 film Red Dog (2011) and the 2014 thriller film Kill Me Three Times. His new film The Correspondent, based on a memoir by Australian journalist Peter Greste, has its world premiere on the opening gala night of the Adelaide Film Festival on 23 October 2024.

Shark Island Productions is a documentary film production company based in Sydney, Australia, creates extensive education, outreach and community engagement campaigns with its films. It is the production arm of Shark Island Institute.

<i>Paul Kelly – Stories of Me</i> 2012 Australian film

Paul Kelly – Stories of Me is a 2012 Australian documentary directed by Ian Darling and produced by Shark Island Productions.

<i>The Oasis</i> (film) Australian film

The Oasis is a 2008 Australian documentary produced by Shark Island Productions and directed by Ian Darling and Sascha Ettinger Epstein. The film explores the lives of homeless youth living in the Salvos Oasis youth refuge in Sydney. A 'ten years later' film was published in 2019 - Life After The Oasis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Peedom</span> Australian director

Jennifer Peedom is an Australian filmmaker, known for her 2015 feature-length documentary film Sherpa.

Felicity Wilcox is an Australian composer and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Hyde</span> Australian film producer, writer and director

Sophie Hyde is an Australian film director, writer, and producer based in Adelaide, South Australia. She is co-founder of Closer Productions and known for her award-winning debut fiction film, 52 Tuesdays (2013) and the comedy drama Animals (2019). She has also made several documentaries, including Life in Movement (2011), a documentary about dancer and choreographer Tanja Liedtke, and television series, such as The Hunting (2019). Her latest film, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, premiered at the Sundance Festival in 2022. Her upcoming film Jimpa stars Olivia Colman and John Lithgow.

The Final Quarter is a 2019 Australian documentary, directed by Ian Darling and produced by Shark Island Productions, about the final stages of the Australian football career of Adam Goodes, during which he was the target of repeated booing by opposition fans.

<i>The Australian Dream</i> (2019 film) 0000 film

The Australian Dream, also known as Australian Dream, is a feature-length documentary film released in Australia in 2019. Featuring Australian Football League (AFL) player Adam Goodes, the film examines Australian Aboriginal identity and racism in modern Australia, with the sustained booing of Goodes by spectators as a starting point.

<i>Acute Misfortune</i> 2018 Australian drama film about artist Adam Cullen, made by Thomas M. Wright

Acute Misfortune is a 2018 Australian drama film co-written, directed and produced by Thomas M. Wright. The story is based on Sydney journalist Erik Jensen's biography of Australian artist Adam Cullen, who died at the age of 46, and stars Daniel Henshall as Adam Cullen.

Darren Dale is an Indigenous Australian film and television producer. He joined film production company Blackfella Films as a producer and later co-director, and as of August 2024 is managing director. Dale is known for co-producing many films and television series with Miranda Dear since 2010, with their most recent collaboration being the second season of Total Control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Aitken (director)</span> Australian documentary director, writer and producer

Sally Aitken is an Australian documentary film and television director, writer, and producer. She is known for Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story; David Stratton: A Cinematic Life; and Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles. She is co-founder, co-principal, and director of the all-female film production company SAM Content.

Wash My Soul In The River's Flow is an Australian film about singer-songwriters Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, who were children of the Stolen Generation. It was written and directed by Philippa Bateman. Archie Roach was also a producer of the film and the team worked closely with Ruby Hunter’s surviving family. The film is a combination of concert film, biography and history. The film was winner of the top prize for Best Documentary Feature at the Australian International Documentary Conference in 2023. The award jury commented in their statement: “Elegant, confident, and intimate to its magnetic subjects, Bateman’s film so impressively captures a setting and a stage where music compels the story of their lives, and where it stands proudly in resistance against the injustices of our history.”

References

  1. ↑ "Shark Island". Sharkisland.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Good Pitch coming to Australia in 2014". Inside Film Magazine.
  3. ↑ "Sweet Country dominates AACTA awards". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 December 2018.
  4. ↑ "National Photographic Portrait Prize". The Daily Telegraph.
  5. ↑ Pascale, Louise (23 March 2021). "THE TWINS wins "Mental Health Awareness Award"". Mental Health Coalition of South Australia.
  6. ↑ Krinsky, Tamara. "Documentary Member news". Documentary Magazine.
  7. ↑ "ShAFF Presents Coast To Coast and Alone Across Australia". Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. Archived from the original on 12 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Media Release NYC Report" (PDF). Salvos.org.au. 8 April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Top 50 Philanthropic gifts of all time". ProBonoAustralia. Probonoaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Media Release NYC report" (PDF). Screen Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Antenna Documentary Festival". Moviemag.org. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013.
  12. ↑ "Fringe Feed critic review". adelaidefringefestival.
  13. ↑ "Stanley Hawes Award". AIDC. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Feature interview: Ian Darling" (PDF). Philanthropy Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Good Pitch". Goodpitch.org. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Antenna Documentary Film Festival". Archived from the original on 23 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Antenna Documentary Film Festival Staff". Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  18. ↑ Bennie, Angela (11 November 2006), Blanchett: Theatre job 'no dalliance', Sydney Morning Herald
  19. ↑ David Gonski to replace Darling as Chair of the Sydney Theatre Company, Australian Stage, 16 December 2009
  20. ↑ "The Centre for Social Impact issue 69". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "Past award recipients". Creativepartnerships.gov.au. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  22. 1 2 "Effective Philanthropy in the Spotlight". Probonoaustralia.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  23. 1 2 "Australian Philanthropy Awards 2017 ›› Philanthropy Australia". Philanthropy.org.au. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  24. ↑ "Australia Day Honours 2018: The full list". The Sydney Morning Herald . 25 January 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  25. ↑ "Tribute to Ian Darling". Festivaldesantipodes.org. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  26. ↑ "Adam Goodes documentary maker urges Australians to judge impact of racism on AFL star". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  27. ↑ "Urban Cinefile AFI Awards 2008 - Industry Categories - Winners". Urbancinefile.com.au. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  28. ↑ "AACTA Byron Kennedy Award - Winners" (PDF). AACTA. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  29. ↑ "2020 ATOM Awards - Tertiary & Industry Winners Announced!". FilmInk. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  30. ↑ "GOOD PITCH² AUSTRALIA | Makes good films go further". Goodpitch2australia.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  31. ↑ "Good Pitch Australia". good pitch. DocSociety. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  32. ↑ "ALL ABOUT GOOD PITCH". screenworks.com.au. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  33. ↑ "Good Pitch". Doc Society. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  34. ↑ "AbaF Councillors". Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  35. ↑ "Australia Day Honours 2018: The full list". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.