AUSTRALIAN DOCUMENTARY ‘DIGILANTE’ SELECTED TO MAKE INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE AT HOT DOCS INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL 2017

March 23, 2017

In by Dov Kornits

“Incredibly tense and brilliant.” - JON RONSON (AUTHOR - SO YOU’VE BEEN PUBLICLY SHAMED, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS) “DIGILANTE needs to be seen. It delivers a powerful message for contemporary Australians.” - EDDIE MARTIN (AFI AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER - ALL THIS MAYHEM)
“Incredibly tense and brilliant.” - JON RONSON (AUTHOR - SO YOU’VE BEEN PUBLICLY SHAMED, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS) “DIGILANTE needs to be seen. It delivers a powerful message for contemporary Australians.” - EDDIE MARTIN (AFI AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER - ALL THIS MAYHEM)

Melbourne-based filmmaker, Mike Nayna (Dayne’s World, Fancy Boy) has cemented himself as one of the most exciting voices in Australia’s next generation of documentary filmmakers. His debut half hour documentary, DIGILANTE has been selected to make its International Premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to be held in Toronto from 27 April to 7 May 2017.

Hot Docs is North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market. This year, the Festival will present 230 cutting-edge documentaries from around the globe. The Festival’s mission is to advance and celebrate the art of documentary and promote excellence in documentary production.

“The Hot Docs programming team has scoured the globe to bring the finest documentaries to Toronto audiences for a festival-high of 58 countries,” said Shane Smith, Hot Docs Director of Programming.

In 2012, Mike uploaded a shaming video that sparked international media attention, resulted in two jail terms and inspired a surprise spate of copycat incidents. But while the narrative of good conquering prejudice played out on computer screens around the world, a far more complex and morally ambiguous story was taking place. Through exploring the untold story behind the high profile public shaming, Mike must face the unintended consequences of his ‘digilantism’. Exploring the initial incident, the media explosion and the ripple effect it had on the lives of the people involved, DIGILANTE is a fascinating case study of the often-destructive relationship between social and traditional media.

DIGILANTE was the season finale in a series of five half hour documentaries produced as part of the 2016 season of Opening Shot, an ABC and Screen Australia initiative, designed to see young filmmaking teams bring a fresh perspective to some of the big issues facing younger Australians. Since 2013, Opening Shot has commissioned 19 documentaries and DIGILANTE is the first to be selected for Hot Docs.

Producers Mark Conway from Checkpoint Media (Dayne’s World, Fancy Boy) and Lauren Elliott from Mad Kids (DAFUQ?, The Legend of Gavin Tanner, Henry & Aaron) joined forces to bring Mike’s story to life. After a string of successful comedy projects, DIGILANTE was the first documentary and first co-production for both Checkpoint Media and Mad Kids. Mike and Mark will be attending the Festival in Toronto in May to meet with some of the world’s leading industry tastemakers with a view to attract international distribution for DIGILANTE.

WATCH THE TRAILER AND GET YOUR FESTIVAL TICKETS AT
http://www.madkids.com/news/2017/3/23/hot-docs-festival-2017

DIGILANTE WAS PRODUCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF SCREEN AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION AND FILM VICTORIA

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