FilmMakers
MEET THE TEAM
From Monaco to Badu Island, the team behind Alick and Albert travelled across the globe to tell this story and showcase the unlikely friendship between H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco and Alick Tipoti, both passionate about protecting the Ocean.
DIRECTOR
DOUGLAS WATKIN
As a filmmaker and storyteller, Douglas has produced short and long-form documentaries, television series, feature documentaries, animation and immersive art experiences. Douglas has been actively working in the film and television industry for 25 years, including producing and directing multiple series for ABC, SBS and NITV. Douglas is passionate about bringing the 'black voice' to the forefront and has worked tirelessly to connect Aboriginal and Torres Strait practitioners to make this a reality. He established the film and video production unit Double Wire Productions in 2000, and has written and produced dramas that have screened at film festivals around the world. His award-winning feature documentary ELLA premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2016, and has screened Nationally and Internationally. His VR experience A THIN BLACKLINE featured in the 2018 Adelaide Biennial and was also showcased at AIDC 2018. Douglas Watkin is currently the Content Director for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program at Screen Queensland.
PRODUCER
TRISH LAKE
Trish Lake, a former ABC TV journalist, is the CEO of Brisbane-based, Australian production company, Freshwater Pictures. Trish is a past president of Screen Producers Australia – SPA and a recipient of SPA’s Feature Film Producer of the Year award. Among her producing credits are the feature documentary, LOVE OPERA that won Best Documentary at the Australian Screen Industry Network Awards, THE EULOGY, nominated for Best Documentary in the AACTA, SPA and FCCA Awards and the winner of the prestigious Williams Documentary Fellowship; FRACKMAN, named by The Guardian newspaper as one of the top ten films in Australia in 2015 and WIK versus QLD which won Best Documentary, History, at the ATOM Awards, and Best Documentary at the First Nations Media Awards.
Her Executive Producing credits include the upcoming feature documentaries, MEET THE WALLERS and FLYWAYS. Her narrative feature film credits include the Canadian-Australian co-production, EARLY WINTER, which won Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days Award, and the Australian comedies, GETTIN’ SQUARE and SUBDIVISION. Her documentary credits include THE BURNING SEASON, SHOW ME THE MAGIC, MY AMERICA and RARE CHICKEN RESCUE. Currently Trish is developing the feature films ELVIS TOWN with directors Stephen Lance and Mairi Cameron and UNTIL THE DOLPHINS FLY with director Vilsoni Hereniko. She is Artistic Director of Tasmania’s Breath of Fresh Air Film Festival - BOFA - and has been an Adjunct Fellow at Griffith University, Brisbane, where she has mentored emerging producers at Griffith Film School.
PRODUCER
MEREDITH GARLICK
Meredith Garlick is a producer, executive producer, writer and senior arts executive who has enjoyed a broad-ranging career in filmmaking hubs on three continents. She has delighted in seeing her projects win awards, premiere screenings at major international festivals, and acclaim and engagement from audiences across the globe. She started in the industry working as a casting agent and as an actors’ rep.
Notable recent productions include: ALICK AND ALBERT (feature documentary, 2021, director Douglas Watkin); BOWLED OVER: A DRAGUMENTARY (SBS Television, 2021); HISTORY BITES BACK (executive producer, SBS Television, 2021, writer-director Trisha Morton-Thomas); animated series ZERO-POINT (Best Animation-Capricornia Film Awards, director Jonathon Saunders); feature documentary FINKE: THERE AND BACK (Madman, 2018, director Dylan River); OCCUPATION: NATIVE (SBS Television, 2017) and children’s fantasy film THE SECRET OF MOONACRE (Warner Bros), a UK-Hungary-France co-production.
Projects in development include the feature films SIDETRACKED (director Miley Tunnecliffe), COUNTING THE STARS (director Bec Peniston-Bird, writer Vicki Englund), and DOG PARK (writer-director Jackie McKimmie), and drama series AFTERMATH and ART OF DECEPTION. Wearing her ‘policy’ hat Meredith has helmed two separate screen agencies in Australia where she oversaw the production and development of hundreds of hours of screen content, in all formats and genres.
She guided the review and budget bid process that resulted in an injection of over $9M into Screen Territory. She wrote VIBRANT NT, the arts and cultural policy for the Northern Territory, and, earlier, was actively involved in advocacy work through leadership and board positions with Screen Producers Australia and Ausfilm.
She assesses for Festival Australia that sees arts and culture delivered in the regions of the country. In USA, Meredith was festival director for three years for the bi-coastal film festival (New York and Los Angeles), the Polo Ralph Lauren Film Festival. Meredith was recently the Mittelheuser Scholar-in-Residence for State Library of Queensland, researching the last 30 years of filmmaking in Queensland. She has an MFA from Columbia University and was awarded the University Medal and First Class Honours from University of Queensland.
editor
SUE SCHWEIKERT
Sue was educated in Brisbane and in 1979 graduated from the Queensland College of Art where she studied Visual Communication majoring in film making and animation.
After settling in Sydney at the renowned production house Film Graphics Sue spent several decades working on some of the biggest TVC’s in Australia. Her list of awarding winning TV commercials is extensive and ranges from classics like McDonalds ‘James Dean’ (Dir: David Denneen), to beautiful pieces like Australian Tourism Commission ‘Shorts’ (Dir: David Denneen) through to visual effects extravaganzas like Caltex ‘Flies’ and Tooheys ‘War of the Appliances’ (Dir: Graeme Burfoot).
Between 2011 and 2013 Sue spent time working out of Guillotine Post Production completing projects for Subaru Forrester and Samsung Smart TV (Dir : Bruce Hunt), FFA ‘Uniting tribes’ (Dir: Lenny Dorfman), a campaign of three TVC’s for YOUI Insurance (Dir: Bryan Cawood) and a fun Mt Franklin’s Light Sparkling Mineral Water featuring Jen Hawkins for Josh Frizzell. While commercials were her main focus, in those years Sue has also edited several short documentaries for web release. A 5min study of microfinance in India for IBM (Dir: Jeff Curry), a series of four ‘webumentry’s for Visa Business (Dir: Sean Ashcroft) and a study of GE’s heavy industry facilities in Western Australia (Dir: Kriv Stenders).
In 2012 Sue was accredited by the Australian Screen Editors Association and has since judged the annual awards for both commercials and long form. She won best TVC in 2104 for RACQ Brand (Director: Justin MacMillan) and was a finalist in 2016 for Best short film for The Boggabilla Bus (Dir: Mitch Kennedy).
Because of The Post Lounge’s variety of work Sue has also been able to stretch her wings into a variety of other forms of editing. Sue was editor on a travel web series for Top Deck, a very arty promo for the designer George Wu (Dir: Israel Rivera) and an interesting short film about a skate boarders life directed by Tristan Houghton. She also edited the trailer for Tori Garret’s feature film ‘Don’t Tell’ as well as the Missy Higgin’s film clip that accompanied that project. In 2018/19 Sue edited a 7episode web series Time & Place (Dir: Tam Sainsbury)
When, in 2018, the opportunity to work on Love Opera, a feature length documentary, came along Sue grabbed it with both hands. Working closely with the director Liselle Mei, Sue was intrinsically involved in creating the film. Producer Trish Lake was so impressed with Sue that she is now editing Trish’s next film Alick and Albert due for release in 2021. As you can see there is little that Sue cannot turn her editorial hand to. Her philosophy is simple: It’s all about the story. Once the director is in the room I want them to relax and concentrate on the art, let me worry about the technical side of things. My biggest thrill is when I can surprise the director and client with a piece that is above and beyond their expectations.
DIRECTOR of photography
MARK BROADBENT
Mark’s passion for photography and cinematography all began when at the ripe old age of seven he received his first camera - a blue Fisher Price 110 film camera. It was love at first sight and, while his toys may have gotten more sophisticated over the years, Mark’s passion for photography hasn’t waned. Mark’s discovery of cinematography at 15 when he started studying film and television at high school set him onto the path he is on today; combining his love for both photography and cinematography into a successful career.
His credits vary from feature and series documentaries, commercials, drama including two features as well as numerous music videos and brand films. His work has taken him all over Australia as well as international shoots in the UK, Ireland, USA, Monaco, Samoa, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Iceland and Antarctica.
Recent projects Mark has been involved in have been wide ranging and include "The Go-Betweens: Right Here” music documentary, History Channel series “The Pacific - In the Wake of Captain Cook with Sam Neill", and feature documentaries "Wik vs Qld" for NITV, "Brock" for Universal and “Drain the Oceans” for Nat Geo. In addition to long-form projects, Mark continues to shoot TVCs and music videos. Along with traditional cinematography work Mark also specialises in underwater cinematography.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Roxana McMallan
Roxana McMallan has worked in the entertainment industry as a creative and financing producer for over 15 years across feature film, documentary and television in both Australia and abroad. Some of Roxana’s notable drama feature film credits include Executive Producer for AWGIE award winning Hildegarde (2001) starring Richard E. Grant, distributed by Myriad Pictures USA, New Zealand Film and TV Awards winner Two Little Boys (2012) starring Hamish Blake and Oscar winning comedian Bret McKenzie and forthcoming Screen Australia title How To Please A Woman, starring UK actress Sally Phillips, set for domestic and international release in 2022 by Madman Entertainment and Beta Cinema Europe.
With a keen interest in cultural diversity and the arts that has spanned her career, Roxana produced the feature length documentary Nothing on Earth (2013) about internationally renowned landscape photographer Murray Fredericks, which premiered to audience acclaim at Sydney International Film Festival and The Clouds Have Stories (2011), featuring leading artists of the Torres Strait as had never been seen before on film. For television, Roxana has produced Screen Queensland supported documentaries for SBS / NITV including Indigenous rising star, musical prodigy Chris Tamwoy (2014) and delivered ABC’s documentary special ABBA: Bang A Boomerang (2013), which secured 2 million views on initial release, a record for the broadcaster.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Robert Calcagno
Robert Calcagno has been the CEO of the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation since 2009. He is a former senior Advisor to the Cabinet of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Minister for the Environment of the Principality of Monaco between 2006 and 2009.
Member of the Société des Explorateurs Français and Commander of the French Order of Maritime Merit, Robert Calcagno regularly organizes and chairs international meetings that aim to connect science, policy and outreach. His favourite themes are notably ocean governance, marine protected areas, polar regions, coral reef conservation, the protection of endangered species like sharks or marine turtles and the preservation of deep-sea biodiversity. Furthermore, he has authored multiple books on these subjects.
Robert Calcagno is a passionate traveler and explorer. He is the Managing director of the Monaco Explorations, a program focused on improving the relationship between humanity and the sea, and to strengthen the tools for a better knowledge, sustainable management and protection of the Ocean. He took part in field missions in Palau, Tubbataha reef in Philippines, Madeira, Cabo Verde, Malpelo Island in Colombia, Badu Island in Australia, Svalbard and crossed the Northwest Passage from Greenland to Cambridge Bay.
