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''Frackman'' is a 2015 Australian
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
about the former construction worker turned anti-fracking activist
Dayne Pratzky Dayne Pratzky is an Australian Anti-fracking movement, anti-fracking activist known colloquially as the ''Frackman''. He is also the subject of a 2015 feature-length documentary film of the same name produced by Smith&Nasht, Smith & Nasht. A form ...
as he responds to the expansion of the coal seam gas industry near
Tara, Queensland Tara is a rural town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Tara had a population of 1,980 people. Geography Tara is on the Darling Downs. The town is at the centre of the locality. Immedia ...
. The film was produced by Richard Todd of Aquarius Productions, Simon Nasht of
Smith & Nasht Smith & Nasht is an Australian media production company formed by serial entrepreneur Dick Smith and filmmaker Simon Nasht. The company was established in 2010 and has specialised in "global issue" films. As of 2019, topics have included energy, c ...
and with
Trish Lake Trish Lake is an Australian producer of feature films and documentaries and former ABC TV journalist. Among her works are ''Gettin' Square ''(2003)'', The Burning Season ''(2008) and ''Frackman'' (2015). She is the CEO of Freshwater Pictures, b ...
of Freshwater Pictures and was Directed by Richard Todd of Aquarius Productions. The film also features the president of Lock the Gate,
Drew Hutton Peter Drew Hutton (born 1947) is an Australian activist, academic, campaigner and past political candidate. Hutton co-founded the Queensland Greens (in 1990) and Australian Greens (in 1991) and ran in elections in Queensland and Australia at ...
, conservative radio personality Alan Jones and many other residents of Queensland and New South Wales. ''Frackman'' officially premiered at the Byron Bay International Film Festival where it won best feature film and best environmental film in March 2015 and began a regional tour in marginal electorates before the 2015 New South Wales election. ''Frackman'' won Best Film and Best Environmental Film at the 2015
Byron Bay International Film Festival The Byron Bay Film Festival (BBFF) is a popular AACTA Awards accredited independent awards-based film event held in the late Australian summer at the Palace Cinemas, in the coastal town of Byron BayBrunswick Picture Housein Brunswick Heads and ...
. The film was released on DVD and digital platforms on 9 December 2015.


Production

Aquarius Productions commenced production on ''Frackman'' in early 2011. The film was shot in Queensland and New South Wales and according to director, Richard Todd, the story is told "through the eyes of Dayne 'The Frackman' Pratzky". By November 2011, Todd had followed sub plot character stories with
Drew Hutton Peter Drew Hutton (born 1947) is an Australian activist, academic, campaigner and past political candidate. Hutton co-founded the Queensland Greens (in 1990) and Australian Greens (in 1991) and ran in elections in Queensland and Australia at ...
,
Jeremy Buckingham Jeremy Buckingham (born 22 November 1973) is an Australian politician who has served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 2023, having previously held the same office from 2011 until 2019. Buckingham was a member of the ...
, Dr Marian Lloyd Smith,
Bob Irwin Robert Eric Irwin (born 8 June 1939) is an Australian natural history, naturalist, animal conservation movement, conservationist, former zookeeper, and a herpetologist known for his conservation and husbandry work with apex predators and reptil ...
,
Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who was the leader of the National Party of Australia from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022. Joyce was the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia during both ...
. Alan Jones had been filmed at a community gathering in
Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and the Southern Highl ...
and also in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. Time-critical shoots had already occurred and further filming was expected to occur in mid 2013. Editing was expected to follow in late 2013. Todd, who was born in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
and hails from Margaret River in Western Australia has said that he is "attracted to stories that require a very close and personal relationship with a central character." He has also said that he has "the ability to be 'let in' to complex and difficult to film situations." In April 2014, Richard Todd was editing the film with Axel Grigor and announced that the film would be released in "the second half of 2014".


Release

The film was launched with a preview screening in February 2015 in Adelaide, closely followed by a regional Australian tour which commenced in New South Wales in March. The film's promotional poster featured endorsements from conservative radio commentator Alan Jones and former leader of the
Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
,
Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...
. The film had its USA premiere at DOC NYC on 14 November 2015. The film is scheduled for release on DVD and digital platforms on 9 December 2015.


Reception

''Frackman'' won Best Film and Best Environmental Film at the 2015
Byron Bay International Film Festival The Byron Bay Film Festival (BBFF) is a popular AACTA Awards accredited independent awards-based film event held in the late Australian summer at the Palace Cinemas, in the coastal town of Byron BayBrunswick Picture Housein Brunswick Heads and ...
. The film subsequently began a screening tour, during which it played to many full houses. Following a preview screening of ''Frackman'' in Adelaide in February 2015 as part of the documentary film festival DocWeek, the Energy Resource Information Centre published a list of 'Frackman Facts' on their website. The centre also questioned the commitment of public funds to the project and described Pratzky as having "made it a personal mission to disrupt, protest and demonise an industry that he doesn’t agree with." The film attracted criticism from former Federal
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
leader
Mark Latham Mark William Latham (; born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator who is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the ...
who described it as "a fracking false alarm" in an opinion piece published by the ''
Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...
''. He went on to criticise the
anti-fracking movement The anti-fracking movement is a political movement that seeks to ban the practice of extracting natural gasses from shale rock formations to provide power due to its negative environmental impact. These effects include the contamination of drinkin ...
by describing it as "one of the most fraudulent, misinformed and irrational pieces of politics I have ever seen."


Funding controversy

Prior to its official release, the feature-length documentary film ''Frackman'' attracted attention due to the substantial state and federal government financial support it received. A private company, Frackman Films Pty Ltd was registered on 17 June 2013. The film received $220,000 from
Screen Queensland Screen Queensland is an agency of the Queensland Government which seeks to expand the production of movies, television series, and computer games within Queensland, Australia. It provides financial support to attract producers to use Queensland a ...
, $156,400 from
ScreenWest Screenwest is Western Australia's screen funding and development organisation, working in partnership with the screen industry to develop, support and promote film, television and digital media production in Western Australia. Screenwest receive ...
(Western Australia) and a further $200,000 from
Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...
. ''
The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' newspaper published that it understood that the Screen West funding equated to 15% of the production's total budget, with the production also eligible for a $435,000'' ''film producer tax credit. The film's co-producer, Trish Lake from Freshwater Pictures, described the government funding as an example of Government supporting free speech. Queensland's Arts Minister Ian Walker agreed, telling the media:
“If anyone was looking for proof that freedom of speech flourishes in Queensland, this documentary is it.”
Western Australian Acting State Premier
Kim Hames Kim Desmond Hames (born 24 March 1953) is an Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2017. He served as a minister in the governments of Richard Co ...
told ''The West Australian'':
"The State Government supports the jobs, energy supply and opportunities that a well-regulated shale gas industry can provide for WA families... However, we also support the independence of the ScreenWest funding selection process, which does not involve State ministers. I am advised the ScreenWest board considered this project at length and took into account artistic and production merits."
Pratzky found the Government funding funny but said that he didn't believe that it undermined the production. He said of the production: "It’s telling the truth and cutting through a layer of propaganda." The film's producer Simon Nasht described the film as "polemical" and "not a documentary that the public broadcasters, the ABC or SBS, would touch with a barge pole."


Screen Australia project assessment

Following the film's release, internal documents released via
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...
request revealed that two of the three Screen Australia assessors had questioned director Richard Todd's "lack of experience" or "relative inexperience." Prior to funding approval the assessors expressed concerns related to the proposal's "finance plan, high budget and certain line items." In May 2013, film producer Simon Nasht had received a letter from Mary-Ellen Mullane, one of the assessors, who requested that
Simon Sheikh Simon Sheikh (born 1986) is an Australian activist who is currently CEO of superannuation fund Future Super. He was the National Director of GetUp! from 2008 to 2012. He was a delegate to the economics stream of the Australia 2020 Summit and was ...
's editorial/creative control and co-producer status be removed from the contract. Mullane wrote that "''
GetUp! GetUp! is an independent progressive Australian political activist group. It was launched in August 2005 to encourage Internet activism in Australia, though it has increasingly engaged in offline community organising. GetUp! is an independen ...
'''s contribution can only be considered as an alternative distribution strategy, not a co-production partner."


Philanthropic support

The production also attracted
philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
support by pitching at an event called ''Good Pitch'', hosted by Shark Island Institute and Documentary Australia Foundation at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
. In total, over $2 million was raised between seven different feature-length documentary film productions which pitched to an audience of approximately 300 on the day. Distributor Madman committed $10,000 towards ''Frackman'' at the event and offered to work with eOne to maximise home entertainment revenues. Producer
Trish Lake Trish Lake is an Australian producer of feature films and documentaries and former ABC TV journalist. Among her works are ''Gettin' Square ''(2003)'', The Burning Season ''(2008) and ''Frackman'' (2015). She is the CEO of Freshwater Pictures, b ...
said of the fundraising at Good Pitch:
“While some... goes to production, the majority will be spent on outreach — building audience interest and excitement ahead of the roll out early next year as it starts an innovative campaign across rural Australia in cinemas and community halls and culminating in city theatres for city dwellers... It will be a roll out over many months with a dialogue we hope for whatever time it takes for state and federal governments to re-think their current deals with the global gas industry.”
''Frackman'' also partnered with Getup! and Lock the Gate and was officially launched in March 2015, followed by a tour of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, then screenings in Western Australia and Victoria in April. The film's financials and legals were managed by Daniel (Dan) Lake, nephew of producer Trish Lake. Dan Lake was appointed as a director of production investment at Screen Queensland on 3 November 2014.


Missing interviews


Gladstone LNG export contracts and environmental approvals

The film's director Richard Todd told the media that his team was surprised that gas export approvals in Queensland had been granted. Todd said that he had interviewed a woman directly involved with the process, who had told him that "She basically quit her job because she was given an ultimatum to make sure those contracts were passed at all costs." While the dredging of Gladstone Harbor and the construction of the Curtis Island LNG export facility featured in the film, export approvals and contracts were not discussed. The first LNG export shipment departed Gladstone on 5 January 2015.


References


External links

* *{{IMDb title, 3557446 Australian documentary films 2015 films Documentary films about hydraulic fracturing 2015 documentary films Films directed by Jonathan Stack 2010s English-language films 2010s Australian films English-language documentary films