PUBLISHED11 Dec 2025
Environmental Accelerator 2025 Wrap
Now at the end of its third and final year, Documentary Australia’s Environmental Accelerator has supported a slate of documentaries to increase awareness and accelerate action on a range of pressing environmental issues. The program has supported nine environmental documentary impact campaigns and showcased 20 documentaries through 33 Environmental Accelerator screenings and events, engaging an audience of over 6,700 attendees and generating over 6,000 engagements with environmental actions.
IMPACT PROGRAM
Earlier this year, we selected three new documentaries to join the Environmental Accelerator slate and receive pro bono impact campaign support in 2025:
- Yurlu | Country, which follows late Banjima Elder Maitland Parker’s fight for the rehabilitation of his homelands from asbestos contamination
- White Rock, where Damon Gameau uncovers the explosion of long-spined sea urchins devastating Australia’s kelp forests
- Sukundimi Walks Before Me, which follows Manu Peni and children of Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River campaigning to stop a large-scale gold and copper mine, which risks extracting, eroding and polluting the river
The project teams completed three group workshops: The Anatomy of an Impact Campaign, Budgeting for Impact Activities and Fundraising for Impact. Each project team then received one-on-one project mentorship and support, and was given access to a library of impact campaign resources and templates. Impact Producer Program participants Jess Hamilton and Matisse Walkden-Brown were mentored to work on hands on projects for the film teams, including issue and partner mapping, targeted outreach campaigns and resource development.
2025 SCREENINGS & EVENTS
In 2025, we presented or co-presented 9 program screenings and events. Below is a snapshot of some highlights.
White Rock Q&A Screenings Tour Launch
On 16 April, Documentary Australia and the Greath Southern Reef Foundation co-hosted the launch of the White Rock Q&A Screenings Tour at Hobart’s State Cinema, followed by an energising Q&A moderated by Impact Director Stephanie King, with producer and marine ecologist Dr Scott Bennett, fisheries expert Dr John Keane, Tasmanian Government fisheries manager Sharna Rainer, urchin diver Shane Blackwell, and Michelin-starred chef Analeise Gregory.
The Hobart audience took action to call for urgent management of the sea urchin crisis decimating kelp forests along their coasts, and enjoyed a locally-harvested sea urchin (uni) tasting following the event.
Environmental Accelerator Film Festival 2025: Encore screening
From 18-27 July, Documentary Australia presented an encore screening of the Environmental Accelerator Film Festival in partnership with ACMI, available free and online to audiences via ACMI’s Cinema 3 platform.
The festival featured eight impactful environmental documentaries, including Emmy-nominated Delikado, The Giants, Rachel’s Farm, Climate Changers, Greenhouse by Joost, Stay Tuned To Our Planet (STTOP), Power to Country, and new release White Rock.
The festival aimed to increase awareness and action on environmental issues, and drove audiences to engage with strategic calls to action mapped to the film’s key messages and relevant campaigns. The festival generated 600 engagements with environmental campaigns and initiatives.
White Rock: Safeguarding Australia’s kelp forests Q&A
On 22 July, we hosted a special online Q&A as part of the film festival, White Rock: Safeguarding Australia’s Kelp Forests. The discussion featured filmmakers and scientists Stefan Andrews and Dr Scott Bennett, Walbunja Elder Wally Stewart and Intrepid Travel’s Global Environmental Impact Manager and climate scientist Dr Susanne Etti, moderated by actress and changemaker Maree Jay Lowes, driving audiences to call for urgent government action to restore reef ecosystems. Watch the recording.
Yurlu | Country: Healing Poison Country Q&A
On Monday 10 November, we hosted an online Q&A, Yurlu | Country: Healing Poison Country, on Australia’s own Chernobyl-scale disaster playing out on Banjima lands, ahead of the film’s national release in cinemas.
Filmmaker Yaara Bou Melhem was joined by Banjima Traditional Owner Johnnell Parker and former Australian Senator Scott Ludlam, in a timely discussion on the film moderated by The Australia Institute’s Amy Remeikis about this largely unknown environmental, health and human rights crisis, and how we can all walk with Banjima to call for justice and remediation of ‘Poison Country’. Watch the recording.
Documentary Australia would like to thank all our program funders and partners, venue and event partners, film teams and supporters, guest speakers and mentors who have contributed to the program over the past three years.
The Environmental Accelerator is made possible thanks to our major partners, including Intrepid Travel, Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Madman Films, and other supporters.
