Complicit is an animated documentary feature based on the experiences of Mary Brabenec- a nurse who worked at Australia’s Detention Centres. Mary witnessed firsthand the treatment of refugees shift from humane to “absolutely shameful”. In 2001, ‘Stop the Boats’ became the Howard government’s catch cry and refugees became ‘illegals’, following the notorious Tampa incident, when Australia refused 400 refugees safe passage into Australia, though their boat was sinking.
Using the animation technique of rotoscoping, Complicit creates a fresh and impactful statement about Australia’s position on refugees. Rotoscoping allows both Mary’s real face and images from her frank and detailed story to coexist in the same frame creating a screen story audiences will want to engage with.
Complicit will leave audiences asking questions about Australia’s management of humanitarian issues, racism and our capacity to challenge decisions made by those we have elected.
Cath Murphy completed a Grad Dip in Animation at VCA Film School in 1998. Her student film Like Drowning won the C. Robert Fine Scholarship for Best Script from a Graduating student and the Erwin Rado award for Special Achievement in film. Her short films have screened at numerous international film festivals, been commissioned by local and international broadcasters including the ABC, SBS, Canal+ and Sogecable and won numerous awards for Writing, Directing and Visual Effects.
As a producer Cath has been funded by Filmvic, the AFC and numerous Philanthropic organizations.
In 2010 Cath initiated the Rural Animation Project offering animation as an alternative learning experience for youth in regional Victorian. Cath taught newly arrived teenagers using animations with no dialogue and therefore offering a universal means of communication via pictures and sound effects. Stories were then exchanged between Cath and the students via interpreters and a film script evolved from these unique stories. Between 2010 and 2020 the project won Best Middle School Animation , Best Primary Animation and was nominated for Best Short Doco (Professional) at the Australian Teachers Of Media (ATOM) awards.
In 2020 Cath setup Pollyannafilms an independent animation house. Pollyannafilms commenced production on their first animated documentary series Socially Sanctioned- the first episode of the series, White Goods, screened in the Best of Docs Flickerfest 2021, was nominated for Best Animation at the 2021 St Kilda Film Festival and acquired by IVOX.media (US). The second episode of the series A Tough Gig won a Special Jury award for Best Short Documentary at the Golden Horse Int.FF (Tamul), will screen at St Kilda Film Festival in May and has been requested by the Melbourne Documentary Festival in July 2022. Pollyannafilms is currently in production on the remaining episodes of the series.
