FILMMAKING TEAM
BRIEF
BIOGRAPHIES
PHILIPPA BATEMAN
Writer/Director/Producer
…works across documentary, feature film, television drama and screen-based media arts. Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow is her directorial debut. She has worked as a senior Creative Executive and creative producer in the development, production and acquisition of specialty feature films for 25 years in Australia, the US and UK, which included producer deals with United Artists/MGM and Universal Studios (US).
A recipient of the 2019 Documentary Australia Foundation/Create NSW She-Doc Fellowship, Philippa was embedded at Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions in New York. While in New York, she wrote CRASH and further developed a US based feature documentary AMERICAN HUNTER. Her producing/executive producing credits include: Jindabyne directed by Ray Lawrence and starring Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney, The Beehive – a nonlinear documentary/art installation featuring Pamela Rabe and directed by Zanny Begg about murdered activist and publisher Juanita Nielsen; Starry Night, a large scale art installation for Vivid by artist Brad Miller, and Alone Across Australia directed and produced by Ian Darling and Jon Muir.
Archie Roach
8 Jan. 1956 - 30 July 2022
producer
Note from the producers:
We are sad that Archie Roach has passed. He was an astoundingly gracious, extraordinarily talented and generous human being who will be greatly missed.
Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow is a film that celebrates the love story that was Archie and Ruby. We thank him for making this film possible and cherish his connection with this film as star, with Ruby Hunter, and producer. Our deep condolences to Archie’s family, his friends and the First Nations people of Australia.
Archie Roach Obituary:
Archie Roach was a Gunditjmara (Kirra Whurrong/Djab Warring) Bundjalung Senior Elder. A Singer-songwriter, author, activist and icon, he was also was one of Australia’s most loved and admired artists who with his song “Took The Children Away” brought Australia’s attention to the truth of the Stolen Generations experience, as no-one else had.
In 2020, Roach was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone as one of the Top 50 Australian singer songwriters of all time with AC/DC, Sia, Nick Cave, Michael Hutchence and Kylie Minogue. He was also named Double J’s Australian Artist of the Year.
Roach has been credited with playing an important role in the conversation around reconciliation. ARIA CEO Dan Rosen:
“He told stories no-one else was telling, and brought these issues to the forefront of the Australian psyche. His thirty-year career on stage is enough for him to be a legend, but it is matched with off-stage activism and his tireless work to give back to the communities around him. He’s a man who has made the world a better place, and he rightly takes his place as a giant of Australian music”. Sydney Morning Herald /The Age 10 November 2020.
Archie’s memoir Tell Me Why: The Story of my Life and my Music won the Indie Book of the Year non-Fiction, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for Indigenous Writing and NSW Premier’s Award for the Young People’s History Prize (2021).
With the release of WASH MY SOUL IN THE RIVER’S FLOW in 2022, Roach’s hope was that the gap in Ruby Hunter’s legacy will be addressed, and people will appreciate the enormity of her talent, humanity and contribution.
“This is a film Ruby Hunter would be very proud of”.
Kate Hodges
Producer
…has worked in the Australian film and television industry for over 25 years for some of Australia’s most prestigious current affairs programs, ABC television’s documentary department and as an independent producer. Some highlights include the Walkley Award finalist and Logie nominated documentary After the Deluge, The Valley with journalist Paul Lockyer and a recent stint producing environmental films – I Can Change Your Mind About Climate and Ten Bucks A Litre.
She was one of the producers of the theatrical documentary Frackman and spearheaded the innovative grassroots distribution and impact strategy that drove the box office and outreach success of the film. She has recently completed work on a Shark Island feature documentary The Department and produced Wash My Soul in The River’s Flow with Director/Producer Philippa Bateman.
Emma Donovan
Executive Producer
…is an acclaimed Indigenous Australian singer and songwriter best known for her work with soul bands, The Putbacks and The Black Arm Band project. She has also toured and recorded with Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, Spinifex Gum, Christine Anu, Yothu Yindi, Jimmy Little and Paul Kelly among others.
In 2015 Emma began her ongoing collaboration with Melbourne combo The Putbacks, meeting drummer Rory McDougall and bassist Mick Meagher when they were playing together in The Black Arm band. Emma and The Putbacks went on to release the album Dawn to great acclaim. Dawn was born of Emma and the band’s shared love for classic American soul and the protest music of Indigenous Australia. Equal parts Aretha Franklin, Coloured Stone, Ruby Hunter and Al Green, Dawn was a revelation for soul audiences worldwide. Emma and The Putbacks released Crossover in 2020 with Hiatus Kaiyote producer Paul Bender and their most recent album is Under These Streets, is a special commission with City of Melbourne as part of their Flash Forward project.
Ian DARLING
Executive Producer
is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. He is Executive Director of Shark Island Institute in Sydney.
His Director and Producer credits include The Final Quarter, Paul Kelly – Stories of Me, The Oasis, Suzy & the Simple Man, In the Company of Actors, Alone Across Australia, Woodstock for Capitalists, and Polly & Me. He is an Executive Producer of Allen V. Farrow, Paper and Glue, On The Record, 2040, The Fourth Estate, The Bleeding Edge, Unrest, Inventing Tomorrow and How to Change the World. He is currently producing The Department.
Ian Darling received the Byron Kennedy Award for innovation and the relentless pursuit of excellence at the 2018 AACTA Awards. He received the AFI/AACTA Award for Best Direction in a Documentary, has been a Walkley Awards Finalist (twice), twice a winner of the Film Critics Award, and nominated for numerous Australian Directors Guild, AFI/AACTA, and IF awards.
