The Hunting Ground Australia Project
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About The Team

– The Filmmakers –

Kirby Dick, WRITER/DIRECTOR

Kirby Dick is an Academy Award®-Nominated and two–time Emmy Award®-winning documentary film director. His most recent feature, THE INVISIBLE WAR, a ground breaking investigation into the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military, won 2014 Emmy Awards for Best Documentary and Outstanding Investigative Journalism, Long Form; a 2013 Peabody Award; and the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award. It was also nominated for an Academy Award®-for Best Documentary Feature.

Dick’s prior film, OUTRAGE, an indictment of the hypocrisy of powerful, closeted politicians and the institutions that protect them, was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism. In 2006 he directed this THIS FILM NOT YET RATED, a breakthrough investigation of the highly secretive film-ratings system that compelled the MPAA to make long-overdue changes. In 2004, he directed TWIST OF FAITH, the story of a man confronting the trauma of his past sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, which received an Oscar® nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

Dick’s other films include DERRIDA, a complex portrait of the world-renowned French Philosopher Jacques Derrida, which won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival, and the internationally acclaimed SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Amy Ziering, PRODUCER

Amy Ziering is an Academy Award®-nominated and two-time Emmy Award®-winning documentary filmmaker. Her most recent film, THE INVISIBLE WAR, a ground breaking investigation into the epidemic of rape in the U.S. military, won the Audience Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, the 2012 Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, the 2014 Emmy Awards® for Best Documentary and Outstanding Investigative Journalism, Long Form, and was nominated for an Oscar®.

THE INVISIBLE WAR led U.S. Secretary of Defence Leon Panette to announce significant policy changes, inspired Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to co-author and push the passage of the Military Justice Improvement Act, and was the catalyst for the drafting and passing of 35 additional new Congressional reforms.

Her previous film, OUTRAGE, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, is a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of powerful, closeted politicians and the institutions that protect them. It was distributed by Magnolia Pictures and had its television premiere on HBO.

Ziering also produced THE MEMORY THIEF, a thought-provoking examination of the relationship between empathy, narcissism and trauma. It was a New York Times Critics’ Pick and won several awards. Prior to this, she directed and produced DERRIDA, a documentary about the world-renowned French philosopher Jacques Derrida and the philosophy movement known as destruction. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was released theatrically by Zeitgeist Films and features an original score by Oscar®-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Ziering is the 2012 recipient of the Néstor Almendros Prize for Courage in Filmmaking, the 2013 Ridenhour Documentary First Prize, the 2013 Gracie Award for Outstanding Producer – News/Not-Fiction, the 2013 Peabody Award, the 2014 ABA Silver Gavel Award for Television, the 2014 Media Impact Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media, and two 2014 News Emmys. Ziering is currently in production on new projects for HBO, CNN and The Weinstein Company.

– The Hunting Ground Australia Project Team –

Allison Henry, CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR

Allison Henry is leading The Hunting Ground Australia Project. She has a legal background and extensive experience in political, advocacy and strategic roles in government and not for profit organisations.

Allison is the Director of Millwood Consulting, a niche agency focused on human rights and public policy projects. Allison has undergraduate degrees in Arts and Law, and Masters degrees in International Studies and International Law. Her previous roles include a five-year stint as a Ministerial Advisor in the Rudd and Gillard Governments, and three years as National Director of the Australian Republican Movement.

Mary Macrae, PRODUCER

Mary Macrae is Producer at Shark Island Productions, a documentary film production company based in Sydney. She is a Director of the Shark Island Institute and Producer of Good Pitch² Australia.

Mary works across the Outreach and Impact campaigns for a number of Shark Island Productions films (SUZY & THE SIMPLE MAN, STORIES FROM THE INSIDE, THE OASIS, PAUL KELLY – STORIES OF ME) and is currently working with the US film UNREST,  and is part of the impact team The Hunting Ground Australia Project. This role involves working with a range of coalition partners including the Australian Human Rights Centre, Australian Human Rights Commission, the National Union of Students and Universities Australia.

Anna Kaplan, SCREENINGS PRODUCER

Anna Kaplan is a screen and impact producer with a focus on stories that reach audiences across multiple platforms and inspire positive social change. Her broad experience spans working for international broadcasters, independent production companies, educational organisations, screen agencies and film festivals.

Anna has also worked as a project manager and producer on numerous community-based projects, working collaboratively with communities to bring their stories to screen.

In 2014, Anna joined the production arm of Australia’s leading independent distributor, Madman Entertainment, where she develops and leads ambitious impact campaigns for social issue feature documentaries. Her current projects include THAT SUGAR FILM, THE HUNTING GROUND, LIFE, ANIMATED and 2040.