Ian Darling is an award winning documentary filmmaker with Shark Island Productions 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 Paper and Glue, Allen v Farrow, On The Record, 2040, The Fourth Estate, The Bleeding Edge, Unrest, Inventing Tomorrow and How to Change the World. He is currently directing The Swimming Pool.
He recently co-wrote and acted in the award-winning play The Twins, a two-hander with comedian Greg Fleet. In 2021 the play was performed at over 75 shows in Adelaide, Sydney, Kangaroo Valley, Canberra and Melbourne.
He is Chair of Shark Island Foundation, and was the founder of Documentary Australia and Good Pitch Australia
Ian 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), was a winner of two Film Critics Awards, and nominated for numerous Australian Directors Guild, AFI/AACTA, and IF awards.
This August marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of his documentary Paul Kelly – Stories of Me. As a tribute, he has chosen 5 of his favourite music documentaries on DOCPLAY this month.
Country Music
Yes, I agree, I’m not a big fan of country music either, but you don't need to be to love this film. Possibly Ken Burns' greatest work to date. Country Music explains everything about music, in all its forms, and why we love it - a fascinating journey into country music, in a sweeping history, over so many decades. I realised that country music is maybe the closest thing we have to music verite (or documentary music), highlighting “the need of Americans to tell their stories” especially those who felt down and out. As one commentator said, country music is simply ‘3 chords and the truth’. Every musician you’ve ever loved has probably been influenced by country music, and this goes a long way to explaining why it's so interconnected. It is a heartfelt series, with many tears along the way. When Hank Williams and Patsy Cline die (kind of spoiler alert), you feel like you’ve just tragically lost some new found friends. It’s devastating. Ken Burns invited us in to this colourful and dynamic world - one I wasn't familiar with (or perhaps only around the edges), but now love so deeply and forever will.
The National: Mistaken For Strangers
This may be the funniest and most unpredictable documentary about a band ever made. What sets out to be a traditional behind the scenes rockumentary about ’The National’ band on tour, unexpectedly delivers a heartfelt expose of brotherly love, younger sibling rivalry, family complexities, fame, failure and success, all rolled into one. The filmmaker is Tom Berninger, the much younger brother of Matt Berninger, the lead singer of the group. Matt throws Tom a bone and grants him extraordinary access to profile the band - and along the way possibly regrets the decision. But like so many great documentaries, I assume this film ended up being something quite different from what was originally intended. As a result we see a really authentic, honest and raw piece of filmmaking, far removed from the formulaic or conventional music docs. Despite some excruciatingly painful and helpless moments, Tom emerges as the hero of our film, the guy we are all rooting for, making it one of the most memorable, rewarding and hilarious stories around.
Nick Cave: 20,000 Days On Earth
This highly stylised, heavily scripted, dramatised profile of Nick Cave, reveals a really innovative approach to documentary filmmaking and storytelling. Little wonder it was a hit at Sundance back in 2014. Yes, in part this is a ‘fictionalised’ documentary, but the directors, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s approach gives us a heightened sense of reality, and goes quite some way to giving us an honest understanding of the real Nick Cave. It is beautifully made, visually stunning and evocative human and musical journey. Devices, such as therapy sessions with his psychoanalyst, conversations in cars (with Kylie Minogue and Ray Winstone), meals with long term collaborator Warren Ellis, and visits to his ‘archives', all provide platforms to disclose Cave's inner thoughts and secrets. Cave’s own crafted narration is equally revealing, philosophical and inspirational. With a blend of historic and current concert footage, we get a real sense of the evolving musical journey he has been on over the decades. The editing in the final scene at the Opera House creates a highly engaging and emotive conclusion to the film.
Mrs Carey's Concert
Observational filmmaking is possibly the hardest of all approaches to documentary storytelling, and Bob Connelly together with Sophie Raymond, succeeds brilliantly with this film. For observational documentary to work, we need time and patience (filmed over 3 years), a strong central character (Mrs Carey), with plenty of interesting and controversial participants (the students), a single objective or structure that everyone is working towards or falling off (the concert), with enough barriers and challenges to create drama and uncertainty along the way. These elements are all represented strongly in this award winning film. Mrs Carey’s Concert reveals the power of music to transform lives, and in this instance some troubled school kids, and creates a highly emotional and rewarding cinematic experience. I loved this film even more the second time.
The Wrecking Crew
Ever wonder why some musicians sound just so god damn good, even when they may not be blessed with tons of natural raw talent? This is a fascinating and highly entertaining doco about a group of unsung heroes working in the music industry in LA in the 60’s and 70’s, who played with so many of the musical greats - and made them sound even better! This group of musician’s played with the likes of Elvis, the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Sony and Cher, the Monkeys, Bing Crosby and Simon and Garfunkel, yet still remained largely unknown. This film captures an important magical moment in time, celebrating these incredibly talented musicians, before technology, synthesisers and drum machines put them all out of business. While this is a simple and traditional documentary, the music is incredible. You’ll be tapping away at every tune, because you’ll know them all, and now you know why they sound so great!
