The Saturday Paper is a quality weekly newspaper, dedicated to narrative journalism. It offers the biggest names and best writing in news, culture and analysis with a particular focus on Australia.
Some of the greatest examples of human ingenuity come in response to facing difficulties big and small. This month, oil rig workers fight for survival in the Gulf of Mexico, three teenage brothers born into poverty accidentally invent punk rock, and some of the world’s leading innovators take on the threats of climate change.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
One year in the life of actress, writer and comedienne Joan Rivers gives directors Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg more glamour and irreverent hilarity than most Hollywood comedies. As well as looking at Rivers’ five-decade-long career, the film examines America’s fascination with celebrity and the high cost of maintaining it.
The Great Invisible
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster was one of the most devastating of its kind in US history. Eleven of the rig’s 126 crew members were killed and the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem was altered forever. Margaret Brown’s documentary explores the event through the eyes of company executives, rig workers and residents of the Gulf Coast.
Time to Choose
Documentaries about climate change typically focus on expected impacts and projected costs of political inaction, mollified with a postscript of hope. Director Charles Ferguson bucks this trend by focusing on the solutions already employed, and how inventors and innovators are putting their solutions into action.
A Band Called Death
Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino’s documentary tells the story of one of the most misunderstood bands in modern music. The story of three teenage brothers forming a band that was punk before punk existed, and which broke up before making an album, is part rockumentary, part family love story and part fairytale journey from obscurity to recognition.
Great Minds of Design
In this six-part series, designers rethink the creation of everyday objects, from the source of energy used to create components, to their interaction with other objects and how they may effect behavioural change. Directors Ian Toews and Cam Koroluk take the viewer through the creative process, from inspiration to completion.
