Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this video series, we speak to six documentary makers at varying stages of their career and creative backgrounds, about the realities of making content in Australia.
Yaara Bou Melhem is an intrepid journalist and filmmaker. Her films include exclusive reports where she crawls through Syrian rebel-held tunnels, films in lawless Libyan jails after the fall of Gaddafi, explored taboo subjects like youth suicide in remote Aboriginal communities and more uplifting stories about doctors giving free health care in Nepal and conservation efforts in New Zealand.
Her observational documentaries include gaining intimate access to Time Person of the Year, Maria Ressa in the War on Truth, a film about the Filipino editor’s campaign against disinformation and the undermining of democracies worldwide. In 2019, she was named the Australian Freelance Journalist of the Year for this film. It is now being developed into a feature documentary.
Yaara is also currently directing and co-producing a feature documentary film, Dark Arts, a part human, part artificial intelligence driven journey into the visualizations of Trevor Paglen, one of the world’s leading contemporary artists as he reveals the invisible forces and dangers shaping our lives and future.
Her films have received a number of accolades including two UN Media Peace Awards, New York Film & TV Festival Awards, a Hong Kong Human Rights Press Award and Walkley Awards.
For more interviews and opportunities, head to Screen News: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-news
#YarraBouMelhem #Documentary #ScreenAustralia
In this video series, we speak to six documentary makers at varying stages of their career and creative backgrounds, about the realities of making content in Australia.
Yaara Bou Melhem is an intrepid journalist and filmmaker. Her films include exclusive reports where she crawls through Syrian rebel-held tunnels, films in lawless Libyan jails after the fall of Gaddafi, explored taboo subjects like youth suicide in remote Aboriginal communities and more uplifting stories about doctors giving free health care in Nepal and conservation efforts in New Zealand.
Her observational documentaries include gaining intimate access to Time Person of the Year, Maria Ressa in the War on Truth, a film about the Filipino editor’s campaign against disinformation and the undermining of democracies worldwide. In 2019, she was named the Australian Freelance Journalist of the Year for this film. It is now being developed into a feature documentary.
Yaara is also currently directing and co-producing a feature documentary film, Dark Arts, a part human, part artificial intelligence driven journey into the visualizations of Trevor Paglen, one of the world’s leading contemporary artists as he reveals the invisible forces and dangers shaping our lives and future.
Her films have received a number of accolades including two UN Media Peace Awards, New York Film & TV Festival Awards, a Hong Kong Human Rights Press Award and Walkley Awards.
For more interviews and opportunities, head to Screen News: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/screen-news
#YarraBouMelhem #Documentary #ScreenAustralia
