Shining a light on dark money in politics
Shark Island Institute
Big Deal documentary

TOTAL GRANTED
$172,000

Impact AreaStrengthening Democracy
Year First Supported 2019

The Shark Island Institute comprises (1) an independent documentary production company, Shark Island Productions, an independent documentary production company making award-winning social impact films, based in Sydney, and (2) a philanthropic foundation, Shark Island Foundation, supporting documentary filmmaking in Australia.
Shining a light on dark money in politics
Big Deal is a wake-up call about the frightening extent to which money has infiltrated politics. Christiaan van Vuuren is an everyday Aussie – a comedian with provocative instincts, but also a father with a keen sense of fairness and justice. Big Deal begins with Christiaan mocking the fact that the US democracy has been taken over by big money, but he soon realises that the situation in his home country is not all that different. A wake-up call about the frightening extent to which money has infiltrated politics, Christiaan’s unlikely journey shows us why we should care, and how we might work together to ensure our democracy is safeguarded from being sold to the highest bidder.
Issue
Significant money is being provided to political parties in the form of donations that have the potential to bias political action. Together both major parties have taken over $100 million from corporate donors since 2012. Current laws limit what needs to be reported to the public. This makes it hard for Australians to get a clear line of sight to who is providing funding and what influence they might be having on political decisions.
Response
Supported in development by Shark Island Institute, the team at Jungle Entertainment began work on a documentary – what became Big Deal – to build public awareness of the scale and implications of unchecked political donations. ACF worked with the production team to link the documentary to civil society stakeholders, including members of the #OurDemocracy campaign – a campaign seeking to engage the broader public to push for reforms to make the Australian democratic system stronger, fairer and more representative.
Progress Update
UPDATED MARCH 2022
- The film has so far had an audience reach of over 5.3 million in theatres, online, on the ABC and in media coverage.
- The promotion of the #OurDemocracy campaign via the Big Deal documentary has so far led to 12,000 active members.
What the Impact Fund’s support means
“Impact Funders came on really early and made all the difference to the quality of the story we could tell… they totally understood the power of this film.” – Leeanne Torpey, Big Deal Impact Producer
Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund
Grants
- 2019 Large Grants round: $172,000 for development of impact campaign
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