National honour for documentary

Nigger Lovers, a documentary by USQ academics Stephen Hagan, Rhonda Hagan and Daryl Sparkes has been awarded a prestigious EnhanceTV Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) award for Best Documentary Short Form.

ATOM is an independent, non-profit, professional association for Teachers of Media, who established the awards to promote, encourage and reward the work of Australian screen and media practitioners.

The documentary, has received national acclaim following its release earlier this year and won the award over several other high profile documentaries.

'It was very competitive and I didn’t realise till we got there that we were going up against documentary makers from channel seven and nine,' Mr Hagan said.

'This made the award all the more satisfying because we managed to beat some big corporations.'

With more than 600 entries as part of the ATOM awards, the documentary was named as one of 128 finalists for 30 awards presented at a ceremony in Melbourne last week.

'There were hundreds of nominations and finalists from across Australia who entered the awards,' Mr Hagan said.

'They are very significant and the most satisfying thing for us was that you don’t win unless your documentary is of substance.'

Made on only a $120,000 budget, Nigger Lovers details Mr Hagan’s fight to have the word ‘Nigger’ removed from a Toowoomba sports ground, with the creators optimistic that it will become a pivotal tool in the fight against racism.

'Winning this award should make people more curious to see it and hopefully we can get it out into the mainstream.

'I think it will be a significant documentary for racism in Australia.'

Mrs Hagan who attended the awards ceremony with her husband said that she was a little overawed by the prestigious occasion but was happy to see something so close to her heart receive recognition on the national stage.

The film could receive further accolades shortly with the documentary also nominated for an Inside Film (IF) Award to be presented at the Gold Coast on Friday 16 November 2007.

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628