Further acclaim for documentary

'Nigger Lovers', a documentary by three USQ academics has received further acclaim after winning a prestigious 2007 Inside Film (IF) Award for Best Short Documentary.

Seen by many as the people’s choice awards, the IF Awards celebrates and promotes Australian film and creative talent with films and actors from across Australia nominated in a number of different categories.

Directed by Rhonda Hagan and co-written and produced by her husband Stephen and fellow academic Dr. Daryl Sparkes, the documentary was given the honour at the annual IF Awards, which were held on the Gold Coast last Friday night (November 16, 2007).

'It was a really spectacular evening, I have been to red carpet events in the past but this was something out of Hollywood,' Mr Hagan said.

'What made this award even more notable for us was that it was based on public votes.

'Over 50,000 people voted in 15 different categories for the Awards.

'This award is also a credit to USQ, with all three of the filmmakers academics here at the University.'

The documentary won the award despite not being the favourite to take out the honour.

'Everybody was talking about our category and they were saying they thought Aaron Pedersen’s (City Homicide star) ‘My Brother Vinnie’ documentary was going to win,' Mr Hagan said.

'I am an optimist though and thought we would have a good chance and I was proven right.'

Detailing Mr Hagan’s fight to have the word ‘Nigger’ removed from a Toowoomba sports ground, ‘Nigger Lovers’ was a labour of love for all three academics with their hard work now reaping dividends.

'We just won an Enhance TV Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Award for Best Documentary Short Form, so along with this IF Award they are a culmination of a year of doing the documentary.

'The documentary has also been short listed for the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, which is the premier film festival in the United States.

'It is in the final 16 out of 600 films short listed and if it makes the last four we will be invited to attend the festival as nominees.'

All three academics travelled to the Gold Coast last Friday for the awards ceremony, which was also telecast on television station SBS.

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