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Mark Joffe, Easy Tiger team up for Lindy Chamberlain documentary

‘A Dingo’s Got My Baby: The Lindy Chamberlain Story.’

Producer-director Mark Joffe and Easy Tiger are co-producing a two-part documentary for Network 10 which examines one of the country’s most infamous miscarriages of justice.

A Dingo’s Got My Baby: The Lindy Chamberlain Story will shed new light on the investigation of baby Azaria Chamberlain’s death in 1980 during a family camping trip in Central Australia, and her mother Lindy’s prosecution, conviction, imprisonment, and eventual exoneration, for her murder.

For the first time in eight years, Lindy and her children recount that harrowing night and the devastating years that followed, using the family’s personal archives including Lindy and Michael’s wedding day, family albums and audio of Azaria’s voice.

Also featured are interviews with eyewitnesses, family friends, High Court judges, forensic experts, lawyers, media figures, professors of history, novelists, filmmakers and the Chamberlain’s church.

Joffe and his Empress Road producing partner Francine Finnane brought the project to Easy Tiger’s Ian Collie, with whom Joffe had collaborated on Jack Irish.

“I am excited and honoured to be doing this doc in an important moment in Australian history,” says Collie, who is producing with his colleague Rob Gibson, Joffe and Finnane, who wrote the script.

“It’s back to the future for me with my background in documentaries. Lindy was a fan of Mark’s Jimmy Barnes doc Working Class Boy.”

Screen Australia, Screen NSW and Screen Queensland are co-funding, with support from Kurt Royan and Dan Lake’s Orange Entertainment/The Post Lounge. Fremantle will handle international sales, re-titled Trial in the Outback.

Bernadine Lim, Screen Australia head of documentary, said: “The Chamberlain’s story has remained at the forefront of Australia’s consciousness for the last 40 years and this documentary will explore themes that still intrigue audiences today.

“With an impressive creative team including Ian Collie and Rob Gibson from Easy Tiger producing alongside Francine Finnane and Mark Joffe writing and directing respectively, we believe this story will be told with the care it deserves.”

Meanwhile Collie hopes to resume pre-production on the second series of Jack Irish in Melbourne next month if stage 4 restrictions are lifted by then. Guy Pearce intends to return to Oz in mid-October for the shoot.