Films

On a Wing and a Prayer
1 x 52 minutes HD
ABC TV



Playful, mischievous and highly intelligent, Carnaby’s cockatoos are typical Aussie’s - larger than life, rowdy, fun loving and loud, their haunting calls heard long before you even catch sight of them.  A strong part of Australian folklore, the early settlers used to call these cockatoos ‘rain birds’.  As they migrated back to the breeding grounds, their screeches and squawks were a sign of good luck. Sadly, these days the booming call of the Carnaby’s cockatoo is more akin to a cry for help.

Some are still being smuggled for private collections. Others are illegally shot.  Together with land clearing, loss of native food habitat and injury from man-made structures, the Carnaby’s cockatoo is plummeting towards extinction.  The odds are against them and hope for their future lies in the hands of the local community and one man in particular, DEC Senior Wildlife Investigator Rick Dawson. 

This year Rick is determined to protect one small family of Carnaby’s cockatoos at a ‘high risk’ nesting site. ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’ follows the incredible life cycle of this family of striking birds as they migrate to breeding grounds in the south-west of Western Australia.   Every milestone in their struggle to survive is documented through the engaging story of  this small cockatoo family. This is a story of love, loss and sheer endurance.

Producers:  Jodie De Barros & Leighton De Barros
Directors/Writers: Leighton De Barros & Samantha Smith
Executive Producer:  Dione Gilmour
Website:  www.wingandaprayer.com.au

International Sales: 
ABC Commercial
700 Harris Street
Ultimo, New South Wales 2065
T:  +61 2 8333 3314
F:  +61 2 8333 3169
email:  abccontentsales.com.au

Whale Patrol
1 x 52 minutes HD
ABC TV



Whale Patrol follows the remarkable and perilous journey of close to 17,000 humpback whales as they leave their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic to breeding sites in tropical waters off the west coast of Australia. It’s a journey whales have been making for thousands of years, and it’s fraught with danger. While the encroaching winter storms can wreak havoc of their own, the whales’ greatest threat is man-made - a potentially fatal obstacle course of nets, buoys and ropes.

Entanglement can mean a slow and painful death for a humpback whale - but thankfully, an elite team of wildlife officers lead by whale rescue veteran Doug Coughran are on alert. They are, the Whale Patrol. With breathtaking whale footage and unprecedented access to a whale disentanglement crew, Whale Patrol is an exhilarating and moving story of the fight to protect the migrating whale population off the coast of Western Australia.

Producers:  Jodie De Barros & Leighton De Barros
Directors: Leighton De Barros
Writer: Michael Bright
Executive Producer:  Dione Gilmour
Website:  www.whalepatrol.com

International Sales                                    
National Geographic Television              
International                                                
Shepherds Building East                          
Richmond Way                                           
Shepherds Bush                                        
London  W14 ODQ
Tel:  +44 20 7751 7555
Fax:  +44 20 7751 7556
E:  info@natgeotv-int.com

Australia Sales
ABC Commercial
700 Harris Street
Ultimo, New South Wales 2065
F:  +61 2 8333 3169
email:  abccontentsales.com.au

Shark Bay
1 x 27 minutes
ABC TV



For an experience that can be alternately savage and serene, plunge into the aquamarine waters of Shark Bay, Western Australia.

Best known for its tourist-friendly dolphins, Shark Bay is home to a diverse population of sea life, including green and loggerhead sea turtles, dugongs, sea snakes, an outcrop of stromatolites (ancient life forms that house billions of microbes) and of course, sharks.

Since 1997, marine biologists have caught and tagged almost 400 tiger sharks in the Bay. However it's the dolphins, as always, who steal the show with some truly unique "intelligent" behaviour.

Producer:  Leighton De Barros
Director/Writer: Leighton De Barros
Executive Producers:  Dione Gilmour & Gill Lomas

International Sales: 
ABC Commercial
700 Harris Street
Ultimo, New South Wales 2065
T:  +61 2 8333 3314
F:  +61 2 8333 3169
email:  abccontentsales.com.au

Steps to Recovery
1 x 26 minutes HD
Birds Australia



The South West of Western Australia is the only place in the world where Carnaby’s black cockatoos exist. Once numbering around 150,000  their population at present is estimated to be approximately 20,000 – 40,000 birds.

With their species more than halved in the last 40 years the future for the Carnaby’s black cockatoo looks grim. However there is a group of researchers, professionals and volunteers that are working together to try and halt this drastic decline. 

With their motto “Conservation Through Knowledge”, the Western Australian group of BirdLife Australia heads up the Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo Recovery Project and is helping this iconic species take steps on the long road to recovery.

This film documents the work being done to save the Carnaby’s black cockatoo  and it’s  aim is to educate and inspire people to join the conservation of this magnificent species of bird.

Producers:  Leighton De Barros & Jodie De Barros
Director: Leighton De Barros
Writer: Samantha Smith

Sales: 
Sea Dog TV International Pty Ltd
enquiries@seadogtvinternational.com