Wayne Coles-Janess is an Australian producer,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

of drama and documentary film and TV programs. Based in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, he has produced documentaries about frontier places in the country. He has also made some documentaries in several international locations, including during times of war.

Early life and education

Coles-Janess grew up near St. Kilda in

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, where he was the second of four children. His father was a chemical plant operator and his mother a ceramic artist. He started college as an engineering major but quit after a year. He spent time discovering Australia on a 250cc motorcycle. After this he went to the

Queensland College of Art The Queensland College of Art (QCA) is a specialist arts and design college located in South Bank, Brisbane, and Southport on the Gold Coast of Queensland in Australia. Founded in 1881, the college is the oldest arts institution in Australia. A ...

, where he graduated from the Film School."This isn't liberation"
''The Age'', 30 September 2004 He has completed Three Post Graduates in Media, Art and Education.

Career

His short drama, '' On the Border of Hopetown'' (1992), received an AFI (

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

) nomination. It has been screened at prominent international film festivals, including Clermont – Ferrand, Mannheim, and Chicago. It has been shown to audiences at more than 150 international festivals, from Turkey to the San Francisco Golden Gate Awards. His documentary '' Bougainville - Our Island Our Fight'' (1998) is about the civil war (1988-1998) in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

as the island of Bougainville sought independence. He explored the causes of the conflict, especially disagreement over operations and sharing of profits from the Panguna copper mine. His interview with

Francis Ona Francis Ona (c. 1953 – 24 July 2005) was a Bougainville secessionist leader who led an uprising against the Government of Papua New Guinea as part of the Bougainville Civil War. He and his followers were concerned about the environmental and ...

, leader of the

Bougainville Revolutionary Army The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a secessionist group formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The leader of the BRA was Francis Ona who led the BRA against the Papua New Guinea Defence Force ...

, was released separately and widely broadcast in 1997. The film was screened at more than 35 international film festivals. It has won numerous international awards, including Best Documentary, Best Video Production, and Audience awards. His documentary '' Life at the End of the Rainbow'' (2002) gives an account of people living on the land in the small rural community of Rainbow, at the edge of the Australian desert. Constructed in part from 1940s home movies, it portrays the town's growth and changes among its 500 residents. It attained the second-highest rating in

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

’s prestigious ''True Stories'' documentary slot. '' Life at the End of the Rainbow'' has been shown on the international festival circuit, where it has won numerous awards."Wayne Coles-Janess"
''New York Times'' His international award-winning feature, ''

In the Shadow of the Palms ''In the Shadow of the Palms'' (2005) is a documentary produced and directed by the Australian filmmaker Wayne Coles-Janess. He filmed it in Iraq prior to, during and after the fall of Saddam Hussein after the United States invasion of 2003. ...

'' (2005), is a documentary shot in part during the last weeks of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

's government in Iraq. It follows the Iraqis into "Operation

Shock and Awe Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight. Though ...

" and

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. The last third of the film is based on Coles-Janess' return to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in November 2003 for three months to document changes in life and society with the newly elected

Iraqi government The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution, approved in 2005, as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as wel ...

in place. This was the first

Australian film The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...

to be entered in international competition in more than 12 years. There were no other entries. This is the third

in the past 15 years to meet the standards for the highly competitive

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan ( ). It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and ...

. The festival is biannual and selects only 15 films from around the globe. ''

'' was voted the most popular film, winning the Audience Award. Because of his work, Coles-Janess has been consulted as an expert in

, and South Pacific culture and politics. His essays on related topics have been published in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

,'' ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

,'' ''The ABC,'' ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

,'' ''

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

,'' and numerous international media outlets. He has been a guest and speaker at international film festivals in Turkey, USA, Brazil, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Spain, Germany, and Iran. He has also served as a judge at international film festivals. Coles-Janess has also worked as producer and director for the Nine Network’s ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' and ABC’s flagship program - ''

Foreign Correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

.'' He revamped SBS’s 13-part series ''front up,'' as well as its ''

The Movie Show ''The Movie Show'' is an Australian film review program which was broadcast on SBS TV. Its history is divided into three parts, until it finally wound up in 2008. History The original format, which ran from 30 October 1986 to 12 May 2004, had ...

.'' Based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Coles-Janess founded a media communications company, ipso-facto Productions, which creates documentaries and other communications.

List of films

* ''

'' * '' Bougainville – Our Island Our Fight'' * '' Life at the End of the Rainbow'' * '' On the Border of Hopetown'' * ''Big City of Dreams'' Coles-Janess, Wayne (1997). Bougainville "Sandline". © ipso-facto Productions, screened on ABC. Coles-Janess, Wayne (1994). Bougainvill
"Broken Promises"
© ipso-facto Productions, screened on ABC. Coles-Janess, Wayne (1997). Bougainvill
"Inside Bougainville"
© ipso-facto Productions, screened on ABC. The film, Bougainville - Our Island Our Fight, was notable for covering the Bougainville Conflict. It was picked up by SBS Television and went onto screen at approximately 50 International Film Festivals and Winning a number of Awards.

References

External links

ipso-facto Productions
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coles-Janess, Wayne Australian documentary filmmakers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Queensland College of Art alumni Film directors from Melbourne Australian journalists Australian war correspondents