Screenwriter, director, producer.
The creative force behind more than forty documentaries, Don Featherstone has produced films that examine a wide variety of areas and disciplines, including history, music and arts, science, sports, and socio-cultural issues. These works include, for example, The One Percenters (about the Milperra Massacre), The Beach (about beach culture in Australia), The Maitland Wonder (about boxer Les Darcy, q.v.), and An Imaginary Life (about writer David Malouf, q.v.). In addition to documentaries, he has also been involved in television drama, notably Babakuieria. An accomplished writer of both treatments and narration scripts and an adept interviewer, Featherstone covers subjects ranging from the man in the street to celebrities such as Will Smith, Meryl Streep, Baz Luhrmann (q.v.), and Geoffrey Rush (q.v.). He has also made films on staff for the BBC's documentaries department, London Weekend Television's current affairs department, and prestigious arts series The South Bank Show.
Featherstone's films are noted for their high production values and stylistic innovation, qualities that have seen him receive more than thirty international and Australian awards. Much of his work has been produced through Featherstone Productions, which he co-founded with Judy Featherstone in 1985 at Bondi Junction, NSW.
His connections with international broadcasters have seen his films screened in numerous countries around the world, notably through such networks as the BBC, ITV, CBC, Ovation USA, WNET, Canal 22 Mexico, ZDF, Bravo USA, BSkyB, UK Performing Arts, RAI, NHK, RTE, LA Sept, YLE Finland, SVT Sweden, DRS Germany, TEVEL Israel, NOS Netherlands, Iran Broadcasting Corp., TV2 Iceland, HRT Croatia, Rep. Of Kazakstan TV, Cablehogar Argentina, Vargas Panama, POLTEL Poland, Czech TV, Tele Madrid Spain, and ETV South Africa.