S3 Ep1 The Documentary Filmmaker podcast featuring Conquering Breast Cancer

Welcome to season 3 of The Documentary Filmmaker Podcast. It's time to dive into the origins of making a documentary.  This special edition series will take you deep into the 'How' and 'Why' with a case study of new impact doc Conquering Breast Cancer which releases in Australian cinemas in June 2026.

Its been 10 years in the making.  

So I’m your host Sue Collins, and I'm going to deep dive into the how and why. (including why it's taken 10 years to make!!!)  I’ll break down the way we’ve explored the topic of breast cancer from the projects origins and development through to where the project is at today.  

Did I mention it's going into theatres around Australia- I know, very exciting!  

And if you’re interested in learning about breast cancer, then hold onto your hat, because you’re going to be learning along with me and meeting some incredible survivors, thrivers and experts in the field.

So grab your headphones and listen in to this intriguing tale of how a little inkling of an idea can become a feature documentary set to release in cinemas.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is not medical advice and you should always consult with trusted medical professional for any medical concerns you have.

There is a resource page on the www.conqueringcancercampaign.com website with links to credible websites for more information and support services for breast cancer. 

If you're interested in seeing Conquering Breast Cancer on the silver screen in Australia from June 2026 - you can book tickets at https://conqueringcancercampaign.com/conquering-breast-cancer-au/

This episode includes comments from incredible people featured in Conquering Breast Cancer: Dyna Eldaief, Pratika Lal, and Professor Bruce Mann.  

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to season three of the Documentary Filmmaker Podcast. It has been a long time between drinks, so to speak. But in a way, it's a good thing. I have had time to really think through what else would be helpful for someone getting started in or interested in the documentary filmmaking process. And I have landed on using a case study from a project that's been underway for about 10 years now called Conquering Breast Cancer. In this series, I'm going to deep dive into the how and the why. There's an enormous amount of work that happens well before any film is produced, and typically audiences never see or hear about this work. I'm sharing with you the intriguing web of ideas that are spurned from research and how they're stitched together to uncover a story. I'm going to step you through the origins, the spark of curiosity that propels question after question, and how you can get from a tiny inkling of an idea to a fully fleshed-out project. How do you explore a topic like breast cancer? And how do you take that curiosity to where that film is today? And today it is a feature documentary preparing to go into cinemas across Australia. I know, it's super exciting, and I'll be sharing much more about that with you. But if you're interested in learning about breast cancer as well as documentary, then you're going to learn along with me in this tale and you'll be meeting some incredible survivors and thrivers and experts in the field. Uh-huh. You're thinking, hang on, wind it back. Did you say that this documentary has been in production for 10 years? Yep, yep, I did. Sometimes filmmaking really is a long road to hoe. But for this film, time has added a depth to the storytelling that just simply couldn't have happened with a quick turnaround. Over just 10 years, I've observed huge changes and medical successes along with changing attitudes. And perhaps most significant is that 10 years ago, one in eight Australian women would develop breast cancer in their lifetime. That statistic has now been revised to one in seven. Now you might not see the significance of this, and I feel like that statistic changed without really very much of a blip. But it's big. It means a lot. That's hundreds and hundreds more women who are destined to develop breast cancer. So if you're thinking why make a film about breast cancer? Hasn't that been solved? Think again, because it is a sea of pink out there, and it's often bandied about that there's a 90% survival rate at five years. And as good as that sounds, and as reassuring as that may seem, the very sad reality is that of women who are diagnosed with early breast cancer, up to 30% of them will have a recurrence and become metastatic. So for survivors, the psychological burden of carrying that fear of recurrence around cannot be understated. Perhaps you're thinking, breast cancer happens to older women, so most of us don't need to think about it right now. But the reality is that 25% of women who develop breast cancer are young. So it's serious. It's a serious disease and we need to shine a light on it. Because if for no other reason, together we can reduce the burden of this disease. So back to the filmmaking.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Cameras are rolling.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Do you need a sound check or you're happy? Got it. Great. What am I gonna unpack for you? I'm gonna start with how this project came to be. I'll discuss how the story has come together and why it's taken so long. I'll introduce you to who we've been meeting along the way, the countries that we've traveled to, and how we plan to release this film. For me, it's really timely to be looking back over the rushes and recalling so much of what's happened on this journey. Because we're just getting underway on the post-production and figuring out how to tell this story on screen. And I actually went back to my early notes to refresh on where all of this began. And here's not such a sidebar, but here's a great learning. Journaling and taking notes is an absolute gift to your future self. And what would have been even better is if I'd had the foresight to label and file my notes in some kind of consistent and easy-to-search way, which is something that I do now, especially because the software and AI available to us makes it so much easier. But journaling is an excellent, excellent way to recall stories and think back on your past. So anyway, I digress. How did this project come about? No, I did not have a moment. I actually received a phone call. Hi, it's who speaking.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

Hi, um, my name's Dinah. I'm actually a high-risk woman for developing breast cancer, and I'm I'm just going through and struggling to work out my options. So I was wondering if other people are in the same sort of position and wondering if the journey's worth documenting because it's sort of hard to get the information and I'm hoping it will help someone else. So are you the person to speak to, C. Collins?

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Oh, yeah, I sure am. Thanks so much for calling, Dinah. No worries. It's good to talk to you. Yeah, how did how did you find me out of interest?

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Um, actually, I've been researching um online about different documentaries around breast cancer and high risk of breast cancer and treatment and management. And I've I've I just came across um Moonshine and I thought, oh, this is sort of what you do. And I I thought it might be in keeping with with the kind of work you do, and I thought you might be interested in putting something like this together for other other women in mine in the same sort of position I am.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Yeah, fantastic. Oh, great. Well I'm keen to hear. I spoke to Dinah for what ended up being over half an hour, but as the call started, I was thinking to myself, oh, breast cancer, yeah, I know about that. And as I spoke to her, I realized more and more that I knew less and less. And so the questions they started to roll. What is being at high risk for breast cancer? And I was thinking, didn't Angelina Jolie have some sort of prevention surgery for breast cancer? How many women are actually at high risk? Actually, what does high risk mean? What is familial risk? So many questions. So many questions.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

Um, I think after my mum was diagnosed the first time, I just wondered, I I felt like I didn't know much about my family and my extended family, and if anything, ran in the family. So I I'd sort of got my mum to ask around and find out um what was happening in the other family members. Um, and it just seemed to me to be too many to to just sort of be a chance thing.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

So here I was, surprised and fascinated by how little I actually knew about this disease. More questions came to mind. How do I avoid the pink? How do you be the heroine in your own breast cancer story? How many women develop breast cancer? And the questions kept coming. So I knew this was a topic worth exploring. And boom, we were off. Development was underway. The first iteration of this film, if I go way back to then, was actually called A Stitch in Time. The aim of it was to share stories to help provide women at high risk for developing breast cancer, information on prevention options available to them. And you've likely heard many times that you should niche down or niche, as the Americans like to say. But in this instance, unfortunately, the project was actually too niche. And we eventually had to broaden the scope out to be more breast cancer broadly, not just about prevention for women at high risk. And that's when I came across this interesting question on a funding application. And the question was if you ruled the world, what would look different on this issue? Well, uh without without so much thought, because I've been researching quite a bit, so my answer was top of mind. It was all women should have access to genetic testing, quality counselling, and be well informed to make choices appropriate to their own situation. The next question on the funding application was What would you change if you could change literally anything? Again, easy to answer. I would make breast cancer 100% preventable. And these questions really did help my thinking about the documentary and how it could change lives and perhaps help build a movement towards making breast cancer a thing of the past. But where to start? Dina was clearly onto something. She'd been explaining to me that her mother really didn't understand much of what the doctors had told her through her cancer treatment, and that because of Dinah's own background in science and working in pathology, she was able to help her mother understand a lot of the information about her treatment, including if she could participate in a clinical trial.

SPEAKER_02 10:11

She was also approached to do a um a um what's the word? Um a clinical trial. She was approached to do a clinical trial and um didn't understand at all what she was being asked to do, or what the trial involved, or what the drug was. So the information they just would give her information, they would explain it and give her information. And I read it and I thought, oh well, this is something that you you should do because if if it it can benefit you, but it also then benefits all these other people beyond you. And I think um my background as a scientist, that's what we learn from, and that's what we need more of. So I encouraged her to participate and addressed any of her concerns.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

As I've learned later down the track, research and clinical trials are critical for advancing treatments for breast cancer. Dinah went on to share more about her journey and her own struggles to navigate the options available to her. Because of her high risk due to family history, she was being monitored closely, which looked like annual mammograms, annual MRIs, and ultrasounds, and each time it created some anxiety about what if they find something? How long can I keep doing this for? At this point, Dinah had three young children and wasn't planning to have more, so she was turning her mind to longer-term options than simply surveillance. Things like medicines that can reduce the risk. And then there was the Angelina Joly effect. Because when the famous actress underwent a preventative double mastectomy, meaning she was surgically removing her breasts to reduce her risk, she'd shared her story publicly. She'd made this decision based on losing her mother to breast cancer and learning that she herself was at a very high risk.

SPEAKER_02 12:10

I was as surprised as anyone to hear that Angelina Jolly had a preventative double mastectomy. Um, but it it brought to light a lot of um interest in the topic, I think. And for me, it helped me sort of consider it as a an a viable option. I I think before that I'd put it aside, and you sort of don't expect people to um to do things that drastic.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

So, more questions. What are the options for women to reduce risk? How can you find more information? How do you know if you're at high risk? And that's a really big question that we're gonna unpack more. It's also a really interesting candle worms for me because 10 years ago I was completely unaware of what I have now learned about my own personal risk. And I'm gonna share more of this with you as well as we go along. But understanding the information, knowing where to find information, and just how incredibly complicated breast cancer is are all things I was on a journey to discover. I interviewed Dinah numerous times over the past 10 years and followed her as she went to appointments, information nights, and generously shared her journey. And I'll have so much more in the coming episodes as we explore more on what it means to be at high risk to develop breast cancer. So the next big question, once we were committed to making this project, was how to get this project funded? Now that's a story in and of itself, and yes, we are a lot like Jerry Maguire right now screaming, SHOW ME the money! As we knock on the door of every possible funder trying to raise finance. And I wish I could say that this gets easier, but it doesn't. You get better at figuring out who are more likely funding partners, but writing proposals, pitch decks, creating compelling trailers. The truth is there's just no one sure quick way to finance a documentary. It takes networking and it takes perseverance. Now it's probably a good time to explain the we in all this as well, because for anyone new to this podcast, I'm Sue Collins and I'm an Impact film producer, and I work with Mike Hill, my partner in all things filmmaking and life, and together we run Moonshine Agency. It's a Melbourne-based impact film production house, and we've produced gosh, more than 15 feature documentaries and counting. I think this is our 16th. The journey continues, and next episode, I am going to go into detail on the development and how it progressed. A big focus for our research was to look into what's at stake and what does it mean to live with breast cancer. So I'm going to introduce you to a pretty remarkable lady, Pratika Lal, an impressive two-time breast cancer survivor who has gone on to found her own charity called the Treasure Chest Charity, which is really making a significant impact on helping women who are going through breast cancer.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

I will go any way I have to go to get what I want for these women because I think it's important. We have to look after our sisterhood.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

By the way, if this episode has brought up questions for you around breast cancer, there is a resource page on the Conquering Cancer campaign website with links to reputable sources for information. And I'll put the website link in the show notes. So please don't feel alone. There are ways to get your questions answered from credible sources. And I should also ask at this juncture, please subscribe to this podcast on whatever platform you're listening from because it helps me immensely. Mainly because I know that this is information that you want and you're finding it helpful. So, anyway, that's all from me for this week, folks. Keep telling stories. This is the Documentary Filmmaker podcast featuring conquering breast cancer.