Documentaries have surged in popularity worldwide since COVID-19 and a QUT researcher says true crime and romance fraud are leading the charge, giving victims a voice and warning others.
Filmmaker Associate Professor Phoebe Hart from the QUT School of Creative Arts is one of the presenters at a QUT Centre for Justice event – Stop a Scam, Share a Story – on Tuesday August 27 in the Gardens Theatre Foyer from 11am-1pm.
Open to the public, the panel discussion aims to shed light on how offenders operate and manipulate victims by showcasing the reality and extent of their deception. It marks National Scams Awareness Week which this year is encouraging all Australians to speak up, share and report scams.
While independent producers are actively looking for story ideas around scams as they are in great demand by broadcasters, podcasters and others, Dr Hart warns people to look for filmmakers with a track record of treating victims with empathy and respect.
Dr Hart recently published Crafting Contemporary Documentaries and Docuseries for Global Screens: Docu-mania (Rowman and Littlefield), which explores the challenges faced by filmmakers in bringing the current worldwide craze for documentary films and series to screens small and large.
Dr Hart will use the panel discussion to cover how non-fiction filmmakers approach telling romance fraud stories, based on recent research that included interviewing Felicity Morris, director of the Netflix hit The Tinder Swindler
"Since COVID there has been a huge increase in the number of streamable true crime series, including romance fraud, both on television and in podcasts, along with a growing collective thirst to see wrongdoings righted," Dr Hart said.
"Demand for fresh stories is at an all-time high and most documentarians are aware there has too much focus on perpetrators, privileging or even glorifying their stories in true crime and are now focussing on victim stories, which is what The Tinder Swindler did.
"It's a positive development that people have the chance to tell their story like this, and warn others, but I suggest they choose who to hand it to carefully to ensure they don't become the subject of ridicule or are portrayed in an unflattering light.
"Look for producers who have shown themselves to treat others well and keep in mind they may require a level of exclusivity to tell your story on the window they produce for. For example, if they are spruiking the story to Netflix, it would mean you can't tell the story again in a documentary or docuseries made by producers working with another streamer or broadcaster.
"That's understandable considering the cost of making a documentary, docuseries or TV Drama but another way to be heard is via traditional news media, including radio, where multiple outlets may take up the story on a local and national level."
Dr Hart will be joined on the panel by Stephanie Wood who wrote the book Fake: A Startling True Story of Love in a World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissists, Fantasists and Phonies which was adapted as a TV series on Paramount Prime, starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham, and Tracy Hall who featured in the podcast, Who the Hell is Hamish and also authored the book The Last Victim about her experience.
Professor Cassandra Cross from the QUT School of Justice will cover her specialty areas of fraud, romance scams, financial crime and cybercrime while her colleague Dr Laura Vitis will discuss her research examining the role of mediated sites in justice seeking for violence against women, with a particular focus on informal justice seeking and true crime.
The Stop a Scam, Share a Story panel will focus on how media narratives of victimisation can help or hinder support of those involved as well as cover what to look out for to prevent it from happening to ourselves and our loved ones, and what can be done to better respond to this growing type of victimisation.
