Australian documentary producer Susan MacKinnon has died.
The legendary filmmaker, who famously worked alongside Paul Kelly on his Stories of Me documentary, passed away last week.
Her cause of death is not yet known.
In a statement released on the Documentary Australia Instagram page, CEO Mitzi Goldman dubbed Susan a ‘champion’ of the documentary genre who was fiercely dedicated to her craft.
‘Documentary Australia is extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Susan MacKinnon last week,’ the post began.
‘Susan MacKinnon was a champion of documentary always.
Australian documentary producer Susan MacKinnon (pictured) has died
The legendary filmmaker famously worked alongside Paul Kelly (pictured) on his Stories of Me documentary
‘From the earliest days of Documentary Australia, she and I worked together to gather the strongest stories to make the case to the philanthropic sector why documentary storytelling was so aligned to philanthropic goals.’
Goldman went on to say that the documentary maker was ‘warm and exuberant’ and always happy to help other creatives in the industry.
‘She was attentive to many filmmakers as they struggled to get their films made.
‘Susan’s contribution to the establishment of DA, and the years we worked alongside each other will never be forgotten by me, nor erased from our history.
‘I will always remember her laughter, her generous heart and goodwill towards the filmmaking community,’ she added.
‘Vale Susan, and thank you.’
Accompanying the moving caption was a picture of Mitzi, the late Susan and director Ian Darling accepting the Stanley Hawes award in recognition of outstanding contribution to Australian documentaries from the AIDC in 2013.
Susan became a well-known name in the industry thanks to her work on Paul Kelly: Stories of Me, which won Film Critics Circle of Australia’s Best Documentary in 2012.
In a statement released on the Documentary Australia Instagram page, CEO Mitzi Goldman dubbed Susan a ‘champion’ of the documentary genre who was fiercely dedicated to her craft
The film, directed by Ian Darling, charted the many lives, loves and losses of the Love Never Runs On Time hitmaker, who is hailed as one of Australia’s most gifted singer-songwriters and in the ARIA’s Hall of Fame.
Susan also worked on projects such as The Ride, Wall Boy and 4.
The award-winning producer was a Founding Director and Executive Director of Documentary Australia for eight years, helping establish the foundation in 2006 in the hopes of creating social change through documentaries and their makers.
Her contribution to the foundation saw it nominated for a 2015 Sydney Peace Prize, which acknowledged the ability documentaries have to bring people together in the pursuit of peace.
