Beloved Australian documentary screenwriter and former ScreenHub editor David Tiley died in hospital on Monday, following a long illness.
The esteemed industry figure worked as a screenwriter for many Australian documentary movies for close to 40 years, from 1974 – 2013.
Some of his popular works included penning the script for the 2008 feature Lionel, about the late Aussie boxing legend Lionel Rose.
He also wrote the screenplays for several other popular factual films, including The Triangle Wars, Strange Birds in Paradise: A West Papuan Story and The Unlikely Pilgrims.
The veteran writer also worked as a script adviser for the 2003 Oscar-winning claymation short Harvie Krumpet, starring Geoffrey Rush and Kamahl.
Beloved Australian documentary screenwriter and former ScreenHub editor David Tiley (pictured) died in hospital on Monday, following a long illness
Tiley later worked as the editor for the media industry site ScreenHub from 2005 to 2021, when he was promoted to Content Lead for Film, and retired later that year.
He was said to have a cheeky sense of humour and frequently injected clever witticisms into articles.
‘We built ScreenHub on playfulness. We have to accept that our audiences now don’t get a lot of those jokes, or even realise that they are not literal. That’s life,’ he once said.
The esteemed industry figure worked as a screenwriter for many Australian documentary movies for close to 40 years, from 1974 – 2013
Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner paid tribute to Tiley in a statement: ‘The sad news of David’s passing today is a huge blow to our screen sector.
‘His long career and dedication to promoting and protecting our unique industry made him one of Australia’s most knowledgeable and renowned screen experts.’
‘SPA thanks David for his support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling, tireless efforts in sharing information about the health of our industry, and being a voice for the industry.’
Australian International Documentary Conference Creative Director Natasha Gadd also paid tribute to Tiley: ‘He has been a champion of documentary and factual production.’
The veteran writer also worked as a script adviser for the 2003 Oscar-winning claymation short Harvie Krumpet, starring Geoffrey Rush and Kamahl
