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Vale Susan MacKinnon
25 September 2025
The SAFC is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of documentary producer and former SAFC Board member Susan MacKinnon last week.
Susan served on the SAFC Board from 2005 to 2011, was a co-founder and co-executive director of the Documentary Australia Foundation (now Documentary Australia) and a founding member of the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) in 1987.
As Documentary Investment Manager at the Film Finance Corporation Australia, she assisted filmmakers in financing over 400 films.
Susan worked as an independent producer for over 25 years, with feature documentary credits including Cast from the Storm, Paul Kelly – Stories of Me, Life In Movement, The Tanja Liedtke Story, Honeybee Blues, Global Haywire, and Eternity.
Alongside Mitzi Goldman and Ian Darling, Susan received the AIDC Stanley Hawes Award in 2013 in recognition of the Documentary Australia Foundation’s outstanding contribution to Australian documentary.
South Australian producer Julie Ryan and Rising Sun Pictures co-founder Tony Clark, who both served on the SAFC Board alongside Susan for many years, said that she would be greatly missed.
Julie Ryan said: “I was shocked and saddened to hear about Susan’s passing last week. I got to know Susan when we were both SAFC Board members and found her to be such a warm and delightful person who was very smart. She contributed greatly to the South Australian screen industry and will be greatly missed.”
Tony Clark said “Susan was an energetic and passionate supporter of South Australian filmmakers and visual storytelling in all its forms. During her SAFC Board term, she was pivotal in key initiatives including the commissioning and delivery of the new Adelaide Studios, developing film friendly policies to encourage industry growth, and helping to launch the careers of many who now walk the world stage.”
On behalf of everyone at the SAFC, we send our condolences to Susan’s family, friends and colleagues.