Tablelands-based Millstream Productions wins big in France

A Far North documentary production company has beat 100 submissions from 61 countries to win a huge pitch at a prestigious film marketplace in France.

Millstream Productions founders Matt Blyth and Alaneo Gloor during the production of HEART with 36-year-old Ally Babineaux, who is on her fourth heart. Picture: Supplied

A Far North documentary production company has beat 100 submissions from 61 countries to win a pitch at a prestigious film marketplace in France.

Heart, produced by Tablelands-based Millstream Productions, won best Science Pitch at the Sunny Side of the Doc international marketplace in late June.

“I’m still pinching myself. This is like winning an Oscar, but for the development stages of a project,” co-founder Matt Blyth said.

“It gets us meetings with … all the big players. They’re coming to talk to us as opposed to us sending an email, waiting three weeks and not getting anything back.”

Mr Blyth began Millstream in 2012 with fellow Tablelands resident Alaneo Gloor. Their team is small but robust – consisting of just Blyth, Gloor and trainee editor Maya Freeman.

The Heart documentary follows Dr Daniel Timms, a biomedical engineer from Brisbane, as he develops the world’s first durable, total artificial heart with his company BiVACOR.

Dr Daniel Timms with BiVACOR's total artificial heart. Picture: Sydney Morning Herald

“About 20 years ago, I met Daniel Timms … and then six years ago, I saw the project was gaining traction and Daniel was getting closer and closer to the first inhuman implant of the device,” Mr Blyth said.

“And I was like, holy smokes, I need to reconnect … I can see an international audience for it, it’s an incredible story.”

Over the next five years, Millstream followed BiVACOR as they continued to develop the heart, which included trips to the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Los Angeles and the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

The Millstream team was able to capture the story of the first inhuman implant of the BiVACOR TAH.

“It was incredible. The patient at the time was days away from heart failure. All his organs were starting to suffer, not just his heart,” Mr Blyth said.

The documentary pitch also included the plight of American Ally Babineaux, also known as the ‘bionic bride’.

At just 36 years of age, Ms Babineaux is on her third heart transplant. If this donor heart were to fail, it is likely Ms Babineaux’s only hope would be a TAH, Mr Blyth said.

Blyth and Gloor during production of HEART. Picture: Supplied

“It would be a miracle if she were to get another transplant. For a patient like her, a BiVACOR TAH is really the only way moving forward.”

Mr Blyth said he believed Heart would resonate with audiences globally given the prevalence of health issues worldwide.

“We all know someone that’s had a heart issue of some description – one of my dearest friends in the world died of heart failure, Daniel’s dad Gary died of heart failure.

“This story of hope and perseverance against all odds is incredibly close to home for so many people.”

But the key message Mr Blyth hopes people take from Heart is to never give up.

“The biggest theme of it is about never giving up, no matter what the obstacles.

“Daniel’s level of commitment is like nothing else I have ever seen … all these people were like, ‘you can’t do that, that’s impossible’.

“But it’s not just Daniel, it’s also the patients – them refusing to give up on life and just wanting to squeeze every ounce of life out of the years they’ve got.

Blyth and HEART’s executive producer Alex West at the Australian International Documentary Convention in 2024. Picture: Supplied

“And then for us as filmmakers, that’s been our journey too – it’s not easy to try and produce a massive documentary when you’re based on the Tablelands in Far North Queensland and the Telstra tower is playing up, you’ve got no internet, and you’re trying to meet with someone in Texas.”

As for the next steps for Heart, Mr Blyth said Millstream were meeting with big players to continue developing the project, which is expected to finish in coming years.

“We’re talking to streaming services, we’re talking to national broadcasters, we’re talking to feature film distributors,” he said.

But Millstream’s biggest priority is keeping the story in the Far North.

“(The pitch win) has put us in the best possible position to be able to do the best deal we can, and that’s without doing it with one of the big production companies in Australia taking the project over.

“But that’s been my greatest battle – there are companies here and they’re all interested in partnering, but then we lose the IP.”

In 2024, Millstream received a North Queensland Enterprise Grant from Screen Queensland, allowing them to buy vital equipment and bring Ms Freeman on board their team, which Mr Blyth said they were incredibly grateful for.

Originally published as Tablelands-based Millstream Productions wins big in France