recently recorded by Rod Freedman
Two separate but linked oral histories I recorded in 2023 are of Jessica Douglas-Henry and Mary-Ellen Mullane, who worked together for 16 years as Iris Pictures, making health and educational videos when that format began to make production much easier and more economical than the days of film. They went on to produce award-winning TV documentaries and series – powerful personal stories focussing on subjects like health care, women, mental health and young people. Both went on to forge strong careers, contributing greatly to documentary production in a variety of roles. The interviews with transcripts are available from the NFSA.
Jessica Douglas-Henry is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, director, producer and executive producer with more than 40 years experience in the film and television industry. Born in the UK, she began working in the film industry there before moving to Western Australia and joining a production company, multitasking in production and cinematography. She was an assistant director and a director before forming Iris Pictures in 1991, with business partner Mary-Ellen Mullane. For over 20 years, they produced award-winning features, series and one-off documentaries for domestic and international broadcasters. From 2014 to 2021, Jessica was Executive Producer of Compass, the ABC’s flagship Faith and Ethics series, overseeing the production of over 150 hours of television. Since leaving the ABC, Jessica has concentrated on writing, voiceover work and recording audiobooks.
Mary-Ellen Mullane was born in Western Sydney. After finishing school in Parramatta, she worked in a radio station before getting a BA in Social Studies at Sydney University. Following three years in Japan teaching English, she was employed as a social worker at the Children’s Hospital Sydney, specialising in crisis work in the cardiac and neonatal units, including producing informational resources for parents and patients.
While advising on an educational film at the hospital, she met filmmaker Jessica Douglas-Henry, and together they formed Iris Pictures, with Mary-Ellen mainly producing and running the business side of the company. Over 16 years, they produced educational videos, broadcast documentaries, and factual series. Mary-Ellen left Iris Pictures to become a Documentary Investment Development Manager at Screen Australia for six years, where she managed the National Documentary Program before spending four years at NITV, a division of SBS, as the Senior Commissioning Editor. She’s currently Managing Editor at ABC TV Childrens, leading a team of executive producers and development producers in financing and producing children’s content in collaboration with independent producers.
Australian Media Oral History Group 