Sonya Pemberton established Pemberton Films in 2007.
Sonya is one of Australia’s leading documentary writers, directors and executive producers. She has written and directed over 45 hours of television, specialising in science documentary for an international market. Her films have won over 30 awards and she has been three times honoured with the prestigious Eureka Prize for Science Journalism (2003, 2004, 2008).
From 2004 – 2006 she was Head of Specialist Factual at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), where she was responsible for the Science, Natural History, Indigenous, Religion and Ethics, and Education departments. She managed four weekly primetime shows, 100 staff and a slate of 150 hours of programming per year. She also commissioned 25 hours a year of Independent production, including the high rating documentaries HOW KEVIN BACON CURED CANCER and The LIFE Series.
Sonya also executive produced many key science projects including the multi-award winning hit CRUDE – THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF OIL, THE WINNER’S GUIDE TO THE NOBEL PRIZE, and the prime time ratings success, BATTLE OF THE BRAINS.
In 2007 Sonya left the ABC to resume writing, directing and executive producing science films and interactive projects for an international audience.
In 2008 she was writer, director and supervising producer on ANGELS AND DEMONS with Australia’s leading TV presenter, Andrew Denton. This documentary on mental illness won the time slot, gained a remarkable 29% audience share, and generated over 3000 responses from the public. Winning awards, including the 2008 SPA Life Award, 2008 Australia and New Zealand Mental Health Achievement Award, 2008 Media Achievement Award, the film gained significant critical acclaim.
“Programs such as this…redeem television. They take a medium that too often scrapes the bottom of the barrel and show what can be achieved in the right hands.” The Age, April 7, 2008.
In 2009/10 Sonya is writing, directing and jointly executive producing two blue-chip science documentaries for the ABC, SBS and National Geographic; CATCHING CANCER, on viral cancers, and IMMORTAL on the science of endless youth. She is also writing a 6 part television series with Andrew Denton, and co-authoring a ‘pop-up’ book on mental illness.
Sonya Pemberton with DOP Harry Panagiotidis,
in production on Catching Cancer (2009)