Teaching Strengths
Dr Michael Bentham
Lecturer
School of Communication, Media and Journalism
College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Michael is an award-winning filmmaker, researcher and educator. His feature drama, DISCLOSURE (2020), explores the social fallout following an allegation of child-on-child abuse. The film premiered at Palm Springs International Film Festival, and was nominated for an Australian Academy Award (Best Indie Film) and an Australian Directors' Guild Award (Best Direction in a Feature Film), and won the ATOM Award for Best Fiction Feature Film. Michael is a graduate of the UK's National Film and Television School, and holds a Doctorate from the University of Melbourne where he received the Margaret Lawrence Social Justice Award in recognition of the social impact of his narrative fiction work. Michael's current practice-led research explores the articulation and application of moving image narratives as methodology, with reference to subject areas including social justice, biography, ethnography, masculinity and trauma. As an educator, Michael has a 15-year track record designing and delivering filmmaking courses in fiction directing and screenwriting, including two years as Head of Directing at the UK's Northern Film School. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Michael's new book, Screenwriting the Contemporary Biopic: A Reflexive Case Study, was published by Palgrave Macmillan November 2025. The book provides a practitioner perspective on the process of authoring the biopic, and proposes a new ethical framework that addresses the specific challenges of writing biographical fiction.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97892-0
Michael has been invited to present the opening keynote at the AR@K Symposium 'Truth, Reality and Artistic Invention', Oslo, Norway, 17 and 18 March 2025.
Outputs:
Bentham, M. & Carey, M. (2022) 'Screenwriting as Strategy: towards a working definition of narrative fiction filmmaking methodology' presented at the Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) annual conference in Vienna, 21-24 September 2022.
Bentham, M. (2022) 'The decline of the film school auteur: Are industry and university drivers stymieing new voices?'. The Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association (ASPERA) Annual Conference: CREATIVITY MATTERS: PRODUCTION. POETICS. PEDAGOGY. POLICY, Griffith Film School, Griffith University, Brisbane, 11-13 July 2022.
Bentham, M. (Writer/Director). (2020) Disclosure [Motion Picture]. Australia: Disclosure Films Pty Ltd, Breaking Glass Pictures (US), Bonsai Films, Madman Entertainment (ANZ)
Bentham, M. (2017). 'Writing to right': how does the screenwriter reconcile tensions between fact and fiction in the authorship of a biopic? Screenwriting Research Network Annual Conference, 'Screenwriting: Fact and Fiction, Truth and the Real', University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 28-31 August 2017
Bentham, M. (2016). 'From fact to fiction: authoring a modern biopic'. Screenwriting Research Network Annual Conference, 'Between Artistic Freedom and Norms', Leeds, United Kingdom, 8-10 September 2016
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Authors: N/A. Title: Disclosures. Extent: Feature film (1 hr 25 min). DOI Scopus2 |
Courses I teach
- COMM 1079 Introduction to Screenwriting (2025)
- COMM 3080 Film, Entertainment and Aesthetics (2025)
- COMM 1079 Introduction to Screenwriting (2024)
- COMM 2096 Hard Surface Modelling (2024)
- COMM 2097 Development and Lighting (2024)
- COMM 3065 Creative Production (2024)
- COMM 3080 Film, Entertainment and Aesthetics (2024)
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Entangling agencies: towards an ethical framework for impact producing | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Ms Alex Kelly |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | The Ghost Writer in the Machine: Exploring a new model for Australian screenwriting development and education through the use of Artificial Intelligence tools | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Sandy Cameron |
Connect With Me
External Profiles
Available For Media Comment.