SBS Doc Under Fire as Filmmaker Claims John Friedrich Story Was His
A powerful new documentary about one of Australia’s most notorious fraudsters is now at the center of a controversy that raises serious questions about how television networks handle creative submissions.
SBS has just launched a two-part series, “Australia’s Greatest Conman?”, diving deep into the astonishing rise and fall of John Friedrich. For viewers, it’s a gripping look at a man who built a world-class emergency rescue operation in the 1980s, only for it to collapse under the weight of massive fraud. But for veteran filmmaker Philippe Charluet, the story feels uncomfortably familiar.
Charluet, who has worked in the industry for more than three decades, says the documentary closely mirrors a project he pitched to SBS multiple times back in 2008 and 2009. His proposal, titled “John Friedrich: Catch Me If You Can,” reportedly included a detailed script, archival research and even recorded interviews. He claims he sought a pre-sale from SBS to unlock international funding, including interest from European broadcasters. But the project was rejected at the time.
Now, years later, SBS has produced its own in-house documentary on Friedrich. And that’s where the tension lies.
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Charluet is not accusing the network of outright copying. But he argues the similarities are striking, especially the use of certain interview subjects he believes were not widely known. He says independent producers rely on trust when submitting detailed concepts to broadcasters. If those ideas are later revived internally, even unintentionally, it could undermine confidence in the commissioning process.
SBS strongly denies any link. The broadcaster says its documentary was conceived in 2022 as part of a broader exploration of Australian con artists. It maintains that submissions are retained for seven years and then destroyed and that archived communications from that era are no longer accessible. SBS also insists that any overlap reflects the factual nature of documentary storytelling, especially when covering the same historical events.
At the heart of this dispute is John Friedrich himself, the former head of the National Safety Council of Australia’s Victorian division. In the 1980s, he transformed the organisation into a search-and-rescue powerhouse. Helicopters, cutting-edge equipment, bold ideas. But behind the scenes, financial records were allegedly manipulated, loans piled up and by 1989 the organisation collapsed with debts reportedly reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.
The new series revisits that dramatic chapter in Australian history. But this emerging controversy shifts the spotlight to the present-day media industry.
For independent filmmakers around the world, this case touches a nerve. It raises broader concerns about intellectual property, transparency and the balance of power between creatives and broadcasters.
This story is no longer just about a conman from the 1980s. It’s about trust, process and accountability in modern storytelling.
Stay with us for continuing coverage as this dispute unfolds and for deeper analysis on what it means for the global documentary industry.
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