Tasmanian director up for national award on platypus documentary

The Platypus Guardian follows Hobart local Pete Walsh, who became inspired to save an urban habitat in the Hobart rivulet following an encounter with a platypus he named "Zoom."

The film was nominated for Feature Documentary of the Year in the 22nd annual Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Awards.

Director and producer Nick Hayward said he was pleased to see positive feedback from audiences.

"The main thing you're after is that the audience like the film," Mr Hayward said.

"We're getting some international recognition for this which is fantastic, but in addition to that it's great to get some local recognition in Australia from a prestigious organisation like SPA."

Since it's release the documentary has been picked up by multiple streaming services in the US, including the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Amazon Prime.

A lover of platypus himself, Mr Hayward said it was "almost blissful" being next to the animal.

"You're down by the river which is just such a peaceful place, even the heart of Hobart...there's the babbling brooks and all the other animals around, and the platypus themselves, they're just so mysterious," Mr Hayward said.

"We got very good at following them around and finding them and tracking them, but they almost appear like spirits.

"When you see them you have this experience that you're seeing this amazing, mystical animal as they're moving through the river, feeding and getting about."

When dealing with an animal as elusive as the platypus, Mr Hayward said filming can take some time to complete.

"That's the nature of the business, particularly wildlife films," he said.

"You have to put hours and hours in the field by the rivulet with the platypus, there's just no other way to do it.

"Before we were fully commissioned we filmed throughout Spring to try and capture breeding behaviour, and then we pretty well filmed once we were commissioned for about six months."

Mr Hayward is already seeing the impact of the film first-hand, and said he regularly sees visitors cleaning up the area around the rivulet.

"There was a flood event recently and we've got a problem that we showed in the film where rubbish flows from a tip directly into the rivulet," Mr Hayward said.

"Within three or four days [of the film's release] the community spontaneously went to the river and picked all the rubbish out...you couldn't find a piece of rubbish in the whole river.

"I'm getting this great feedback from the people who really matter which are the audience, so that's something I love about it."