Jonathan Alley

Jonathan Alley was a music writer/broadcaster for over 30 years before making his first feature-length music documentary, Love in Bright Landscapes. He originally trained in drama and performance, wrote freelance about the arts, produced music events and mounted a photography exhibition, while also working with Triple R FM, and intermittently freelancing with Radio National. He also worked in film distribution for over a decade, chiefly in Madman Entertainment's marketing division, where he was involved in releasing several music documentary titles including DIG!, Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt, Live Forever, Martin Scorsese presents The Blues, and several others. He was researcher/interviewer on Taiyo Films' documentary Dirty Three (MIFF, 2007), about the legendary Melbourne band, and as writer/director worked on Love in Bright Landscapes: The Story of David McComb of The Triffids for over a decade. Love in Bright Landscapes was selected for MIFF, BIFF, Athens International Film Festival, Musik Film Copenhagen, and the UK's Doc'n'Roll festival in 2021. It has screened theatrically in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne, and received strong critical acclaim, with The Conversation calling it "Remarkable ... a singular vision", while ABC Radio Melbourne dubbed it "an intricate and intimate portrait ... a loving document that shines through in every scene".