by FilmInk staff
It is with great sadness that WildBear Entertainment announces the untimely death of its trailblazing, talented and multi-award-winning colleague Bettina (Tina) Dalton.
A much-loved and respected filmmaker, especially in the field of natural history where her dedication to the natural world shone through, Tina was both Emmy nominated and Sundance-selected. Her production credits over 30+ years include the feature documentaries Every Little Thing, Playing with Sharks and Rachel’s Farm. Playing with Sharks was part of the official selection at Sundance Film Festival in 2021 and went on to win numerous awards around the world. Her many TV credits include Boss Croc, King Kangaroo and Dolphin Dynasty for National Geographic, Australia’s Hidden Islands for Love Nature and Bushfire Animal Rescue for ADF/Arte, ZDFE, PBS Nature and SBS Australia.
In Australia, she will be remembered as a pioneer of women in natural history filmmaking, while internationally, she will be celebrated for bringing uniquely Australian stories to the world and for showcasing humanity’s place in nature. Her legacy also includes being an early proponent for building vital Impact campaigns alongside filmmaking.
Michael Tear, CEO of WildBear Entertainment and a longtime friend and colleague of Tina, says: “The world of natural history filmmaking has lost one of its brightest stars and strongest advocates. Everything that Tina did shone an important light on a different aspect of the world around us, with her passion for social and environmental issues in particular helping to promote greater understanding. Our collective knowledge base about the planet is so much richer because of her work.
“Clever, creative, visionary and great fun, Tina was a supportive and inspirational colleague who played a major part in putting WildBear Entertainment on the map. She will be sorely missed by our team, as well as by the extensive international network that she had fostered throughout the industry. But she was also so much more than a colleague and co-principal of the business; she was a dear friend and will leave an unfillable gap in my life. My thoughts are now with her daughters and wider family.”
Producer/Director Sally Aitken, who worked extensively with Tina, comments: “Bettina Dalton was a woman of extraordinary passion, grace, integrity, and curiosity with an unshakeable belief that things would always work out, that cats are actually Jedi masters, and in the possibility of a good story to change things. For Tina, life was in motion. She was a fierce booster of women, a champion of the natural world, and a dynamic producer who could turn conviction and gut instinct into action. What began as a creative partnership became a deep friendship, as the stars aligned when we made Playing with Sharks and Every Little Thing together, incredible experiences and films that travelled the world, touching hearts and minds. Tina wholeheartedly believed in me as a director and taught me so much about living your values through your work. I will always be grateful for that. We had so many stories yet to make. Today, I am profoundly sad knowing all those she leaves behind and how much she loved life. I’m also sitting with appreciation for her can-do spirit, her great friendship and the generosity with which she shared her remarkable energy.
“It was a glorious Sydney sunny day when I heard the news, and I found myself thinking of Tina as pure energy and light — like the hummingbirds she loved, glimmering in the sun, magical messengers of the mystery and wonder of the wild. Thank you, Tina.”
Fred Kaufman, Executive Producer, Nature, comments: “This is such a loss. Bettina was one of my favourite people. She was smart, sharp and talented and her films represented the very best of PBS Nature. I will miss her grace.”
Bettina Dalton biography
Tina was born and raised in the town of Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. She showed a fascination with the natural world from an early age, when she used to collect dead animals on the way home from school, putting them in the family freezer so that she could study them in more detail later. After obtaining a degree in Rural Techniques at the University of Queensland, her first job was as a park ranger for the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service – which in turn led to her first taste of television with an on-screen role as ‘Ranger Tina’ in Mark Lewis’ seminal film Cane Toads: An Unnatural History.
Her film and TV career began in earnest as a producer and presenter on children’s environmental series Bushbeat. From there she went onto work with renowned British naturalist Sir David Attenborough on The Trials of Life series in 1990 and then in 1992, she joined the original presenting team on Nine Network’s massive travel series Getaway – a programme she revisited twice in recent years as a guest presenter in episodes about Greenland and Antarctica.
A pioneer for women in television – and particularly natural history – in Australia, at a time when the industry was male dominated, she then transitioned to focus behind the screen and in 1998 established Absolutely Wild Visuals with Gary Steer. A production company that also sold wildlife film footage shot by Australian filmmakers, this business – eventually re-branded as Content Mint – has grown to become one of the largest and most impressive wildlife footage libraries in the world today, with thousands of hours serving domestic and international broadcasters and producers. Through the library’s continued expansion over nearly four decades, Tina developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the images it held and the extraordinary animal behaviour they revealed.
In 2010 she set up the production company Wild Fury with fellow filmmaker Veronica Fury, where they were both co-Managing Directors. In 2014, Wild Fury (along with the Content Mint business) was merged with Michael Tear and Serge Ou’s Bearcage Productions to become WildBear Entertainment, a new business which saw Tina take the dual roles of Principal and Executive Producer.
Always an astute businesswoman, Tina used her understanding of how to manage and run a footage library to develop preferential access arrangements with other key libraries such as AP and also became MD of the British Movietone library from 2011-14. These relationships led to the creation of many notable history and other series for the wider WildBear Entertainment business.
Today, the WildBear Entertainment that she helped create is Australia’s largest independent factual studio, with a team of +100 producing a wide range of film, TV and commercial content for domestic and international partners.
Throughout her career, Tina also used her platform to foster the next generation of Australian filmmakers, actively mentoring emerging directors and producers through initiatives like ShowdownDoc. She also wrote three wildlife books and was awarded the Gatton Gold Medal for career excellence and community impact in 2004.She was a member of the Producers Guild of American and the Television Academy.
Tina shared her life with John Schaeffer, a Sydney businessman and notable art collector and philanthropist, until his untimely death in 2020. She is survived by her daughters, Pnina and Chana, as well as her mother, sister and brother.
Tina passed away on the Sunshine Coast on the 24th of August after a short period of illness.
