The Mission is a brand-new documentary series that sees Walkley Award-winning journalist Marc Fennell (The Kingdom, Framed) embark on a global treasure hunt to piece together one of the largest and strangest art heists in Australian criminal history. The three-part series premieres at 8.30pm Tuesday, 24 October on SBS and SBS On Demand.
The Mission transports viewers back four decades to the heady days of the mid-1980s to unpack a confounding true crime mystery that saw 26 European masterpieces – thought to be valued at millions of dollars – brutally slashed out of their frames at the art gallery of the New Norcia Monastery in the West Australian wheat belt, leaving detectives baffled. What were these “European masterpieces” doing in a bush monastery? Why was such a complicated art heist left to a bunch of amateurs? And who was the hidden hand behind the audacious plot to smuggle the paintings out of the country?
“Marc Fennell, as smooth and affable as ever, heads out on another of his trademark quests to uncover the strange details of a forgotten story: in this case, the bizarre New Norcia art heist of 1986, in which millions of dollars of artwork was taken from WA’s New Norcia Monastery…Factual storytelling at its absolute best.”
“The Mission twists and turns like a Tarantino caper and makes for very intriguing viewing.”
“It’s an intriguing tale, darkened with tragedy, and spiced with international mystery, about one of the more unusual art crimes ever seen in Australia.”
“Colourful characters, quirky angles, and a serious undertone: The Mission ticks all the true crime boxes.”
“This is a wild ride and one that veers in totally unexpected directions. Seek this out.”
“Talented journo Marc Fennell, who had us glued to the screen with The Kingdom and Framed, paints a fascinating picture in this gripping, sumptuously shot investigative three-parter. It’s a strange true story that is just begging to be examined in great detail.”
“Marc Fennell’s penetrative-yet-humorous investigative style makes everything the talented journo turns his eye to worthy of watching. It’s a perplexing, under-the radar art heist for the ages in which Fennell expertly draws every potent little detail, from the tiny monastic Aussie town to London and New York.”