25 06 2019 - Media release Screen Australia announces $5.7m in production funding
Josh Lawson, Evie Macdonald, Grace Feng Fang Juan
Screen Australia has announced over $5.7 million in production funding for three feature films, two children's television series and two online projects.
The slate includes a psychological thriller from director Daina Reid called Run Rabbit Run; a film adaptation of Leah Purcell's award-winning play The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson; and First Day, a children's series about a transgender girl starting high school.
Screen Australia's CEO, Graeme Mason said: It s great to see several established creatives taking on new challenges. Daina Reid has had incredible success in television here and overseas, and we're excited to see her returning to Australia to direct ghost thriller Run Rabbit Run, the debut screenplay from award-winning author Hannah Kent.
Leah Purcell has an impressive body of work, telling powerful stories from behind and in front of the camera, and we're thrilled to support her first feature as director and lead. The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson is a brutal and beautiful story of identity, and there's no one better to tell it on screen.
It's also exciting to support some stories which offer viewers a chance to connect with Australian experiences and perspectives that are rarely seen on our screens. In First Day we see an authentic portrayal of personal growth and acceptance; and Girl, Interpreted, a bilingual comedy series about a Mandarin interpreter in Melbourne, brings humour that carries across cultural boundaries. I'm confident these will resonate with viewers, Mason continued.
The feature film projects are
Run Rabbit Run: A modern day ghost story from director Daina Reid (The Handmaid's Tale) and writer Hannah Kent, acclaimed author of the award-winning Burial Rites. The film follows Sarah, a fertility doctor, who is frightened by her young daughter's inexplicable memories of a past identity. This feature will be produced by Carver Films' Sarah Shaw and Anna McLeish (Relic, Snowtown) who previously worked with Reid on the SBS drama series Sunshine. Run Rabbit Run received development funding under Screen Australia's Gender Matters Brilliant Stories initiative and will be the third feature from the initiative to go into production. This project received major production investment from Screen Australia and 30WEST, in association with Film Victoria and the South Australian Film Corporation.
The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson: A film adaptation of Leah Purcell's award-winning stage play and reimagining of Henry Lawson's classic short story. Set in the Snowy Mountains of NSW in 1893, the film follows Molly Johnson as she and her children struggle to survive the elements. Molly forms a bond with run-away man Yadaka, who helps her to understand her true identity. This revenge Western asks the question, how far will you go to protect the ones you love? It is written and directed by Purcell who will also star as Molly, alongside Rob Collins as Yadaka. The producers are David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin whose credits include Mystery Road and Sweet Country, as well as Bain Stewart (She.Say.). The project has received development support from Create NSW.
Tin: A romantic comedy and second feature from writer/director Josh Lawson (Little Death) who is collaborating again with producer Jamie Hilton (Breath) as well as Michael Pontin (Standing Up For Sunny) and Isabel Stanfield. This film tells the story of time-poor Teddy who wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover that every few minutes he is jumping forward to the next year. Teddy must use every precious moment wisely to keep from losing the love of his life, and to learn to love the life he's losing. This project is financed with support from Create NSW, Spectrum Films and Cumulus.
The full list of funded feature film blocklines can be found here
The children's television projects are
First Day: A four-part series which follows 12-year-old transgender girl Hannah as she navigates the challenges of starting high school and finding the courage to live her most authentic self. The series is based on the stand-alone episode created in 2017 through Screen Australia and ABC Children s Girls initiative, a funding program to uncover and support the next generation of Australian female content makers. The episode won the inaugural MIPCOM Diversify TV Excellence Award for Kids' Programming and the Gender Equity Prize at the prestigious Prix Jeunesse International Children s Television Festival in 2018. The series is written and directed by Julie Kalceff, creator of hit online drama Starting From Now, and will star Evie Macdonald as Hannah. Producers Kirsty Stark (Unboxed) and Kate Croser (Top End Wedding) and co-producer Kate Butler are also attached. This project is commissioned by ABC Children s and financed with support from the South Australian Film Corporation and the Australian Children's Television Foundation.
Kangaroo Beach: A 26-part animated series centred on the adventures of four junior lifeguards - joey Pounce, koala Frizzy, wombat Neville and platypus Gemma. The furry friends are never far from fun, or danger, but under the guidance of grown-up lifeguards the young cadets are on their way to becoming pint-sized heroes of Kangaroo Beach. Each episode has an important water safety message, and consulting on water safety information will be Bruce Hoppo' Hopkins (Bondi Rescue) and Craig Riddington of Surf Educators International. This series is created by Tim Bain who has written for global hits such as PJ Masks, Fireman Sam and Thomas the Tank Engine. The writers are Tim Bain, Charlotte Rose Hamlyn (Blinky Bill), Simon Dodd (Spongo, Fuzz
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang today visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to commission an NVIDIA DGX GB300 system - bringing one...
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
25 06 2019 - Media release Screen Australia announces $5.7m in production funding 
