24 08 2021 - Media release Australians in Film and Screen Australia announces the five Australians chosen for UNTAPPED
Top: Linda Chen, Kylie Aoibheann McDonnell and Kalu Oji. Bottom: Sophie Smyth, Shannan Tamby Lim
Five emerging Australian filmmakers have been announced today by Australians in Film (AiF) and Screen Australia, as the participants in UNTAPPED, a breakthrough talent development program for the next generation of undiscovered and underrepresented Australian screen voices.
This initiative, funded with support from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will help launch the international careers of these five filmmakers. The Los Angeles-based cultural foundation AiF will connect the five selected filmmakers and their projects with Oscar and Emmy -award winning production companies ensuring they receive robust development notes and strategic pipelines to develop their early or debut work for the global market.
The selected filmmakers and their projects in development are:
Kylie Aoibheann McDonnell (NSW)
DEADNAME, a supernatural horror feature film.
Returning to her creaky family home after her mother's untimely death, a 20-year-old transgender woman is haunted by the grotesque apparition of her younger male self, which seeks to reclaim what belongs to it.
Biography:
Kylie describes herself as just your average transgender, lesbian and asexual filmmaker, telling the raw, intimate genre stories you want to see . After graduating from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), she co-founded the production company Inner Pictures with producer Oliver Ellis. She wrote and directed the documentary Farewell Happy Fields, a gritty portrait of anorexia and depression featuring award-winning author Fiona Wright which screened at multiple international festivals. Kylie then collaborated with the Deaf community to write, direct and co-edit the psychological short thriller See for Yourself, and, later this year, she will direct Asexy, an asexual love story based on her experiences growing up.
Linda Chen (ACT)
HOW DID WE F*CK THIS UP?, half-hour dramedy series.
The drily humorous, disdainful, discontented life of a suffragette is miraculously and immaculately reincarnated into the body of a modern day, pansexual Asian woman as she runs into many of the same frustrations she did a century earlier.
Biography:
Linda is an actor, writer and multidisciplinary artist hailing from Ngunnawal and Ngambri country (Canberra) whose work spans film, theatre, interdisciplinary art and applied drama often exploring notions of identity, home, sociocultural structures and agency. Developed in its early stages through Screen Canberra's AcceleratorPOD, her UNTAPPED TV concept How Did We F*ck This Up was a finalist in Screenmakers' Conference's Pitch-O-Rama and Melbourne Webfest's Pitch iView. In 2020, Linda presented her one-person-show-turned-audiovisual-installation what is saudade is yu nf n is longing (Shopfront Arts) and was an Early Phase grant recipient at The Street Theatre, completing a full concept treatment for her play Linger.
Kalu Oji (VIC)
PASA FAHO, drama feature film.
Amidst the downfall of his longtime shoe business, Azubuike's son, Obinna, flies down to Melbourne for the summer holidays. With familial pressure mounting and news that his rent is being raised yet again, Azubuike's hopes of recovery spiral further into decline; the growing stress placing a steep wedge between father and son. When Azubuike loses a family member back in Nigeria he is pushed to reflect, realizing that the most important decision may still lay ahead of him.
Biography:
Kalu Oji is an Igbo-Australian writer, filmmaker and visual artist based in Naarm/Birraranga. His work primarily explores notions of identity, in particular the African-Australian experience. Kalu graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and TV). His graduate film, Blackwood, screened at the BFI London Film Festival, Palm Springs Shortfest, and Chicago International Film Festival, and picked up multiple awards, including the Filmmaker to Watch Award (Atlanta Film Festival), Luggi Waldleitner Award for Best Screenplay (Filmschoolfest Munich) and Best Cinematography (Flickerfest). Kalu's most recent film, The Moon and Me, received postproduction funding from The City of Melbourne and just had its world premiere at the Oscar Qualifying, Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Sophie Smyth (VIC)
UNLOVEABLE, half-hour dramedy series.
Reeling from the rejection of being dumped on her birthday because of her autism, twenty-something Sophie faces the prospect of dating as an autistic woman. She's flung headfirst into the throes of modern dating, hookup culture, and complex relationships desperate to prove that she! is! loveable! damnit!!
Biography:
Sophie is a singer, actor, writer and sometimes dancer. She was a finalist for the 2021 Rebel Wilson Comedy Commission and her cabaret show, The Aspie Hour, a poignant and hilarious look at autistic life, co-written and performed with Ryan Smedley, played to sold-out audiences across Australia. For this she was awarded a Green Room Award for Best Writing in a Cabaret, a Fringe World Weekly Award for Best Theatre and an Adelaide Fringe Weekly Award for Best Emerging Artist. Theatre credits include Helpmann Award Winning musical Robot Song with Arena Theatre Company and Motor-Mouth Loves Suck-Face: An Apocalyptic Musical at La Mama Theatre. Robot Song was presented at the 2020 IPAY (International Performing Arts for Youth) Conference in Philadelphia in the US. Sophie is a passionate disability advocate for authentic neurodivergent representation across film, television, and stage.
Shannan Tamby Lim (VIC)
SALTY, one hour horror / drama series.
Salty is a supernatural fam
Asia, Australia & Oceanic Stories
11/09/2025
SBS shares Australian National Anthem in over 60 languages to foster belonging a...
05/09/2025
SBS kicks off a confident slate with the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 , premium dram...
05/09/2025
Today's Historic Settlement Underscores SBS's Powerful New Series The Pe...
04/09/2025
SBS kicks off a confident slate with the 2026 FIFA World Cup2026 , premium drama...
04/09/2025
Watch the Record-breaking Koori Knockout 2025 LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on NITV and SBS...
03/09/2025
World-first opt-out function to become full feature on SBS On Demand
3 September, 2025
Media releases
National broadcaster SBS will elevate the world-class...
03/09/2025
SBS On Demand to take consumer experience to next level with introduction of res...
03/09/2025
SBS highlights effectiveness of advertising in uncluttered environments
3 September, 2025
Media releases
New market-first research, done in conjunction wit...
03/09/2025
SBS extends exclusive Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift free-to-air broadcast dea...
03/09/2025
Record number of brands driving investment in NITV and First Nations media
3 September, 2025
Media releases
Beyond 3% continues to support the growth of Na...
03/09/2025
SBS declares FIFA World Cup 2026 Will be biggest TV audience event of 2026'
3 September, 2025
FIFA World Cup
SBS names Hyundai, Macca's, Rexona, ...
03/09/2025
SBS continues to lead Australian media in sustainability with launch of SBS Brie...
03/09/2025
SBS unifies data offering with launch of SBS Data Lab
3 September, 2025
Media releases
SBS brings together multiple audience initiatives together in one un...
03/09/2025
Turbulence, Heart and Humanity: SBS Unveils High-Flying New Airport Drama The Ch...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
27/08/2025
27 08 2025 - Media release ABC, Screen Australia and ACTF unveil two new original children's series
Happy House.
The ABC, Screen Australia and the Austra...
25/08/2025
Watch SBS as 49 World Champions are crowned in nine days at the World Athletics ...
25/08/2025
Got a podcast idea? SBS Audio opens annual pitch season
25 August, 2025
Media releases
Three-time Australian Podcast Publisher of the Year, SBS, invites th...
21/08/2025
Statement on Acting Managing Director arrangements at SBS
21 August, 2025
Insights & articles
The SBS Board of Directors has today confirmed it will appoin...
20/08/2025
SBS unleashes landmark docu-drama The People vs Robodebt
20 August, 2025
Media releases
Our Government. Half a Million Victims [1]. Zero Accountability Un...
20/08/2025
Dan Bourchier appointed General Manager of NITV
20 August, 2025
Media releases
The respected journalist, presenter and accomplished leader will join Nation...
14/08/2025
Statement on the passing of David Stratton
14 August, 2025
Insights & articles
Statement by SBS Managing Director, James Taylor
SBS is deeply saddened by...
12/08/2025
SBS Managing Director James Taylor steps down
12 August, 2025
Media releases
SBS Managing Director will depart the organisation later this year
SBS Managi...
12/08/2025
Millions join SBS for a month of Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes action
12 August, 2025
Media releases
Total TV Reach of 5.57 million, including 1...
11/08/2025
11 08 2025 - Media release Screen Australia celebrates emerging creatives and cu...
07/08/2025
A bold new sporting documentary series celebrating First Nations athletes, cultu...
06/08/2025
SBS heralds sweeping historical drama King & Conqueror coming soon
5 August, 2025
Media releases
James Norton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau star as the rivals ...
31/07/2025
31 07 2025 - Media release The Creators 2025 Participants Announced
Top (L-R): Tamara Asmar, Anna Barnes and Sarah Bassiuoni.
Bottom (L-R): Glen Dolman, Mich...
24/07/2025
NITV and SBS to celebrate the significance and spectacle of the 25th Garma Festi...
24/07/2025
Pure Drama continues with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift hot on the wheels...
23/07/2025
SBS shortlists proponents to proceed to next stage for Western Sydney production...
21/07/2025
SBS reveals expert commentary team for the World Athletics Championships in Toky...
21/07/2025
21 07 2025 - Media release Australian gamemakers level-up with major funding from Screen Australia
Retopia
New games capture distinctive stories, landscapes ...
09/07/2025
Explore Love Without Limits in a bold, funny and unapologetic SBS Audio podcast ...
08/07/2025
SBS strengthens commitment to inclusion with new commissioning guidelines
8 July, 2025
Media releases
SBS has launched new Commissioning Inclusion Guidelin...
08/07/2025
Secrets, Spies and Sabotage: 40 years on, SBS podcast investigates historic bomb...
07/07/2025
SBS Farewells Chair George Savvides AM
7 July, 2025
Media releases
Born of Greek Cypriot parents, Mr Savvides joined the SBS Board as Deputy Chair in Febru...
30/06/2025
SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel
30 June, 2025
Media releases
SBS is expanding its international news offeri...
27/06/2025
27 06 2025 - Media release Game, set, action! Screen Australia and ABC announce new mini-series Goolagong
Marton Csokas and Lila McGuire of Goolagong. Image c...
26/06/2025
Buckle up for Great Australian Road Trips launching 31 July on SBS and SBS On De...
20/06/2025
Hit, run, oh sh#t: NITV and SBS get RECKLESS with filming underway in Western Au...
13/06/2025
Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic spor...
12/06/2025
50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celeb...
06/06/2025
06 06 2025 - Media release Award-Winning TV Creators Richard Gadd, Sally Wainwri...
03/06/2025
Stories of love, loyalty and self-discovery among six shortlisted Digital Origin...
28/05/2025
SBS celebrates 50 years of reflecting a diverse and contemporary Australia
28 May, 2025
Media releases
Marking 50 years of broadcasting on 9 June 2025, SBS...
28/05/2025
ABS and Verticloud announce a Strategic Partnership to accelerate Digital Transf...
22/05/2025
SBS and Screen Australia showcase the next wave of Australian storytellers with ...
22/05/2025
Rune Pedersen unpacks How Humans Talk in new SBS Audio podcast
22 May, 2025
Media releases
Ever caught yourself using baby talk with your pet and wondered ...
24 08 2021 - Media release Australians in Film and Screen Australia announces the five Australians chosen for UNTAPPED 
