05 09 2017 - Media release Bruna Papandrea and Naomi Watts developing Australian projects
Penguin Bloom / Photo credit Cameron Bloom
Today Screen Australia has announced Story Development funding for 14 features and three online series, as well as one industry placement, totalling $500,000. Included among the slate are two features produced by Bruna Papandrea through Made Up Stories; a feature directorial debut project from Bondi Hipsters writer/directors Connor and Christiaan Van Vuuren; and the latest from Ben Howling whose upcoming feature directorial debut (with co-director Yolanda Ramke) Cargo was picked up by Netflix.
It is impossible to overstate the value of having someone with the clout and experience of producer Bruna Papandrea return home to develop distinctly Australian stories with home-grown talent, said Nerida Moore, Senior Manager of Development at Screen Australia. We are thrilled to see her partner with Harry Cripps who has carved out an impressive career overseas, award-winning director Robert Connolly and in-demand screenwriter Shaun Grant.
The slate also includes three projects that came through the Gender Matters: Brilliant Stories initiative. We're delighted to be able to continue supporting the female-led teams behind All Our Eggs, Runaway and Bondi Beach Breakfast Club, continued Moore. Our intention with Gender Matters was always to flood the pipeline with projects and it is incredibly gratifying to see quite a number of these stories gain momentum as they move through the development phase towards production.
Among the projects funded for development are:
Penguin Bloom, the heart-warming true story of a family's extraordinary friendship with a unique little bird, produced by Bruna Papandrea, Reese Witherspoon, Emma Cooper and Naomi Watts, who is also attached to star. It is being adapted by Shaun Grant from the book of the same name written by Bradley Trevor Greive, with photographs by Cameron Bloom.
A feature adaptation of Jane Harper's novel The Dry penned by Harry Cripps, with Robert Connolly attached to direct and Bruna Papandrea and Reese Witherspoon producing. The atmospheric thriller centres on Aaron Falk who returns to his Victorian hometown for his best mate's funeral and is drawn into a web of lies and murder, forcing him to confront the guilty secrets of his own past.
Feature film Croak produced by Bridget Callow-Wright for Midwinter Films and Chloe Rickard for Jungle, with viral YouTube comedy sensations Connor and Christiaan Van Vuuren attached to direct. The exaggerated comedy-horror co-written by Shane Brady and Priscilla Cameron chronicles the adventures of a misfit gang of teenagers who must band together to defeat a giant mutant cane toad plaguing their town, and the corrupt mining company that created it.
Sci-fi thriller Changed World, an online series produced by Ben Howling for Established Media & Novel Pictures, directed by Dan Cooper and co-written by both Howling and Cooper. Set in a dystopian world suffering the consequences of global disasters, it comprises a series of vignettes about the human spirit fighting to survive in this bleak landscape.
Psychological thriller Runaway from producer Alex White for Whitefalk Films, writer/director Mirrah Foulkes, with Jan Chapman and Jane Campion on board as executive producers. Based on Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro's short story of the same name, the feature adaptation tells the story of Carla, a young woman who tries to save her marriage by leading her husband into a complex and dangerous world of sexual fantasy. Previously funded through Brilliant Stories.
Online series All Our Eggs a dramedy starring Adrienne Pickering and Matt Zeremes as Charlie and Jack, a 30-something couple who discover making a baby might not be as easy as they think. Co-written by Vanessa Bates and Martha Goddard, with Goddard also directing, the series is produced by Dan Prichard for On the Deck Productions. Previously funded through Brilliant Stories. A proof-of-concept can be viewed here with more info on their website: alloureggswebseries.com
For more info and the full list of projects funded, please visit the following links:
Story Development Features
Story Development Online & Interactive
Talent Development
Adrienne Pickering in All Our Eggs On The Deck Productions / Photo credit Ben Dilger
Download image
Related MaterialsDownload PDF
Media enquiries Jane Alexander | Senior Publicist
61 2 8113 5833 | 61 400 940 682 | jane.alexander@screenaustralia.gov.au
Clio Anne Ellis | Publicist and Events
61 2 8113 1091 | 61 450 492 745 | clio.ellis@screenaustralia.gov.au
All other general/non-media enquiries Sydney 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne 61 3 8682 1900 | info@screenaustralia.gov.au
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
05 09 2017 - Media release Bruna Papandrea and Naomi Watts developing Australian projects 
