28 10 2020 - Media release Screen Australia announces $1 million to develop 28 projects
Dragon Friends (L to R): Edan Lacey, Michael Hing, Dave Harmon, Ben Jenkins, Simon Greiner, Alex Lee. Photo credit: Monica Pronk
Screen Australia has announced $1 million of development funding for seven features, 16 television dramas and five online projects.
The projects include Drum Wave, a new thriller from the team behind Relic; Mid Life, a follow up to Luke Eve's drama High Life; and an online comedy about Dungeons and Dragons called Dragon Friends: Dream Killers.
Screen Australia's Head of Development Nerida Moore said, It's great to see producers thinking globally and developing unique stories for Australian audiences and the world. We're excited to support these original story ideas, many with distinct storyworlds and fantastic comedic imaginations that I'm confident will resonate. We're also proud to fund children's programs that will entertain and help navigate life's big lessons with the likes of Andrew the Big BIG Unicorn.
The latest projects funded for development include:
Andrew the Big BIG Unicorn: A children's television series about a sweet-hearted purple rhino called Andrew. Living with his adoptive parents in a world full of unicorns, Andrew grapples with growing up a bit different to his peers. This animated series from Pirate Size productions sees writer Dan Nixon team up with storyboard artist Alyssa Smedley. It will be produced by Bryony McLachlan and executive produced by Avrill Stark (The Deep).
Dragon Friends: Dream Killers: A six-part online animation/live action hybrid which follows friends Gabe, Ally, Mike and Eddie who get banned from their local trivia night. In need of a new activity to keep the splintering friendship group together, they leave their real life behind and enter the world of Dungeons and Dragons. This adventure comedy is created by the team behind The Dragon Friends podcast, with writer/director David Harmon and writers Edan Lacey, Alexandra Lee, Michael Hing, Ben Jenkins and Simon Greiner. It will be produced by Lacey, Jenkins, Shakeera Khan and Grace Rein.
Drum Wave: A feature film from the team behind Relic which debuted at Sundance 2020, with writer/director Natalie Erika James, producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw of Carver Films and writer Christian White. Based on James' short film of the same name, this thriller follows young pianist Yumi who marries her fianc , Hiroshi, on the remote island he grew up on. There she discovers a community with bizarre and increasingly threatening fertility rituals, and is forced to confront her fear of motherhood.
Mid Life: A six-part online drama from director Luke Eve, whose series Cancelled won the The Grand Jury Prize at Marseille Web Fest in 2020, and writer Anna Lindner. In a follow up to Eve's series High Life and Low Life, Mid Life centres on Claire, a highly acclaimed artist who appears to have achieved the perfect life balance as mother, wife and creative. But when everyone suddenly leaves her for better offers, a new acquaintance - acute anxiety - is more than happy to fill every role available. This project will be produced by Eve and Gina Carter (High Life).
Over My Dead Body: A six-part television series about a Muslim woman named Rana who is haunted by her recently deceased, conservative mother Hayat. With Hayat s spirit mysteriously earthbound, Rana's freshly-independent lifestyle is exposed, forcing mother and daughter to connect in unexpected ways - but thank goodness Hayat is already dead, otherwise they'd kill each other. This comedy drama will be written by Amal Awad, who is joined in the writers room by Jane Allen (Janet King), Kacie Anning (The Other Guy) and Adele Vuko (Over and Out).
We Ate Jeff: A dark television comedy about a group of four strangers who survive a plane crash in the desert and reluctantly eat the dead pilot on day one. To their surprise they are rescued later that afternoon and they resolve to cover up their terrible secret. Developing the series will be writers Nick Musgrove (How to Stay Married), Nicolette Minster (The Legend of Burnout Barry) and Anna Barnes (Retrograde), creative producer Nick Russell (Let's Break Em Up!) and executive producer Damian Davis (Mr Black). The set-up director is Catriona McKenzie (Tidelands).
Went Up The Hill: A feature film from writer/director Samuel Van Grinsven and writer Jory Anast who previously teamed up on their debut feature Sequin in a Blue Room, winner of Audience Award: Best Narrative Feature at Sydney Film Festival. This psychological thriller centres on Jack, who ventures to remote New Zealand to attend the funeral of his estranged birth mother and meets her grieving widow. But his search for answers becomes dangerous when his mother's ghost returns to inhabit both her son and widow, instigating a life-threatening nocturnal dance between the three of them. The creative team also features producers Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton of Causeway Films (The Babadook, Cargo), and New Zealand producer Vicky Pope (Savage).
For the complete list of development funding approvals refer to television, online and feature film breakdowns.
Natalie Erika James on Drum Wave
ABOUT STORY DEVELOPMENT FUNDING Teams with projects for any platform including TV, film and online, can apply for development funding from two program strands the Generate Fund and the Premium Fund.
The Generate Fund is for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks. The Premium Fund is for higher budget projects of ambition and scale from successful screen content makers.
Development funding decisions are made on an ongoing basis rather than rounds, so slate announcements include projects funded at differe
Most recent headlines
01/03/2021
Skys Inga Ruehl will be able to offer expert insight into how broadcasters are dealing with sustainability issues
By Jenny Priestley
Published: March 1, 2021 ...
01/03/2021
VR synth app to ship with 40+ modules
Last month we brought you news of SynthVR, a virtual modular synth designed to run on the growing number of VR headset...
01/03/2021
British brand moves to Uli Behringers umbrella company
Innovative British mic company Aston have been acquired by Behringer parent company Music Tribe. The ...
01/03/2021
Rhythm & Alps Festival closes 2020 with Hippotizer Karst posted: 01/03/2021
TomTom Productions provided three Hippotizer Karst Media Servers, one for each o...
01/03/2021
CCTV & Guizhou TV Stream Live Video From a High-Speed Train posted: 01/03/2021
CCTV, a national Chinese TV broadcaster, and Guizhou TV, a regional Chinese...
28/02/2021
The video explains the different phases of the Australian Government's COVID-19 Vaccine National Rollout Plan, specifically in what order different workers ...
28/02/2021
NBC Sports' coverage of Guinness Six Nations rugby continues this weekend. On Feb. 27, Italy faces Ireland in Rome. The match is live on Peacock Premium at ...
28/02/2021
AMC Networks turned a fourth-quarter profit as its streaming networks exceeded their subscriber targets, but its national cable networks faltered....
28/02/2021
The E.W. Scripps Co. reported a bigger profit with a boost from political advertising and gains at its national networks business....
28/02/2021
Tom & Jerry, a feature film starring the beloved cat and mouse, premieres on HBO Max Feb. 26. An eye-popping blend of classic animation and live action, Tom an...
28/02/2021
ABC, CBS and Fox shared the Thursday ratings crown. All three scored a 0.6 in viewers 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, with a 4 share. ABC had game shows, CBS...
28/02/2021
Haystack News, the ad supported streaming service, said it is launching channels dedicated to major entertainment awards starting with the Golden Globes....
28/02/2021
PBS and BBC Studios have announced a new three part documentary with teen activist, Greta Thunberg as she continues to bring awareness to climate change. Greta ...
28/02/2021
Martin Audio Sound Adventures Supports INSPIRE Onmyoji Theatre Production posted: 28/02/2021
The theatre production of INSPIRE Onmyoji, starring famous Ja...
28/02/2021
Pebble playout technology selected to drive Asharq News posted: 28/02/2021
Award winning Asharq News becomes one of the first SMPTE 2110 compliant station...
27/02/2021
Albuquerque Firm Takes Award-Winning Film Tech to The Cloud Cinnafilm PixelStr...
27/02/2021
Storytelling with Maximus at Qantas Founders Museum, Australia posted: 27/02/2021
Power LED luminaire's comprehensive design package used to help visu...
27/02/2021
Studio One's Binaural Pan processor can widen, or narrow, an instrument's stereo image. Aside from making bigger sounds that fill out the stereo sprea...
27/02/2021
Simultaneously an industry giant and a gentle one, Peter Burrows was 300 pounds of motorcycle-riding, upright bass-slapping, River Thames moxy shoehorned into a...
27/02/2021
2021 U.S. Presidential Inauguration Parade Mixed by BNY Productions with Waves e...
26/02/2021
UKTV Original produced by Air TV to return to screen in April 2021.
26 FEBRUARY, 2021 UKTV has commissioned a second series of Warbird Workshop (4x60) for its...
26/02/2021
WASHINGTON-The deadline for Product of the Year nominations in the Tech Leadership Awards is today, Feb. 26....
26/02/2021
FRANKFURT, Germany-Technical services provider Media Broadcast is set to test use cases for TV production using 5G at its 5G campus in Germany....
26/02/2021
LONDON-Rise, the media tech industry women's advocacy group, has launched the Rise Up UTC Mentoring Program for young women aged 16-18 that wish to pursue a...
26/02/2021
The entertainment industry is examining its diversity and inclusion efforts as it continues to make inroads in recognizing the business rationale for greater re...
26/02/2021
SAN BRUNO, Calif.-YouTube TV is getting ready for baseball season in its own way, announcing via Twitter that it is now adding MLB.TV as an add-on for its subsc...
26/02/2021
PHILADELPHIA-Comcast has announced that its Xfinity Stream app is now available on Flex 4K streaming devices, which will be available to customers at no additio...
26/02/2021
IRVING, Texas-After a 36-year career in broadcasting, including the last 20 with Nexstar, Timothy C. Bush, Nexstar's president of Broadcasting, will retire ...
26/02/2021
EditShare, Gravity Media, IHSE USA, Imagine Communications, Quantum, Signiant, V...
26/02/2021
RTS Intercom Systems Boasts Sure-Fire Communications for Sports' Largest Eve...
26/02/2021
Ratings Roundup: Flyers-Bruins at Lake Tahoe Becomes Most-Watched NHL Regular Se...
26/02/2021
SVG Sit-Down: GV President Tim Shoulders Says the Move to the Cloud Will Transfo...
26/02/2021
Ikegami Introduces UHK-X700 UNICAM 4K Camera System By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, February 26, 2021 - 2:42 pm
Print This Story | Subscri...
26/02/2021
PPI ProCrewz Application Brings COVID-19 Questionnaire to Fingertips By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, February 26, 2021 - 2:57 pm
Print This...
26/02/2021
A Sky Original series produced by Cattleya and distributed to over 190 territories around the world
Directed by Marco DAmore and Claudio Cupellini
Starring Sa...
26/02/2021
At the 2021 RTS Television Journalism Awards, Sky News proudly collected six awards including Channel of the Year for a fourth year running. On the night, Head ...
26/02/2021
In tonight's episode at 9pm on Sky Comedy, now that The Duke and Duchess of ...
26/02/2021
Singer will give her debut performance of the song on The Late Late Show tonight
Maps will be available on platforms including Apple Music & Spotify today
R...
26/02/2021
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2021 ar RT
Anonn agus anall idir l ithreoir aimsire RT agus TG4
Peppa Pig ag ullmh le teacht i l thair i nGaeilge
agus Ceolfhoirea...
26/02/2021
Let's be blunt. Potentially toxic waste is just about the last thing you want to get in the mail. And that's just one of the opportunities for AI to mak...
26/02/2021
Cloud gaming uses powerful, industrial-strength GPUs inside secure data centers to stream your favorite games over the internet to you. So you can play the late...
26/02/2021
Baseball players have to think fast when batting against blurry-fast pitches. Now, AI might be able to assist.
Nick Bild, a Florida-based software engineer, ha...
26/02/2021
Nokia and CNT bring first commercial 5G experience to Ecuador
Press Release
Nokia and CNT bring first commercial 5G experience to Ecuador
Network moderni...
26/02/2021
News Corp to Participate in the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Confe...
26/02/2021
--
Enabling the golden age of sports content
February 22, 2021
We have an opportunity to enter the golden age of sports broadcasting. Sporting instituti...
26/02/2021
Back to All News
Terminator Universe is Expanding at Netflix in an All-New Anime Series
Entertainment
26 February 2021
Global
Netflix and Skydance announce...
26/02/2021
Back to All News
Building a Legacy of Inclusion: Results From Our First Film an...
26/02/2021
If there is anything the last year has taught us, it is that the ability to adap...
26/02/2021
All Star Musicals returns for a one-off special
All Star Musicals returns to ITV later this year for a spectacular one-off special that will see six celebritie...
28 10 2020 - Media release Screen Australia announces $1 million to develop 28 projects 
