Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Screen Australia announces development funding for 42 projects

05/08/2020

05 08 2020 - Media release Screen Australia announces development funding for 42 projects

Toni Collette, Tony Briggs

Screen Australia has announced 14 feature films, eight online projects and 20 television dramas that will share in $1.6 million of Story Development funding.

The latest slate includes Toni Collette's directorial debut with feature film The Best Of, and an anthology of Shakespeare's works re-imagined by teams of creators including Leah Purcell, Elise McCredie and Anchuli Felicia King called Shakespeare Now.

Screen Australia's Head of Development Nerida Moore said, While this has been a turbulent, challenging time for many in the industry, it hasn't stopped the drive, passion and imagination of Australian creative teams. In fact we have continued to see applications coming through with really strong and distinctive content, with the application numbers across March-June this year up 76% on the same period last year.

It's exciting to see re-imaginings of well-loved stories such as Shakespeare Now and an animated series inspired by The Sapphires. And we continue to support storytelling on all platforms, with two online series from comedians Gabriel Willie (better known as Bush Tucker Bunjie) and Chloe Black who are each creating their first scripted narrative comedies.

This slate is the final funding awarded in the 2019/20 financial year. During this period Screen Australia received 534 Story Development applications across the Premium and Generate Funds, up 41% from the 378 applications received in 2018/19. In the last 12 months, Screen Australia has provided funds to a total of 110 projects out of a pool of 508 projects that were creatively assessed. This included 50 through the Generate Fund for lower budget projects and 60 through the Premium Fund for higher budget projects from established creators.

Moore continued, We are really pleased to see more ambitious television projects in the pipeline, with 32 television projects funded through the Premium stream in the past 12 months, up from 12 projects last year.

In April 2020 Screen Australia launched the Premium Plus Fund to provide late-stage development funding to high-budget projects with firm market interest that were impacted by COVID-19. In this time, the agency funded 17 projects. Recipients include ABC drama The Newsreader and feature film You Won't Be Alone. The fund closed on 31 July 2020.

The latest projects funded for development include:

A six-part online series from popular YouTuber Bush Tucker Bunjie (Gabriel Willie) called Bush Tucker Bunjie Gold Coast Adventures. This comedy follows the over-confident, multi-talented Bunjie take up a variety of fish out of water jobs with his mob of annoying cousin in-laws, as he tries to build his bank balance to match his Gold Coast lifestyle. Written by Willie and Angelina Hurley, this project will be produced by EJ Garrett (Gumbi Gumbi) and Dena Curtis (Grace Beside Me) with Mark O'Toole (Black Comedy) on board as story producer.

Television comedy Colourful Faces, an eight-part series about a crew of misfit actors and their manipulative agent who try to exploit the industry's thirst for diversity on their road to success. Led by an Aboriginal actor who won't take Aboriginal roles, a fallen Bollywood Diva and a Chinese comedian who isn t funny, this band of hustlers set out on a chaotic and politically incorrect quest to get ahead. The creative team features writer/producers Bjorn Stewart (Killer Native) and Rami Fischler (Spread the Word), and producer Amanda Reedy (Superwog).

A six-part television comedy called DNA Dad (working title), centred on neurologically diverse young man Michael who discovers his biological father is UK actor Ben Miller, and travels to London to meet him. The connection leads both men to discover the true meaning of family. The creative team includes writer/director Darren Ashton (Hardball), writer/producer Ben Miller, producer Joanne Weatherstone (Hardball) and executive producer Catherine Nebauer (Hardball).

Six-part dramedy New Animal, from writer Marieke Hardy (Laid), based on the upcoming debut novel by Ella Baxter. The television series follows 28-year-old oddball Amelia who works as a cosmetician at a family funeral parlour. After the sudden death of her mother, she is drawn into the local BDSM community in an attempt to deal with her grief. New Animal will be produced by Jason Stephens and Helen Bowden of Lingo Pictures (Lambs of God).

Shakespeare Now, an anthology of adaptations of Shakespeare's works for television, including Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Macbeth, Love s Labour s Lost, A Midsummer Night s Dream, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. The works are led by teams of all-female creatives including Anya Beyersdorf (It s Me), Corrie Chen (Five Bedrooms), Lucy Coleman (Hot Mess), Elissa Down (Feel the Beat), Anchuli Felicia King (play White Pearl), Michelle Law (Homecoming Queens), Claire McCarthy (The Luminaries), Elise McCredie (Stateless), Leah Purcell (The Drover s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson), Amelia Roper (The Great), Sarah Scheller (The Let Down), Nadine von Cohen, Vivienne Walshe (Everything s Gonna Be Ok), and Rachel Ward (Palm Beach). This project is executive produced by ABC's Sally Riley; Lucky Chap Entertainment's Margot Robbie, Brett Hedblom, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara (Maid); and Tracey Robertson, Nathan Mayfield and Kerrin McNeil of Hoodlum Entertainment (Harrow). It will be developed with the support of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Toni Collette's directorial debut with The Best Of, a feature film based on the novel by Graeme Simsion (The Rosie Project) and written for the screen by comedian and writer Mark Watson. This romantic comedy follows amateur musician turned IT specialist Adam Sharp who
LINK: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2020/08-05-scr...
See more stories from screenaustralia

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

12/02/2026

Chyron Merges Live Web Content and CG Graphics with PRIME 5.3

Chyron unveils PRIME 5.3, the latest software release of the company's powerful engine for live production graphics. PRIME 5.3 delivers the first official i...

12/02/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Interra Systems' Anupama Anantharaman on Protecting Live Sports Quality Across IP and OTT Workflows

The vendor's VP of Product Management explains how quality assurance, monito...

12/02/2026

LTN Makes Key Appointments and Introduces New Technology Organization

LTN announces the appointment of three experienced executives to lead its new Technology organization: Michal Miskin-Amir as EVP and Head of Technology, Jonatha...

12/02/2026

Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Global 24/7 Software and IT Support

Riedel Communications has officially opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malays...

12/02/2026

NATO Upgrades Brussels HQ Broadcast Studio with Grass Valley LDX 135 Cameras

Grass Valley has won a competitive NATO-wide tender to provide the new camera system for NATO's main broadcast studio at its Brussels headquarters. The proj...

12/02/2026

Canon Announces Big Game Broadcast Lens Use Data

Canon U.S.A announces that the vast majority of broadcast lenses utilized on the NBC live broadcast for the Big Game between New England and Seattle on Sunday w...

12/02/2026

Three-Time Grammy-Winner Ludacris to Headline Performances at NBA All-Star 2026 in LA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and NBC Sports announce the entertainm...

12/02/2026

IOC Awards Broadcast Rights in Middle East and North Africa to beIN MEDIA GROUP

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces that beIN MEDIA GROUP ( beIN ), the leading global sports, entertainment and media organisation, has secured...

12/02/2026

Big 12 Conference Unveils ASB GlassFloor for Upcoming Tournaments in March

The Big 12 Conference and ASB GlassFloor introduces a full LED video sports floor that will debut at the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's and Women's Baske...

12/02/2026

TNDV Showcases Aspiration35 at National Religious Broadcasters Convention 2026

Continuing its commitment to serving the faith-based broadcast and live event community, mobile production company TNDV, a division of Live Media Group, will hi...

12/02/2026

Marshall Electronics POVs Power Hidden-Camera Investigations on German TV Series, ACHTUNG ABZOCKE

The production team of the long-running German investigative series Achtung Abz...

12/02/2026

Vizrt Launches Sports Production Bundles to Empower US Students to Produce Like the Pros

Vizrt announces the launch of four Campus Stadium Production Bundles, designed t...

12/02/2026

LiveU Spotlights Three Broadcast Priorities with Digital-First, Workflow Automation, IP Contribution Resilience

At NAB Show, LiveU will showcase its broadest IP-video EcoSystem to date, design...

12/02/2026

Follow the Money, Episode 5: Analyzing Sports Media Deals With Sam McCleery and PwC's Lori Bistis

Welcome to the Sports Video Group's new interview series, Follow the Money, ...

12/02/2026

NBC Sports Engineers a Super Bowl Transmission Plan That Reached From Alcatraz to Stamford - and Out Onto San Francisco Bay

400 Gbps of bandwidth, layered redundancy, and mobile-first connectivity powered...

12/02/2026

5 Ideas for Bringing the Music You Love Into Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day often comes with a soundtrack. In fact, Spotify data shows that more people used Blend, our shared playlist feature, on February 14, 2025, t...

12/02/2026

Prompted Playlist in Beta Coming to Premium Listeners in More Markets

Some days you want your music to reflect a specific feeling, memory, or vibe that goes beyond a single artist or genre. You want to do more than listen. You wan...

12/02/2026

Our Medicine S2: Frontline Medicine Through A Blak Lens

Our Medicine S2: Frontline Medicine Through A Blak Lens 12 February, 2026 Media releases A Bigger, Bolder Second Series showcasing First Nations Frontline ...

12/02/2026

L3Harris' VAMPIRE System Successfully Fires Thales' Belgian-Made 70 mm Rockets

L3Harris' VAMPIRE system fires Thales Belgian-made 70 MM rocket from an FZ60...

12/02/2026

LTN Names 3 Executives to Lead Technology Group

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

On the Ice, There's a Third Team at Work

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

Mo Rocca to Receive the 2026 LABF Insight Award at NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

Marshall Electronics POVs Power Hidden Camera Investigat...

The production team of the long-running German investigative series Achtung Abzocke recently upgraded its cameras for the show's 12th season. The objectiv...

12/02/2026

Bitmovin Appoints Ian Baglow as Co-Chief Executive Office...

Leading provider of video streaming solutions, Bitmovin, has appointed Ian Baglow as Co-CEO alongside existing CEO and Co-Founder Stefan Lederer. Under this str...

12/02/2026

Vizrt Launches Sports Production Bundles to Empower US St...

Vizrt, a leading viewer engagement platform and a trusted expert in live production technologies, today announces the launch of four Campus Stadium Production B...

12/02/2026

Ailanto and Cubbit launch sovereign cloud storage for Swi...

Strategic agreement to deliver S3 cloud storage in Switzerland with full data sovereignty and local control including at the level of individual cantons plu...

12/02/2026

Mad About Video counts on Lightware MX2 matrix switcher a...

Mad About Video is a leading specialist in video for live events and installations throughout Malta. In operation since 2011, it has evolved from a company focu...

12/02/2026

JAGGAER supports Betsson Group in further strengthening i...

JAGGAER, a global leader in digital procurement and supplier collaboration solutions, today announced the successful delivery of a procurement digitalization pr...

12/02/2026

LiveU Spotlights Three Broadcast Priorities at NAB Show 2...

At NAB Show, LiveU will showcase its broadest IP-video EcoSystem to date, designed to help broadcasters and content creators embrace digital first operations, d...

12/02/2026

Spectrum News Acquires New England Cable News

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

Vizrt Unveils Campus Stadium Production Bundles

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

Hulu + Live TV Adds Fubo Sports Network to Channel Line-up

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

FCC To Hold Open Commission Meeting on Feb. 18

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

Ralph M. Oakley to Receive NAB's Chuck Sherman TV Leadership Award

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/02/2026

Sky Original drama Under Salt Marsh hits 1.8 million viewers in its first seven days

The six-part crime drama, created by Claire Oakley and produced by Little Door P...

12/02/2026

Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Global 24/7 Software and IT Support

Wuppertal February 12, 2026 Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Glo...

12/02/2026

Netflix unveils the trailer for 'That Night'

Back to All News Netflix unveils the trailer for That Night Entertainment 12 February 2026 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard WATCH THE TRAILER DOWNLOA...

12/02/2026

The Digital Product Passport: A New Era of Transparency and Sustainability

The Digital Product Passport: A New Era of Transparency and Sustainability Arvato Systems supports companies in getting started with the digital product passp...

12/02/2026

NVIDIA DGX Spark Powers Big Projects in Higher Education

At leading institutions across the globe, the NVIDIA DGX Spark desktop supercomputer is bringing data center class AI to lab benches, faculty offices and studen...

12/02/2026

Leading Inference Providers Cut AI Costs by up to 10x With Open Source Models on NVIDIA Blackwell

A diagnostic insight in healthcare. A character's dialogue in an interactive...

12/02/2026

GeForce NOW Turns Screens Into a Gaming Machine

The GeForce NOW sixth-anniversary festivities roll on this February, continuing a monthlong celebration of NVIDIA's cloud gaming service. This week brings ...

12/02/2026

February 11, 2026

TIME100 Health list features Scripps Research Professor Darrell Irvine Irvine is recognized for his work in empowering the immune system to fight disease, which...

11/02/2026

FYI: Phone Support Maintenance

FYI: Phone Support Maintenance One thing we pride ourselves on here at Utah Scientific is our 24-hour support included with our signature 10-year hardware warra...

11/02/2026

Bitmovin Appoints Ian Baglow as Co-Chief Executive Officer

Leading provider of video streaming solutions, Bitmovin, has appointed Ian Baglow as Co-CEO alongside existing CEO and Co-Founder Stefan Lederer. Under this str...