Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & NITV Original series Moonbird to feature at Series Mania 2025

14/02/2025

From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & NITV Original series Moonbird to feature at Series Mania 2025

14 February, 2025

Media releases

Upcoming SBS and NITV Digital Originals series, Moonbird, will premiere on the international stage at the prestigious TV festival, Series Mania, next month.

The series, set on a remote island off the coast of Lutruwita (Tasmania), exploring Palawa culture and the tradition of muttonbirding, has been announced as one of eight to be featured in the Short Forms Competition this year, and the third Digital Originals series to be selected for the festival held annually in Lille, France.

Now in its fifth year, Digital Originals is a partnership between SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and Screen Australia to develop exciting, innovative and risk-taking short-form dramas to premiere on SBS On Demand, SBS VICELAND and NITV, from emerging screen creatives who are currently under-represented in the sector.

Moonbird (6 x 10 minutes) is one of three new Digital Originals that will premiere in 2025, announced last year alongside Pasifika led series, Moni, and Western Australian production, Warm Props.

Moonbird is a co-production between the first-ever Tasmanian Aboriginal screen production company, Kutikina Productions, and Sheoak Films. Produced by Catherine Pettman and Adam Thompson, the series explores the relationship between a recently sober father and his son who attempt to reconnect through a traditional muttonbirding season on a remote Tasmanian island only to face cultural and personal crises that threaten their relationship and force them to confront their family's disturbing history. The compelling series is directed, co-created, and co-written by Nathan Maynard, and co-created and co-written by Adam Thompson.

Bundjalung actor, Lennox Monaghan (Windcatcher), plays Sonny Beeton, a 13-year-old Palawa boy navigating the complexities of his world, joined by Badimya-Yamiji and Noongar actor, Kyle Morrison (The Visitors, Sydney Theatre Company; Romeo & Juliet, Bell Shakespeare; Macbeth, Bell Shakespeare, Heartland), as Sonny's father, Aaron Cracka' Beeton, a man shaped by his past and the challenges of raising his son. The cast also includes Nick Farnell (Prey, Thai Cave Rescue, The Newsreader, The Dry), as Frank The Skipper'.

Principal production funding has been provided from Screen Australia in association with SBS, with support from Screen Tasmania. Developed with assistance of Screen Australia and SBS.

Moonbird's selection at Series Mania follows previous Digital Originals to be featured at the festival, with Latecomers shown in competition in 2023, and Iggy & Ace in 2021.

Following the announcement, series co-writer and producer, Adam Thompson, said: Moonbird is a deeply personal story that explores relationships, resilience, and cultural connection in a way that feels both intimate and universal. We're thrilled to premiere at Series Mania and share this uniquely Tasmanian story with an international audience. Bringing Moonbird to life has been an incredible journey, made possible by an amazing cast and crew who have poured their talent and dedication into this project. I'm proud to share this story with the world.

Producer, Catherine Pettman, added: Premiering Moonbird at Series Mania is an incredible opportunity to showcase our work on a global stage. We're excited to connect with international audiences and find the right home for the series beyond Australia.

SBS Head of Scripted, Nakul Legha, said: Congratulations to the team behind Moonbird for this incredible recognition. Moonbird is a uniquely powerful and distinctive Australian series that rightly deserves to shine on the global stage at Series Mania. It is further affirmation of the ambition and quality of our short form original series through Digital Originals, which continues to launch a new wave of Australia's most exciting storytellers.

Head of Commissioning and Production for NITV, Dena Curtis, added: Moonbird is a beautifully crafted and compelling story centred in the ancient tradition and cultural practice of muttonbirding. We can't wait to see it shared with a global audience, alongside other series from around the world, at Series Mania this year. Digital Originals continues to play an important role in supporting the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives, and elevating First Nations stories. Good luck to all involved.

Screen Australia Head of Online and Games, Lee Naimo, said: Digital Originals continues to be a springboard for emerging creators to grow their skills and bring diverse Australian stories to screen. From the early stages of scripts and pitching, the team behind Moonbird have created an evocative and distinctively Australian story that is compelling and authentic. Through the Digital Originals workshops and development, the unique voice of Moonbird has been elevated, demanding attention on the world stage. I'm delighted to see it recognised and celebrated at Series Mania.

Manager of Screen Tasmania, Alex Sangston, also added that it was thrilling to see a local Tasmanian production be invited to an international television festival. Series Mania is the most prestigious television festival in the world, so to screen the first production from a Palawa-run company telling the story of a Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural practice is incredibly special, to say the least. I am pleased that diverse Tasmanian stories such as Moonbird are being shared with international audiences, and I can't wait for local audiences to view the series when it airs later this year, Mr Sangston said.Digital Originals was created to elevate talent historically under-represented in the sector, including people who identify as culturally and linguistical
LINK: https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/2025/02/14/from-an-island-off-the-coast...
See more stories from sbs

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 ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

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

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

04/06/2026

Sony's New PTZ Cameras Deliver 4K 60p; New STARVIS Sensor Meets Low-Light Demands

Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...

04/06/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Alex Albert, Texas A&M University

This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...

04/06/2026

USGA Brings AI Recaps, 3D Range Tracking, and Predictive Shot Tracing to U.S. Womens Open

For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...

04/06/2026

Panasonic PT-RQ45 Projectors Power Lille Video Mapping Festival Opera House Installation

Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...

04/06/2026

Bitmovin and Akamai Support NRJ Groups Deployment of Akamai Adaptive Media Player 2

Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...

04/06/2026

Telestream to Exhibit at InfoComm 2026 with Live Production and Media Workflow Demonstrations

Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...

04/06/2026

Sony Announces RIALTO 65 Image Sensor Block for VENICE 2, Targeting 2027 Release

Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...

04/06/2026

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America to Exhibit 4K and Remote Production Solutions at InfoComm 2026

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...

04/06/2026

Bell Media to Carry All 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 Matches Across TSN, RDS, and Streaming Platforms

Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...

04/06/2026

MASV Case Study: How MASV Reduced Miami HEAT's Road Game Video Transfer Times by 85%

The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...

04/06/2026

MASV Outlines Seven-Step Sports Analytics Workflow, Highlights File Transfer as Key Bottleneck

MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...

04/06/2026

NESN Appoints Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering

NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...

04/06/2026

Sports Broadcaster, Executive, and Author David J. Halberstam Dies

David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer. Over his l...

04/06/2026

Grass Valleys Ben Dolinky on Offering Teachable Technology to College Students Across the Country

Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...

04/06/2026

Prime Video Caps First NBA Season With Sports Emmy Win, Carries In-House Production Into WNBA Campaign

California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...

04/06/2026

TikTok and Sundance Collab Launch Micro-Series Storytelling Program

New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...

04/06/2026

Celemony announce Tonalic ARA support for Cubase & Nuendo

Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...

04/06/2026

GearExpo UK: Microphone Update

Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...

04/06/2026

Positive Grid launch Reactor amp range

Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...

04/06/2026

Is Your Job Making You Work this June?

Is Your Job Making You Work this June? 4 June, 2026 Media releases SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...

04/06/2026

Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content

Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content 4 June, 2026 Media releases SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...

04/06/2026

TiVo: TV Viewing Hits Post-Pandemic Peak

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

Bitmovin and Akamai Support NRJ Group to Deploy Next Gene...

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...

04/06/2026

American Underground Opens at American Tobacco Campus, Completing a 16-Year Full-Circle Story

American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...

04/06/2026

Nielsen: Thunder Rolls as NBA's Most-Watched Team

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

AI Drives Lenovo's 2026 FIFA World Cup Broadcast Plans

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

ATSC Conference Looks Beyond Traditional TV for 3.0 Success

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

ATSC Awards Highest Technical Honor to Julia Kenyon

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

Lumine Group to Acquire Synamedias Video Network Business

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

BFOA Launches 5th Annual Giving Day

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

Hemisphere Media Group Brings WAPA+ Fast Channel to Prime Video

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

APTS to Hold June 4 'Protect My Public Media Day'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI

NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI Brie Clayton June 3, 2026 0 Comments RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...

04/06/2026

Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade

Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade Brie Clayton June 3, 2026 0 Comments Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...

04/06/2026

Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients

Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients Brie Clayton June 3, 2026 0 Comments Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...

04/06/2026

St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume

St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...

04/06/2026

'All the Truth in My Lies' Coming to Netflix on August 28

Back to All News All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28 Entertainment 04 June 2026 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Download the imag...

04/06/2026

Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at the Enders TMT Leaders Live 2026 Conference

Back to All News Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...

04/06/2026

Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition' Game, Exclusively on Netflix Games June 11

Back to All News Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...

04/06/2026

Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn

Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News LinkedIn Corporate Communications Share LinkedIn Facebook ...

04/06/2026

Culture and family at the centre of new RT travel series

BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...

04/06/2026

Forecast: Fun Ahead - 18 Games Join in June to Stream on GeForce NOW

June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming. GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...

03/06/2026

SES Launches Multi-Orbit Satellite Inflight Connectivity on Viva Airlines

SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...

03/06/2026

CFP, ESPN, and TNT Sports Announce 2026-27 College Football Playoff Broadcast Schedule

The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...

03/06/2026

RED Digital Cinema to Host Panels and Demos at Cine Gear Expo 2026

RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations. P...

03/06/2026

Roku Launches Soccer Zone for FIFA World Cup 2026

Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...