Diverse titles and talent supported with almost $650,000 in development funding

Screen Australia has committed $643,125 in funding to support the development of 18 feature films and to cultivate the careers of the next generation of filmmakers.

In line with the increasingly genre-diverse ambitions of Australia's film industry, projects being funded through Single Project Development include animation, action and adventure, thriller, comedy, romantic comedy and drama titles.

Producer Polly Staniford and executive producer Angie Fielder will be supported to develop the edgy thriller Berlin Syndrome. Written by Snowtown writer Shaun Grant, and with Cate Shortland attached to direct, it tells the story of a passionate holiday romance that turns into an obsessive relationship, when an Australian photojournalist wakes in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.

Also receiving development support, The End of Everything is a thriller based on the LA Times bestseller by Megan Abbott, and is produced by Kristian Moliere and written by Andy Cox.

True History of the Kelly Gang is a western, based on Peter Carey's novel of the same name, produced by Liz Watts (Animal Kingdom, The Rover) and written by Joe Penhall, with Justin Kurzel attached to direct.

Comedy drama Palm Beach (Those Were the Days) will be developed by producers Bryan Brown and Deb Balderstone, working with the acclaimed playwright Joanna Murray-Smith.

Jane Austen's Emma will be given an Aussie makeover in romantic comedy EM, courtesy of producers Matthew Dabner, Karen Radzyner and Anna Vincent, with director Kate Riedl and co-screenwriters Emma Jensen and Matthew Dabner.

First-time writer Krew Boylan has been supported to script the comedy drama Seriously Red, produced by Matt Reeder, about a self-confessed clown who decides to take herself seriously by becoming a Dolly Parton impersonator.

The story of four mates fighting in World War II, who make history by stopping Rommel's dreaded Panzer Divisions at Tobruk, is the subject of The Rats of Tobruk, written by Max Mannix, with director Greg Mclean attached.

Producer Antony I. Ginnane (Patrick) has been supported to develop the kill-or-be-killed action thriller Turkey Shoot Resurrected, with director Jon Hewitt, who co-writes with Belinda McClory.

Director Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man), with producer Marian Macgowan and writer Pip Karmel, will be supported to develop Choir of Hard Knocks, based on a true story about a disparate and desperate group of people who find hope and dignity when they band together to find their voice.

Salvation Creek tells the story of a high-flying magazine editor who turns her back on her career after the sudden death of her husband and brother and finds salvation in an unexpected place. It is produced by Heather Ogilvie and written by Ross Grayson Bell, with Megan Simpson Huberman attached to direct.

Writer/director Nicholas Verso will be supported to develop Boys in the Trees, with producer John Molloy and executive producer Michael Gudinski, having begun work on the project through Screen Australia's Springboard program. The film is a drama about two estranged teens who embark on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears when they find themselves walking home together on Halloween, 1997.

Animated feature Nymphaea, produced by Jessica Brentnall and executive producer Timothy White, and written by Ari Gibson and Eddie White, has also been supported.

Emerging directors Anna Spencer, Isabel Peppard and Sophie Miller, and up-and-coming producer Katia Nizic received funded opportunities to grow their careers through Screen Australia's Talent Escalator program.

Screen Australia's Head of Development Martha Coleman said, It's fantastic to see our filmmakers developing projects that are so varied in their subject and genre. It's a sign of a healthy, confident feature film industry and the wealth of talent out there, which is constantly becoming more skilled, confident and ambitious.

See below for the full list of announced projects in development.

SINGLE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: Feature Development

ALIS WEDDING

Genre Drama, Comedy

Producers Helen Panckhurst, Michael McMahon

Executive Producer Tony Ayres

Writers Andrew Knight, Osamah Sami

B MODEL

Genre Drama

Producer/Writer/Director Rachel Griffiths

Producer Louise Smith

Writer Samantha Strauss

BERLIN SYNDROME

Genre Thriller

Producers Polly Staniford

Executive Producer Angie Fielder

Writer Shaun Grant

Director Cate Shortland

Synopsis A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship, when an Australian photojournalist wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.

BOYS IN THE TREES

Genre Drama

Producer John Molloy

Executive Producer Michael Gudinski

Writer/Director Nicholas Verso

Synopsis Two estranged teens begrudgingly find themselves walking home together on Halloween, 1997, embarking on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears.

CHOIR OF HARD KNOCKS

Genre Comedy, Drama

Producer Marian Macgowan

Writer Pip Karmel

Director Jonathan Teplitzky

Synopsis A disparate and desperate group of people transcend their hopelessness and band together to find their voice, rediscovering, under the baton of their choirmaster, a dignity and purpose that their ravaged lives had threatened to destroy.

EM

Genre Romantic comedy

Producers Matthew Dabner, Karen Radzyner, Anna Vincent

Writers Matthew Dabner, Emma Jensen

Director Kate Riedl

Synopsis Jane Austens Emma down under.

THE END OF EVERYTHING

Genre Thriller, Crime

Producer Kristian Moliere

Writer Andy Cox

Synopsis When Lizzies best friend, Evie, disappears, Lizzie takes up her own pursuit of the truth, pushing herself into the dark centre of Evie's teenage world until she begins to wonder whether she really knew her friend at all.

GREYLANDS

Genre Drama

Producer Tara Morice

Executive Produce

LINK:	http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/news_and_events/2013/mr_131009_devel...
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