10 10 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces $8.1 million of production funding for 15 projects L-R: Love Adjacent director Louise Alston, Watching You creators Alexei Mizin and Ryan van Dijk, and Arisa Trew from online development project, Level Up (photo credit: Mathias Scherrer).
Screen Australia has announced over $8.1 million in production funding for 15 projects spanning feature film, television and online content. This significant investment reflects Screen Australia's ongoing commitment to fostering innovative storytelling and content that engages audiences across genres and platforms.
Among the funded projects are Zac Power, a new animated family feature from Flying Bark Productions and Cheeky Little Media, based on the popular book series of the same name; Leviticus, the latest feature from Causeway Films, the production company behind the global breakout success Talk to Me; romantic comedy Love Adjacent; Stan's psychological thriller series Watching You; and online series Hoops, from the creative team behind the popular TikTok documentary Transathletica.
Screen Australia CEO Deirdre Brennan said, These latest projects reflect the depth of creative storytelling that defines the Australian screen industry. We support projects that entertain and resonate with audiences. Our aim is to champion authentic local voices and ensure our sector remains at the forefront of global storytelling.
For the 2023/24 financial year, Screen Australia invested over $85 million across all 57 funding programs, including over $5.5 million through the First Nations Department, and issued 205 final certificates through the Producer Offset with a total value of $413 million. Demand on Screen Australia support remained high, with the agency supporting just under a third of all applications received. We'll continue to seek ways to provide impactful support within our limited capacity, prioritising audience connection, industry value and cultural relevance.
Over the past year, Australian projects demanded global attention with 61 Australian projects selected for international film festivals and events. Amongst those titles, online series Videoland took out Best Comedy series at the prestigious Festival Series Mania, critically acclaimed debut feature Shayda won the Sundance Audience Award, and Furiosa and Australia/Ireland Co-production The Surfer starring Nicholas Cage led the Australian contingent hosting World Premieres at Cannes Film Festival. Funding stories that reflect and connect remains a focus and in 2023/24, the agency supported a breadth of titles that highlight local screen talent including drama series Top End Bub, feature film JIMPA and a new slate of children's content including DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW, an animated adaptation of the popular children s book series by comedian and author Andy Lee.
Our focus is firmly on the future. We're building a sustainable screen economy that both adapts and inspires. I'm thrilled by the international recognition of our stories and excited for the pipeline of projects set to release before the end of the year including films Memoir of a Snail and The Moogai, along with series' Thou Shalt Not Steal, Four Years Later and Plum I can't wait for Australians to experience them, continued Brennan.
The projects funded for production include:
Chasing Millions: A crime drama set in Belfast 2004, where Northern Ireland has been at peace for six years, but old enmities and mistrust remain. Chasing Millions tells the story of the biggest bank heist in Irish, British (and Australian) history making reluctant partners of ambitious Australian police officer, Diana, with gruff, veteran Northern Irish detective, Crawford, as they investigate and seek to solve the crime while navigating their way through the minefield of a fragile peace. An official Irish-Australian co-production with Irish director Stephen Burke (Maze) at the helm, based on a script by Stephen Burke and Katherine Thomson (Schapelle, House of Hancock). Producers are Jane Doolan (Maze, Wolf) of Mammoth Films, Ireland and Michael Wrenn (Audrey) of Invisible Republic, Australia. It has received major production investment from Screen Ireland, with local distribution by Bonsai Films and international sales by Level K.
Displaced: A six-part comedy sci-fi series for YouTube that follows a dysfunctional physicist who is accidentally sent back in time and in the process, tries to fix her future by mentoring her younger self. Displaced is a comedy about depression, queerness, making trouble, healing an inner child, and being seen. It is from writer/director Molly Daniels (The InBESTigators, Wispy), writer/producer Jem Splitter (Galacticare) and producer Rachael Morrow. Displaced is produced and developed in association with VicScreen and financed with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
Hoops: From the team behind Transathletica on TikTok, Hoops documents the journey of Transgender Basketballer Lexi Rodgers and her fight to be ruled eligible to play with a NBL1 South team. After a major setback in 2023, Lexi spends the year jumping through hoops - determined against all odds to play in the 2024 season. Hoops is from writer/director Hannah McElhinney, writer Rudy Jean Rigg and executive producer Jamie Searle of Transathletica, with Eliza Bone (Letter for the King) producing.
Leviticus: The latest horror feature film from the production company behind box office hit Talk to Me, Leviticus is the story of two teenage boys living in a conservative Christian community in regional Victoria, Naim and Ryan. When their attraction to each other is identified by the local pastor, the pair are subjected to a conversion ritual which unknowingly releases an entity that terrorises the town. Leviticus is from writer/director Adrian Chiarella (Totally Complet
