Screen Australia today announced that $560,000 will be allocated to support 17 single-draft screen projects selected from applications received through its Development program in the last three months. In addition, four emerging filmmakers will receive support through the Talent Escalator program.Screen Australia's Creative Director, Veronica Gleeson, said, From Neolithic crime to Muslim comedy, we're delighted to support a range of projects from expert practitioners and talent on the rise. The diversity of storytelling ambition is impressive, as is the shared aim of making meaningful contact with audiences.
We are also very pleased to continue our support for talent development in assisting four promising filmmakers to advance their directorial skills.
Development investment will be given to eight new projects: Bronze, Lost Cat, The Death and Life of Otto Bloom, Shadow Warrior, Wake with Me, Taboo, The Other Side of the World and The Children, along with continued support to nine other titles.
Bronze is a boldly conceived detective drama set between Neolithic Scandinavia and contemporary Australia, written and produced by Felicity Packard, Peter Gawler and Greg Haddrick. It is the second project to receive funding through the High-end Television Development program.
Bestselling comic memoir Lost Cat will be adapted by writer/producer Andy Cox and produced by Julie Byrne and The Babadook's Kristian Moliere. The story by Caroline Paul follows what happens when Katherine and Annie decide to use a GPS tracker to solve the mystery of their disappearing, reappearing San Franciscan cat. Not just a story for pet lovers, but anyone who has ever done anything desperate for love.
Mary and Max producer Melanie Coombs teams with Alicia Brown and Mish Armstrong to develop The Death and Life of Otto Bloom. A vividly imagined fictional documentary about a man who experiences time in reverse by writer/director Cris Jones, the mystery drama has Xavier Samuel attached to play the lead.
Oscar -winning producer Emile Sherman commences early stage development with Shadow Warrior, a drama penned by Beatrix Christian.
In the supernatural comedy Wake with Me, a pair of unlikely soul mates meet for the first time the night they get engaged to other people. Each morning from then on they wake up together, no matter where they've slept the night before. The film is written by Joshua Taylor, produced by Goalpost's Lauren Edwards and Rosemary Blight and will be directed by Maia Horniak.
Bentley Dean, Martin Butler and Master and Commander's John Collee have penned Taboo, a drama which will be produced and directed by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler and also produced by Carolyn Johnson. The film is a ground-breaking glimpse into life, love, war and peace on the Island of Tanna, one of the last tribal societies on earth.
Cannes Short Film Palme d'Or finalist Sam Holst will work with emerging talent Danielle Harris on The Other Side of the World. The project will be an exciting collaboration between producer Michael Cody and Zentropa's Katja Adomeit, which will explore the story of young European couple Rene and Nadine, who suffer a sudden trauma while travelling that throws their relationship into chaos.
Continuing on from the success of The Turning short starring Rose Byrne, writer/director Claire McCarthy will adapt contemporary drama The Children. Based on the novel by Charlotte Wood, the film is about a hard-bitten war correspondent who reluctantly returns home to Australia only to discover that some of the most challenging stories are located within her own family. Sue Taylor and Tenille Kennedy will produce the film.
The Sapphires' Wayne Blair returns to Australian soil to helm Ali's Wedding, a comedy by Osamah Sami and Andrew Knight about the son of a Muslim cleric who sets off a catastrophic chain of events after telling a reckless lie, and finds himself caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart. Sheila Jayadev and Helen Panckhurst will produce the film under the Matchbox banner.
HIGH-END TELEVISION DEVELOPMENT
BRONZE
Genre Drama
Producers Peter Gawler, Greg Haddrick, Felicity Packard
Executive Producers Greg Haddrick, Bob Campbell
Writers Felicity Packard, Greg Haddrick, Peter Gawler
Synopsis In Neolithic Scandinavia the inventor of bronze fights to protect his invention from being misused, while in 2015 an Australian anthropologist fights to protect the medical miracle revealed by forensic analysis of the Nordic warrior's frozen, mummified body.
SINGLE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: FEATURE DEVELOPMENT
ALI'S WEDDING (AKA A GOOD LIE)
Genre Comedy
Producers Sheila Jayadev, Helen Panckhurst
Executive Producers Tony Ayres, Michael McMahon
Director Wayne Blair
Writers Osamah Sami, Andrew Knight
Synopsis After a reckless lie sets off a catastrophic chain of events, Ali, the son of a Muslim cleric, finds himself caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart.
BANG BANG MING WANG
Genre Action Comedy
Producer Samantha Jennings
Executive Producer Sheila Hanahan-Taylor
Writers Will Kuether, Paul Sammes
Synopsis A hapless but good-hearted waiter becomes an unwitting hero when he is forced to protect a beautiful heiress from the Chinatown underworld.
BEREFT
Genre Crime, Thriller
Producers Sheila Jayadev, Lyn Norfor
Executive Producers Greg Sitch, Nina Stevenson, Prue Williams
Writers Andy Cox, Ranald Allan
Synopsis 1919. A suicidal young soldier hiding in the hills surrounding his home town, meets an orphan girl who helps him unlock the truth behind his sister's murder a crime for which he was wrongly accused. Based on the novel by Chris Womersley.
THE CHILDREN
Genre Family Drama
Producers Sue Taylor, Tenille Kennedy
Writer/Director Claire McCarthy
Synopsis Hard-bitten war corres
