
22 01 2020 - Media release Screen Australia greenlights $3.5 million for 5 projects
amazing Grace
Nude retreats, marine poachers and hot-tempered chefs Screen Australia has announced two feature films, one television drama and two online projects that will share in $3.5 million of production funding.
Robert Connolly, writer/director of box office hit Paper Planes, returns to Western Australia for a feature film adaptation of Tim Winton's acclaimed novel Blueback; creator and star of Kiwi hit The Breaker Upperers Jackie van Beek joins forces with Australian producers to create absurdist dramedy feature Nude Tuesday; and Erik Thomson teams up with South Australian hit-makers Closer Productions to produce new TV comedy Yes, Chef!.
Screen Australia's Head of Content, Sally Caplan said, We are thrilled to be funding productions across four states and to be back collaborating with New Zealand on a co-production.
Blueback is a great Australian fable coming to the screen from local IP that will have global appeal. And we have been waiting for more comedies so we're delighted to get behind Yes, Chef! and Nude Tuesday.
We're also very pleased to provide two emerging teams with their first allocation of production funding through the Online fund. This avenue has proved to be an excellent way for creators to develop a profile and their audience, Caplan continued.
The funded feature film projects are
Blueback: A feature film based on the best-selling novel by Tim Winton, from the filmmaker behind Paper Planes, writer/director Robert Connolly with producers Liz Kearney and James Grandison of Arenamedia. The family-friendly film centres on Abby, a child who befriends a magnificent wild groper while diving. When Abby realises that the fish is under threat, she must take on the poachers to save her friend. Set on the coast of Western Australia and showcasing an extraordinary marine world, this is a story of friendship, family and nature. Blueback has also received principal production investment from the Western Australian Regional Film Fund (WARFF), supported by Royalties for Regions, and is financed with support from Screenwest and Lotterywest and Film Victoria.
Nude Tuesday: A co-production between Australia's Good Thing Productions and New Zealand's Firefly Films. Nude Tuesday is an absurd dramedy about couple Laura and Bruno who are on the brink of breaking up, and spend a week at a new-age retreat in a bid to save their marriage. What results is one of the most outrageous, emotionally confronting weeks of their lives. Written by Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers), the film will be performed in a fictional language, and will be subtitled by comedic writers after filming to create a number of completely different versions of the same story. This is the second film directed by Armagan Ballantyne (after The Strength of Water in 2009) and will be produced by Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias whose credits include The Australian Dream, and New Zealand producer Emma Slade (Come To Daddy). The project has also received conditional production investment from the New Zealand Film Commission and is financed with support from Film Victoria.
The full list of feature film blocklines can be found here
Jackie van Beek and Armagan Ballantyne
The funded television project is
Yes, Chef!: A six-part dramedy series for the ABC from Closer Productions. It follows a notorious celebrity chef who is forced to flee to his hometown in the Adelaide Hills after his latest outburst goes viral. But when he forms an unlikely business partnership with his 18-year-old pastry prodigy niece, he must learn to navigate a whole new world order - except old habits die hard. The creative team includes creator/writer/executive producer Julie De Fina, creator/writer/producer Matthew Bate (Shut Up Little Man), producers Rebecca Summerton (The Hunting) and Erik Thomson, along with writers Matthew Vesely (F*cking Adelaide) and Jodie Molloy (TVNZ s Agent Anna). This project is financed with support from the South Australian Film Corporation. International sales will be handled by ABC Commercial.
The television drama blocklines can be found here
The online projects are
amazing Grace series 2: A five-part series for Facebook and other online platforms that follows teenager Grace as she navigates life after the death of her father, starring Justine Clarke and Ben Wood. Off the back of series 1, which was a finalist for Best Australian Drama at Melbourne Webfest in 2017, the second series will see Grace find solutions to more everyday challenges, aided along the way by the memory and advice of her dad. Based on her own life, this project is written by Grace Truman who stars as herself, and is written, directed and produced by Julie Money (Wonderland).
Sonia & Cherry: A seven-part comedy for Facebook and YouTube centred on two best friends who think they know each other until they become mums. While Cherry is into attachment parenting and sugar-free food, Sonia uses apps and feeds her kids whatever will keep them from complaining. The pair navigate their different approaches to parenting in this honest look at friendship after kids. This project is written and directed by Victoria Thaine and produced by Naomi Mulholland. Thaine also stars alongside Petra Yared and Dave Lawson.
The full list of online blocklines can be found here
Victoria Thaine
Related MaterialsDownload PDF
Media enquiries Jessica Parry | Senior Publicist
61 2 8113 5833 | 61 428 767 836 | [email protected]
Lidia Williams | Publicist and Events Officer
61 2 8113 1091 | 61 468 784 170 | [email protected]
All other general/non-media enquiries Sydney 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne 61 3 8682 1900 | [email protected]
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
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, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
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...
27/03/2026
Marshall Electronics Showcases New Feature-Rich CV320 and CV520 IP and 3G-SDI PO...
27/03/2026
Sony Electronics Inc. Elevates Professional Video Workflows with Powerful Update...
27/03/2026
GatesAir Extends AirWatch365 Managed Service with Edge Gateway Site Appliance
Brie Clayton March 27, 2026
0 Comments
NAB marks global launch of servic...
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight will showcase the next evolution of Nimbra Edge, its orchestration and control layer designed to manage live media services across...
27/03/2026
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced powerful new innovations that further elevate the company's sports streaming solution. The advanced capabilities enh...
27/03/2026
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced significant new capabilities for Player Web X, its next-generation web video player...
27/03/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Czech-based production company CS live has equipped its newest outside broadcast (OB) van with an integrated Riedel i...
27/03/2026
130 Industry Experts Confirmed as Show Celebrates its 10th Anniversary
MPTS, the UK's largest and most influential event for the media, production and tech...
27/03/2026
Grass Valley today announced the successful completion of a major live production deployment with NVP, a leading European media company specializing in live spo...
27/03/2026
Showcases resilient solutions for satellite-to-IP migration, REMI and hybrid live production
Appear ASA (Appear, OSE:APR), a global leader in live production t...
27/03/2026
San Francisco, California, March 2026 - Microsoft Ignite, a major annual conference hosted by Microsoft for developers, IT professionals, partners and business ...
27/03/2026
Clear-Com is proud to highlight its support for worship teams through professional communication solutions, with the deployment of its EQUIP wireless system a...
27/03/2026
Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Sage Alerting Systems (SAS), in cooperation wit...
27/03/2026
Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway Brian and Dayna Lee BM '13 met and fell in love at Berklee, and now their production companys first Broadway debut i...
27/03/2026
March 27 2026, 01:30 (PDT) Dolby Unveils Dolby House Shanghai, its First Global Flagship Experience Center
A New Global Platform Showcasing Dolbys Innovatio...
27/03/2026
March 27 2026, 03:30 (PDT) Dolby and QQ Music Advance Streaming Music with Enhancements to Dolby AC-4
Delivering greater fidelity, clarity and detail to Dol...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...