Screen NSW funding approvals

Screen NSW has approved funding for a number of projects in Children’s and Factual Television.

They comprise part of $625,000 invested in two new feature films, a children’s series, a feature documentary and three factual programs.

“The three factual programs will be produced in regional NSW, so the economic benefit of the substantial production spend will be experienced across the State,” Minister for the Arts Troy Grant said.

Children’s TV series

Title: Tashi
Company: Tashi Production Pty Ltd
Locations: Sydney
Screen NSW support: $200,000 grant from Production Finance Fund
Jobs and production investment: 92 NSW jobs and NSW production spend of $5,141,392.
Production dates: TBC
Synopsis: Animated series. When Jack’s parents bundle him off to stay with his distant cousin, Tashi, the two boys become swept up in a series of wild adventures exploring a fantastical land far, far away, and banding together to protect Tashi’s village from a host of creatures and villains. Tashi is based on a series of highly successful Australian books (over 1 million sold) that has developed a strong following in Australia, the UK and Canada, and 18 other countries where the books have been published.

Factual Series

Title: Inside the Inferno
Company: Smith&Nasht for Wildfire Films Pty Ltd
Locations: Yarralumla, Minimbah, Mogo, Winmalee, Wollondilly, Wollemi,
Wagga Wagga
Screen NSW support: $30,000 grant from the Regional Filming Fund
Jobs and production investment: 42 NSW jobs and NSW production spend of $1,304,134.
Production dates: January to August 2014
Synopsis: Inside The Inferno takes us into the terrifying heart of a major fire event, unfolding the science that explains how fires start, grow, change, and how we predict, prevent, fight and, hopefully, survive these violent natural disasters. This is the most comprehensive examination of the science of big fires ever attempted, and it will be filmed using ground-breaking techniques that reveal the awesome power of fires and the immense effort that goes into fighting them.

Title: Village Vets Australia
Company: VTV Pty Ltd
Locations: Southern Highlands NSW
Screen NSW support: $25,000 grant from the Regional Filming Fund
Jobs and production investment: 22 NSW jobs and NSW production spend of $1,794,844.
Production dates: TBC
Synopsis: Village Vets Australia is a series about the bonds between humans and animals, the bonds between people in a small community and, most importantly, the bond between two ‘bloody good mates’, as we follow university friends Anthony Bennett and James Carroll at work in their mixed veterinary practice in country NSW.

Factual Single

Title: Vietnam ANZACS
Company: Battle of Balmoral Pty Ltd
Locations: Cobbitty, Brownlow Hill
Screen NSW support: $20,000 grant from the Regional Filming Fund
Jobs and production investment: 20 NSW jobs and NSW production spend of $727,521.
Production dates: June 2014 (re-enactments)
Synopsis: Vietnam ANZACS tells the story of the 1968 battles of Coral and Balmoral, a few of the men who fought in them, and the psychological scars they have been wearing ever since. The film will use a mixture of archive, contemporary interview and dramatisation to connect modern viewers with the reality of battle and the historical narrative of the people behind it.