Little J and Big Cuz leads to SDIN Award

Ned Lander Media has won the inaugural Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network Award for NITV kids’ series Little J and Big Cuz.

The award recognises a significant contribution to diversity and inclusion, on and off screen, within the Australian screen industry.

SDIN Chair Courtney Gibson said, “For decades Ned Lander has been producing screen works in complete creative collaboration with Indigenous screen practitioners, going right back to the feature Wrong Side of the Road, made with the bands No Fixed Address and Us Mob. The creation of the first-ever Australian animated series targeted to an Indigenous audience, Little J and Big Cuz, is a continuation of that collaborative approach.”

Logie Award winning Little J and Big Cuz was directed and designed by Tony Thorne, with multi-award winning filmmaker Beck Cole as Voice Director, and Neil Salmon as Animation Director. The series was written by Dot West, Jon Bell, Beck Cole, Erica Glynn, Danielle MacLean, Clare Madsen and Bruce Pascoe. Produced by Ned Lander, with script producers Clare Madsen and Kym Goldsworthy, co-producers Alicia Rackell and Colin Smith and executive producers Lisa Norris and Jenny Lalor. Line Producer was Liz O’Dea. Development workshops included Leah Purcell, Margaret Harvey and Adrian Wills.

Little J and Big Cuz features an all-star voice cast which includes Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsell, Ningali Lawford-Wolf, Aaron Fa’Aoso, Ursula Yovich, Shari Sebbens, Renee Lim, Mark Coles Smith, Katie Beckett, Kylie Farmer and Miah Madden.