Screen Australia: new dramas in development

Screen Australia has announced $700,000 in funding for Story Development of 7 television series, 4 online projects and 10 feature films.

TV projects include a supernatural drama Secret Threads set in the Hmong-Laos community of Melbourne. Co-written by Michelle Lee (pictured), Kris Wyld and Mike Jones, this was previously mentored under a Dame Changer initiative.

Other projects include Partners in Crime, a female-led crime dramedy, Log, a new kids animation, and an adaptation of  the novel The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, from creatives behind Lambs of God and Big Little Lies.

Graeme Mason, Screen Australia’s CEO said: “It’s great to see such an array of established creators utilising the Premium Fund to pursue projects of ambition and scale. We’re particularly pleased to see more television and online development coming through our doors.”

Television:

High Rotation
Cream Team
Genre Comedy, Drama, Musical
Producers James Cripps, Catherine Kelleher
Executive Producer Craig Anderson
Director Henry Stone
Writers James Cripps, Catherine Kelleher, Henry Stone
Synopsis Closeted dreamer Ella hasn’t made music in 10 years, but when an unauthorized remix of her dusty-old demo gets airplay, she decides to reignite her creative aspirations only to be confronted by the retrograde institutions of the Australian music industry.

Log
Pirate Size Productions
Genre Comedy, Animation
Producer Bryony McLachlan
Writers Nick Watson, Dan Nixon
Synopsis A log drifts into the lives of people in need and somehow always manages to help.

Partners in Crime
Bikeshed Productions
Genre Dramedy, Crime
Executive Producers/Directors/Writers Eliza Reilly, Hannah Reilly
Producer Julia Corcoran
Synopsis Sisters Katie and May are trying to make it in the crime world, without killing each other first.

Rough
Noble Savage Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producers Hayley B Johnson, Majhid Heath
Director Catriona McKenzie
Writers Kodie Bedford, Rae Earl
Synopsis A woman’s quest for financial stability through the world’s oldest profession teaches her the importance of emotional independence and freedom.

Secret Threads
Rebecca Ingram
Genre Supernatural, Thriller, Crime
Creator Rebecca Ingram
Writers Michele Lee, Kris Wyld, Mike Jones
Synopsis Within the tight-knit and superstitious Hmong-Laos community of Melbourne, a suspicious death – believed by many to be a vengeful spirit – will drive Parita Waters to uncover the truth of a government conspiracy and her family’s war-time transgressions.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Working Title)
Made Up Stories
Genre Drama, Mystery
Producers Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson, Steve Hutensky, Casey Haver, Sarah Lambert
Executive Producers Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson, Steve Hutensky, Casey Haver, Sarah Lambert
Writer Sarah Lambert
Synopsis The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Working title) tells the story of a young girl whose violent childhood casts a dark shadow over her adult life. After a family tragedy, 9-year-old Alice is raised by her grandmother on the language of Australian native flowers, a way to say the things that are too hard to speak.

Online:

Avenge My Death
unko Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Producers Belinda Dean, Ellen Fraser
Director Claudia Pickering
Writer Nicole Conway
Synopsis Wild 20-somethings Erin, Jax and Sara are inseparable – that is, until Erin goes on a date with a guy she met online and winds up dead. With the police bungling the investigation, Jax and Sara vow to hunt down her killer using the only piece of evidence they have: a d*** pic.

Misery FM
720 Creative Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy
Producer Karla Burt
Executive Producer Paul Walton
Director Tom Salisbury
Writers Michael Cleggett, James Lloyd-Smith
Synopsis An absurd series from cult comedy heroes Gravity Boots is a hilarious scripted snapshot of life inside a radio station located in the regional South Australian town of Misery.

Sundowners
On The Deck Productions
Producer/Writer Dan Prichard
Director Laura Scrivano
Genre Action adventure, Comedy, Science fiction, Family
Synopsis A mother. A son. A virus. At the end of the day, it’s all about love.

The Holy Floyd Foley
Noble Savage Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy
Producers Majhid Heath, Hayley Johnson
Writer Shane Salvador
Synopsis When Pastor Floyd Foley’s flock numbers are threatened by the arrival of a hot shot new church, he and his congregation of misfits will stop at nothing to lure the congregants back. Guided by the hilarious BAFTA winning Allan Mustafa and Hugo Chegwin, writer Shane Salvador will bring small town antics and comedy together in the mockumentary series, The Holy Floyd Foley.