4 projects chosen in Mentor to Market initiative

Top L-R: Nicole Dade, Linda Mesko, Rachel Higgins, Jasmin Tarasin, Charis Orchard, Robbie Miles and Shannon Wilson
Bottom L-R: Sarah de Possesse, Kate Separovich, Tricia-Lyn Morosin, Gabrielle McKinlay, Georgina Jenkins

Four filmmaker teams have been chosen as the benefactors of industry accelerator program, Mentor to Market.

They include TV projects in development Edge of the Woods, Family Happiness and Last Frontier, and feature film Blackbirds.

The recipients were selected from a group of 12 teams that recently participated in Dame Changer’s professional women’s program, Screen Tank.

The four project teams will progress to a 12-month program that pairs teams with industry professionals who provide project-specific coaching and mentoring to propel the projects into the market place.

While three teams normally progress to Mentor to Market, organisers were so impressed by projects that they selected a fourth, Highly Commended project to join the program.

The projects are:

Teen fantasy series Edge of the Woods about a young women’s fight to free her people from old world traditions from producers Kate Separovich and Rachel Higgins and writer Ceinwen Langley;

Bold drama series Family Happiness, 18th Century Tolstoyian movement meets near-future utopian bliss, from producer Linda Micsko of Photoplay Films, writer Nicole Dade and director Jasmin Tarasin;

Comedic road movie Blackbirds about an old woman who manipulates her carer into taking her on a road trip to retrieve her hidden lifesavings before the family home is sold, from writer/producer Georgina Jenkins and producer Shannon Wilson-McClinton; and

Highly Recommended documentary series Last Frontier from producer Jodie Bell, writer Dot West and director Kimberley West, which explores Aboriginal people’s experience in the Kimberley Pastoral Industry.

The team behind Edge of the Woods said: “It’s fantastic that a program like Screen Tank exists to accelerate series such as Edge of the Woods towards being commissioned. It’s so important, especially for those of us from Western Australia, to have face-to-face networking opportunities with the people who can make this happen.

“Based on the Amazon-charting novel of the same name, Edge of the Woods is a female-centric narrative dealing with the universal themes of gender inequality, social status and grief. We feel the timing could not be better for us to tell this story and thank you to Dame Changer for helping make this happen.”

The team behind Blackbirds added, “We’re completely thrilled to have been selected for the Dame Changer Mentor to Market project accelerator program. The Screen Tank intensive workshop provided us with some incredible feedback and the ability to assess our project with renewed vision and this further opportunity is fantastic, not just for our film Blackbirds but also for the further development of our screen careers.”

Ramu Productions, the team behind Last Frontier, stated: “We’re thrilled to have been selected for Dame Changer’s Mentor to Market project accelerator program. Last Frontier is a really important story and we look forward to working with our mentors so we can share our story with Australia and the world.”

“We’re so proud of this year’s line-up and congratulate all four teams on progressing to the Mentor to Market program,” said Dame Changer advisor board member Jennifer Naughton. “Emboldening broader, more inclusive voices is a crucial part of our work at the Dame Changer and these stories, which inspired us, moved us and even occasionally made us uncomfortable, perfectly represent the capacity for female filmmakers to shift our perspectives, spark conversation, create change and entertain an audience.”

As part of the Screen Tank program, which took place in Sydney from 1-3 May, the 12 teams took part in an intensive three-day workshop, including a project market review session to further define and market-validate film and TV projects, and generate the momentum towards financing. At the conclusion of the program, the teams pitched their projects to distributors in one-on-one meetings and receive constructive feedback.

The program was facilitated by film and distribution consultant Beatrice Neumann, Oscar-nominated writer/producer Meg LeFauve (Inside Out, Captain Marvel); producer of The Babadook, Cargo and The Nightingale Kristina Ceyton; Screen Herd content strategist, Beatrix Holland; and Jonathan Page, founder of film production and distribution company Bonsai Films.

Dame Changer is an Australian professional women’s collective providing opportunities in training and networking for women in the screen industry. The organisation is actively building awareness of gender bias and aims to break down the barriers to career growth being experienced by mid-career screen industry women.

For more information visit www.damechanger.com