Five TV projects in development funding

Screen Australia has announced five television series are amongst $675,000 of Story Development funding.

Amongst the TV projects are Over and Out, about the struggles of raising toddlers, and Jeremy The Dud, a TV comedy exploring the moments of challenge and levity when living with a disability.

Nerida Moore, Head of Development at Screen Australia said, “We are pleased to see that our revised Story Development programs are supporting a new wave of Australian storytellers while also supporting mid-career and experienced creators. In 2018/19, 59% of successful applicants* for the Generate Fund had never received Screen Australia Story Development funding before. This is an extraordinary outcome and way beyond our expectations.”

“We’re also pleased to see a much more even spread of our development funding across film, television and online, better reflecting the screen market.”

“The Premium Fund is also proving fit for purpose, with experienced creators taking creative risks and dreaming big in terms of story, audience and potential production values.”

It’s also been a year since Screen Australia significantly changed its development guidelines. Historically Screen Australia development has focused on feature films, but now 57.5% of projects funded across Generate and Premium have a television or online release in mind.

In 2018/19 Screen Australia received 378 Story Development applications across the Premium and Generate Funds, up nearly 76% from 215 applications in 2017/18. In the last 12 months, Screen Australia has provided Story Development funds to a total of 80 projects out of a pool of 296 projects that were creatively assessed during the financial year. This included 48 through the Generate Fund and 32 through the Premium Fund.

TV

Wellness
See-Saw Films (TV) Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Executive Producers Rachel Gardner, Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Samantha Strauss, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning
Writer Samantha Strauss
Synopsis Wellness is a character study about a fascinating young woman who could only exist now.

Sex in the West
Wooden Horse
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer Jude Troy
Director Fadia Abboud
Writers Fadia Abboud, Sarah Walker, Amal Awad
Story Consultant Jane Espenson
Synopsis Best friends since childhood, Samira and Rima are two 30-something Arab chicks. One Muslim, one Christian; one married, one widowed. Both bitch-slapped by life. Their worlds are turned upside down when their desires and ambitions come into conflict with family and community expectation. Sex in the West is a surprising, sexy, poignant and often hilarious celebration of love and friendship – and finding family in the most unexpected of places.

Over and Out
Midwinter Films, 33 Films
Genre Post-apocalyptic family comedy
Producer Bridget Callow-Wright
Co-producers Abi Tabone, Gemma Knight
Writers Adele Vuko, Christiaan Van Vuuren
Director TBC
Synopsis Two parents, Lewis and Freya, are struggling to survive the trials and tribulations of raising toddlers… Whilst being smack bang in the middle of the post-apocalypse.

Technically Yes
Factor 30 Films Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Science fiction
Producer Melissa Kelly, Louise Smith
Executive Producer Ryan Hodgson
Writer/Creator Alicia Walsh
Synopsis On a remote island in the near future, selected guests have the chance to experience love via the augmented reality game Hotel Amore as part of a bold experiment to prove there is such a thing as a soul mate.