Bunya Productions appoints new producer

Former Head of the Indigenous Department at Screen Australia Penny Smallacombe (pictured right) is joining Bunya Media Group (Mystery Road, Copping It Black, The Moth Effect, Sweet Country).

At Screen Australia for 6 years, she oversaw a large slate of titles including Total Control, She Who Must Be Loved, We Don’t Need a Map, Grace Beside Me and Little J and Big Cuz. She also created numerous special initiatives which have provided development opportunities for emerging writing, directing and producing talents.

At Bunya, Smallacombe will produce a number of major upcoming productions including Copping It Black, with key creatives Erica Glynn, Steven McGregor and Danielle MacLean which commences production in the Northern Territory in June 2021.

David Jowsey said, “We are delighted that Penny Smallacombe will be joining us at Bunya Productions as Producer, firstly working with Greer and me on the SBS series Copping It Black. Penny is a terrific creative, with a great eye for story.

“We will relish working alongside her on our television and feature projects. We are also very excited about the incredibly strong television drama and comedy slate that Sophia Zachariou, along with the team, has developed, with Amazon Prime Originals sketch comedy series The Moth Effect being the first cab off the rank. Sophia’s strength in the comedy and entertainment areas, in particular, has helped enormously in developing a broader range of stories and we are thrilled to be able to launch Bunya Entertainment with such a strong slate.”

Penny Smallacombe added, “It’s a great privilege to leave my beloved role at Screen Australia, and join the extremely successful team at Bunya Productions. Working alongside David, Greer and the rest of the super experienced team, will be a bit of a dream fulfilled. I also can’t wait to hit the ground running on the Bunya slate of productions, kicking off with Copping It Black, set in the NT, which will be a beautiful return home for me.”