Latest Screen Australia development funding approvals

Screen Australia has announced $900,000 of story development funding for 18 feature films, 10 television dramas, two online projects and one virtual reality (VR) project.

The TV projects are from production companies including Kindling Pictures, Arenamedia, FremantleMedia, Aquarius Films and more.

Screen Australia Head of Development Bobby Romia said, “This diverse slate of projects reflects a rich tapestry of creativity, from animated family adventures to thought-provoking dramas. It presents a wealth of opportunities to showcase and nurture the incredible talent we have here in Australia.”

“We’re committed to continuing our drive to invest in ambitious, quality content for audiences far and wide and I’m excited to see these teams transform their visions into compelling narratives,” said Romia.

TV projects are as follows…

Premium:

Senescence
8 x 60 mins
Mess Productions
Genre Drama, Science fiction
Director Madeleine Parry
Writers Madeleine Parry, Maddison Connaughton
Producers Madeleine Parry, Peter Hanlon
Synopsis: Ambitious 26-year-old dropout Mia gets caught in a corporate battle whilst trying to save her mother from a degenerative illness.

The Night Whistler
6 x 60 mins
Perpetual Entertainment
Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Writers Greg Woodland, Pip Karmel, Shane Salvador
Producer: Lisa Duff
Synopsis 1967 small-town bigoted NSW, a 12-year-old crime buff joins forces with an Aboriginal girl and a fallen detective to stop the mysterious animal-killer and psychopath who’s terrorizing his family.

The Servient
8 x 45 mins
Aquarius Films Pty Ltd
Genre Neo-noir Action Thriller
Creators Stella Ha Vi Do, Shiyan Zheng
Writer Shiyan Zheng
Producers Polly Staniford, Angie Fielder
Executive Producer Stella Ha Vi Do
Synopsis: When a rising management consultant learns that her Vietnamese Tiger Mum has clawed her way to the top of Western Sydney’s underworld and is now under attack from rival gangs, she must do the one thing she swore she’d never do… help her mum.

The Outer Dark
8 x 60 mins
Rhapsody Films Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime
Director Rhys Graham
Writers Rhys Graham, Marieke Hardy, Thomas Wilson-White, Penelope Chai
Producer Alice Willison
Synopsis: In 1993, four friends in their final year of high school find their destinies forever changed by one of Australia’s most notorious serial killer cases.

CoDependent
8 x 30 mins
Nondescript Productions
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writers Celeste Barber, Belinda King
Producers Celeste Barber, Alexandra Keddie
Synopsis: Marriage counsellor, Darcy, is forced to face her own relationship demons when her husband of 15 years leaves her for someone new.

Generate

Wishes (pictured)
26 x 7 mins
Karu-Karu
Genre Family, Adventure, Fantasy
Director Ana Maria Mendez Salgado
Producer Carlos Manrique Clavijo
Executive Producer Colin South
Synopsis: Wishes is an animated series about a five-year-old girl, Lucy, and her young Guardian-creature Kino. Whenever Lucy feels the struggles of others and wishes she could do something to help, Kino materialises into Lucy’s world of magical solutions, helping her shape them into selfless acts of kindness.

Pick Up
8 x 30 mins
Kindling Pictures Holdings Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Creator/Director Taylor Ferguson
Writers Taylor Ferguson, Jessica Tuckwell, Enoch Mailangi
Producer Emelyne Palmer
Executive Producer Imogen Banks
Synopsis: Pick Up follows Koen, a musician on the cusp of fame, battling a chronic illness. Introduced to fecal transplants, he begins an intense daily poo pick up from strangers. As his life grows increasingly public, Koen struggles to maintain his donors’ expectations while navigating the bizarre world of bodily waste, upon which his health now depends. Pick Up is an eight-part series about the intricate dance of transaction and intimacy, the complexities of falling in love, and the daily demands of a chronic illness.

Fresh!
8 x 30 mins
FremantleMedia Australia Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writers Nikki Tran, Simon Trevorrow
Development Producer Anna Curtis
Synopsis: A sharp-tongued, headstrong asylum seeker, Nesrine, bends the rules of a chaotic and insular Melbourne market to claw back her former standing in life.

Sharpened Knives
8 x 30 mins
Arenamedia Pty Limited
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writer Mararo Wangai
Producer Kate Laurie
Synopsis: Kaka is an affluent Kenyan student living in Fremantle, attending a prestigious business school on family dime and barely passing. When his parent’s money inexplicably dries up, he is forced to work as a dishwasher in a volatile kitchen full of eclectic characters, each caught up in the labyrinthine Australian migration system that is built to keep them down.

Brand-Aids
8 x 30 mins
Tin Pang
Genre Dramedy
Director Tin Pang
Writers Tin Pang, Amy Stewart
Producer Tin Pang
Mentor/Executive Producer Linda Ujuk
Synopsis: A group of advertising misfits from the minority bench are transformed into Mad Men for the woke age when their white bread agency forces them to give makeovers to ads that have been #cancelled. But will their newfound influence contort them into the very overlords that have constantly oppressed them?