Latest Screen Australia development funding

Six television dramas and 23 feature films will share in over $810,000 of story development funding for Screen Australia.

Among the funded projects is Willy (pictured), the latest animation series from Ludo Studio, the production company behind world-wide phenomenon Bluey.

Screen Australia Head of Development Bobby Romia said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to be supporting such a diverse array of TV drama and feature film projects in this latest development slate. All of these projects are driven by teams deeply connected to the content they’re creating, opening up new avenues for creative expression whilst championing new voices to tell their unique stories. Screen Australia will be following each of their development journeys closely.”

Television projects:

Premium:

Willy
10 x 24 mins
Ludo Holdings Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama, Animation
Creators Samuel Leighton-Dore, Bradley Tennant
Writer/Director Samuel Leighton-Dore
Producer Liam Heyen
Development Producer Chloe Hume
Executive Producers Daley Pearson, Charlie Aspinwall
Synopsis Willy is a 10-part coming-of-age animated series. It’s 2003 and 15-year-old Willy is on the cusp of a sexual awakening, which would be great if he wasn’t stuck in the rural sugarcane farming town of Toee. Willy’s only salvation is his colourful imagination and the cast of fantastical friends who inhabit it, including razor-tongued rescue cat Beverley and a scornful op-shop portrait of the Virgin Mary. But soon the arrival of hot new neighbour Jack threatens to bust Willy’s carefully constructed inner-world wide open, changing the lives of Toee locals forever.

Generate:

Are We Good?
8 x 30 mins
Makes You Think Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writers Ben Manusama (aka Ben Abraham), Liam Maguire
Producers Ben Manusama (aka Ben Abraham), Liam Maguire
Executive Producer Debs Paterson
Synopsis Inspired by real events, Are We Good? is a dramedy about a young Christian leader who, on the eve of being announced as a new pastor at his parents’ church, confesses to his fiancée that he cheated on her with a man off craigslist. What follows is the messy, heartening, darkly-funny story of a man trying to reconcile the person he is with the religion he’s devoted his life to.

The Golden Ass
6 x 40 mins
Goalpost Television
Genre Family Drama, Comedy
Writer Lâle Teoman
Executive Producers Rosemary Blight, Kylie du Fresne
Development Producer Polly Rowe
Synopsis A mixed-Cypriot family descends into chaos when patriarch, Mazhar, has a spectacular meltdown in the Fruit and Vegetable section of the local supermarket. The resulting notoriety lures his adult children home but, instead of dealing with the mess, they are drawn into a desperate plan: to create a viral cooking show with Mazhar and his delinquent pet donkey as the stars. Can they reach 1 million followers or will death and dysfunction stand in their way?

Half a Man
8 x 30 mins
Christopher Squadrito
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writer/Producer Chris Squadrito
Script Editor Blake Ayshford
Synopsis After outing himself as bisexual, 30-year-old personal trainer Max Morello strives to keep his engagement afloat and his sense of masculinity intact – only to find his newfound evolution shifting the very nature of his relationship, his family, and his group of all-too Australian mates.

Die and Let Live
8 x 30 mins
Chemical Media Pty Ltd
Genre Black comedy, Drama
Creators Beth Knights, Tony Jackson
Writer Beth Knights
Producers Tony Jackson, Lucy Maclaren
Executive Producer David Collins
Synopsis When newly pregnant Olivia fakes her own death to escape a dangerous marriage to a criminal in Ireland, she re-surfaces with a new identity as a single mum in the suburbs of Perth – the most remote city on earth. Resourceful, ambitious, and not entirely averse to illicit activity, Olivia soon realises she can earn a decent living helping all sorts of desperate people fake their deaths too. While her black-market business is booming, Olivia’s hard-won new life is about to unravel with disastrous consequences.

Going Troppo
8 x 30 mins
Sanity Productions
Genre Comedy Drama
Writer Kate Wyvill
Producer Kate Wyvill
Script Consultant Katherine Thomson
Story Consultant Kamahi D’Jordon King
First Nations Consultant Nadine Lee
Synopsis An on the run, greed is good tax avoidance accountant flees Sydney and jail for anonymity in the sweltering madness of 1980s Darwin, the home of her long-lost apparently wealthy father. Discovering that her father is actually a destitute tempestuous drag queen and unimpressed by her sudden arrival, is as good a liar as herself and as emotionally immature, she embarks on a turbulent mission to win his admiration and turn his bankrupt gay bar into a spectacular success. Amidst Darwin’s tropical insanity where rules and conduct are bent as far as the humid heat will allow, she does her best to keep her head above water, reinvent herself and find a common ground with her infuriating father. Or dare she say it, love.