Newcomer Tehia Makani plays a young creative forced to deal with the chaotic cinema shoot in West West Australia with Jub Clerc’s warm props, which premiere on NITV and SBS On Demand on June 26th.
Based on Clerc’s personal experience as an extracasting director, writer, director and actor, the series follows the protagonist Charlie Flogim (Makani), who returns to her far-off hometown Bloom, facing someone she never saw again. The cast also includes Rarriwuy Hick and Jillian Nguyen.
Kimberly Benjamin was co-writer and co-director alongside Krelk, produced for Rum Production by Bloom-based Jodi Bell.
Warm Props is one of three new short series screenings on SBS via the Digital Originals Initiative along with Moonbird (Tasmania) and Moni (NSW).
The trio received initial funding through the Screen Australia, SBS and NITV programs in August 2022, and was selected from seven titles to receive further development funding in March last year.
Bell said he was honored to work with Clerc and Benjamin to bring the former story to the screen.
“Being able to film the entire series in my hometown of Rubibi is always an amazing experience because I love using a lot of locals in front and behind the camera to showcase our country and talent,” she said.
“It was a long journey. We all learned a lot along the way. We would like to thank the whole team at SBS, Screen Australia and Screen West, raise us along the way, and thank the whole deadly cast and crew.”
ScreenWest CEO Rikki Lea Bestall said her agency is dedicated to helping Western Australia First Nations Screen Practitioners develop their craft.
“This is a collaboration of some of Western Australia’s finest First Nations Storytellers and I’m excited to see Jub, Kimba and Jodie’s creativity gather on screen,” she said.
