Jeni Bezuidenhout, Tamara Hardman, Sophie Morgan, Nicholas Lin, Jack Voegt and Phoebe Wolfe have been selected to participate in the 2024 Australian in Film (AiF) and Screen Australia’s Untapped development lab.
The six participants, including a team of two (Hardman and Morgan), will receive individualized coaching, creative feedback and professional development support from leading screenwriters and directors.
Part of this initiative includes one-on-one story consultation and pitch coaching with screenwriting mentors Ellen Shanman and Patricia Verducci, as well as group work with veteran Australian creatives such as Monica Zanetti and Catherine Smith-McMullen. A session will take place.
The selection of participants for the development lab was made through four open-access online masterclasses featuring conversations with Danny Philippou, Alice Bell, Noura Niasari, and Sabir Pirzada.
AiF Executive Director Peter Ritchie said he looked forward to seeing the 2024 generation take the next step through this initiative.
“Each year, Untapped discovers Australia’s best up-and-coming screen talent and gives them a unique international platform and perspective,” he said.
“With huge thanks to Screen Australia and recent learnings from the Future Vision Summit on its ideation process, AiF is committed to supporting Australia’s next generation with the tools they need to find a global audience. We will support the storytellers.”
Screen Australia’s COO described the participants’ development projects as “bold and unique” while demonstrating the “depth of talent” in the field.
“We are excited to partner with AiF on this important development program dedicated to supporting emerging talent and equipping them with the skills to succeed in global markets. , congratulations,” she said.
The participants and selected projects are as follows.
Jeni Bezuidenhout – Beyond the Veil (Fantasy/Mystery Series)
Logline: When a budding criminal lawyer starts having intrusive dreams of a past life with her soulmate, she uses it to spice up the relationship. When they turn into undeniable visions, an obsessive investigation begins that takes her halfway around the world to find him. But fate is sometimes cruel, and Billy turned out to be no different.
Tamara Hardman (Director) and Sophie Morgan (Screenplay) – Forget Me, Not (Fantasy/Mystery Feature)
Logline: When Sadie wakes up with almost no memory after a mysterious accident, she must turn to a man who claims to be her boyfriend to figure out who she is. Trapped in a beautiful beach house, Adrian helps Sadie begin to put her life together, but when buried memories return, she begins to question not only their relationship, but also her own existence. I have no choice but to hold it.
Nicholas Lynn – Bigfoot Bruno (Comedy/Drama Series)
Logline: Oscar and Bigfoot team up to save his terminally ill brother from a gang of invincible drug dealers addicted to Bigfoot’s marijuana, which gives him immortality.
Jack Vogt – Hattie & Holt (SF/Romance Special)
Logline: In 1960s Australia, an interracial couple is abducted by aliens, forcing them to encounter the horrors that lurk in our skies and here on Earth.
Phoebe Wolf – Purity (Psychodrama Special)
Logline: Marianne, a seemingly conservative teenage girl, hides her sexual desires from her religious mother. When her sister unexpectedly returns home a few days before Christmas, Marianne realizes that her mother and sister may be hiding darker secrets than she is.
