Screen Australia has announced over $8.1 million in production funding for 15 projects spanning feature film, television and online content.
This includes production funding for two television projects for Stan from Lingo Pictures and Gristmill plus development funding for a whopping 27 new television projects.
Screen Australia CEO Deirdre Brennan said, “These latest projects reflect the depth of creative storytelling that defines the Australian screen industry. We support projects that entertain and resonate with audiences. Our aim is to champion authentic local voices and ensure our sector remains at the forefront of global storytelling.”
“For the 2023/24 financial year, Screen Australia invested over $85 million across all 57 funding programs, including over $5.5 million through the First Nations Department, and issued 205 final certificates through the Producer Offset with a total value of $413 million. Demand on Screen Australia support remained high, with the agency supporting just under a third of all applications received. We’ll continue to seek ways to provide impactful support within our limited capacity, prioritising audience connection, industry value and cultural relevance.”
Production Funding
ELEVEN (WORKING TITLE)
6 x 60 mins
Gristmill Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Writer/Directors Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope (pictured)
Producers Robyn Butler, MaryAnne Carroll, Wayne Hope
Executive Producers Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, Greg Sitch
Broadcaster Stan
International Sales Hat Trick International
Synopsis A young woman struggles to get over the death of her fiancé.
WATCHING YOU (WORKING TITLE)
6 x 60 mins
Lingo Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Thriller
Writers Alexei Mizin, Ryan Van Dijk
Producers Jason Stephens, Bree-Anne Sykes
Executive Producers Helen Bowden, Cailah Scobie, Alicia Brown
Broadcaster Stan
International Sales ITV Studios
Synopsis A gripping psychological thriller based on J.P. Pomare’s novel The Last Guests.
Development Funding
Premium
HOTEL NOWHERE
6 x 60 mins
JOY Studios Pty Ltd
Genre Impossible Romance, Mystery, Dark Comedy
Creators Anna Lindner, Linda Ujuk, Kate Butler
Writer Anna Lindner
Producer Kate Butler
Co-Producer Rebecca Elliott
Executive Producer Linda Ujuk
Synopsis Kitty, a woman dealing with inconsolable grief over the death of her friend, Silas, turns to the latest grief-tech to meet him halfway in limbo to chance an act of courage that could change the course of everything.
LOOKING FOR LOVE
8 x 30 mins
The Unicorn Squad
Genre Romantic Comedy
Co-Creators Nastasia Campanella, Kate Mulvany, Matt Okine
Writers Kate Mulvany, Matt Okine
Producers Jude Troy, Richard Finlayson
Executive Producers Nastasia Campanella, Kate Mulvany, Matt Okine, Jude Troy, Richard Finlayson, Polly Staniford, Angie Fielder
Development Executive Melissa Lee Speyer
Synopsis A wry romantic comedy about Allegra, a young woman navigating life and love at a high-end fashion magazine – footloose, fancy-free and born blind. She can’t physically see but she can still see through the bullsh*t.
MASTER FILE
6 x 52 mins
Stephen John Corvini
Genre Action adventure, Thriller
Writers Steven McGregor, Greg Waters, Steve Lewis
Creative Consultant Richard Cartwright
Producers Stephen Corvini, Aaron Fa’aoso
Executive Producers Aaron Fa’aoso, Sally Regan, Steve Lewis
Synopsis A family mystery lies at the heart of a betrayal. When Cape York man Jake Waters is assigned to a crack crime-busting unit in Sydney, he’ll confront the tainted past of his own heritage and a global conspiracy to silence the truth. Jake’s life will be placed in danger as he discovers his people’s land has been marked for an extraordinary development, one that elite forces will do anything to cover up. Dark secrets are revealed in a world where there’s nowhere to hide and no one to trust.
MAJESTY
6 x 60 mins
Perpetual Entertainment
Genre Drama
Director Al Reid
Writers James Saunders, Al Reid, Michele Lee
Producer Greg Quail
Synopsis 1899 Melbourne. Former sex worker Lucy Sullivan returns to Chinatown, alone and destitute, having been forced to give up her illegitimate baby. At her lowest ebb, struggling to survive by working in a laundry, she finds herself with a delivery for Her Majesty’s theatre, where she ingeniously helps rescue theatre impresario JC Williamson’s biggest and riskiest show ever. One taste of the stage and Lucy is hooked, soon working her way deep into Melbourne’s theatrical and political world. However, when betrayals and backstabbing thwart her ambitions, Lucy is propelled to start her own theatre company, using all her skills and guile to tame the increasingly volatile streets of this growing city to become the first female theatre owner, just as a colony seeks to become a nation.
THE UNLIKELY FUGITIVE
8 x 60 mins
Rhapsody Films Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Thriller
Writers Anna Barnes, Alice McCredie-Dando
Producer Alice Willison
Synopsis After losing a bitter custody battle, a young mother abducts her infant daughter, triggering a 20-year international manhunt.
POLYSATURATED
8 x 45 mins
Michelle Offen
Genre Drama, Romantic comedy
Co-Creators Michelle Offen, Trudy Hellier
Development Producer Darren Ashton
Director Fadia Abboud
Writers Michelle Offen, Trudy Hellier, Amy Stewart, Thomas Duncan-Watt, Matthew Bon
Synopsis Polysaturated: I’m with him, and her…. and them. Polysaturated dives under the covers to explore Consensual Non-Monogamy. The series interweaves different forms of polyamorous relationships via hetero parents, Cyd & Henry; bi-divorcee, Eve; and gay throuple, Vince, Dane & George. We follow these individuals as they navigate a surprising world of love, sex, honesty, heartbreak, tenderness and an eyewatering use of Google calendar.
GHOST HUNTER
10 x 30 mins
Mangrove Films Pty Ltd T/A Bunya Productions
Genre Thriller
Writer Belinda Chayko
Producers Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey
Executive Producer Ben Lawrence
Synopsis A ghost hunter with a big heart attracts a tribe of young paranormal obsessives. But an investigation into his own haunted past sends them on a dangerous hunt for a flesh-and-blood monster.
REZ’S FORTUNE
8 x 30 mins
Confidante Pictures
Genre Comedy, Mystery, Romance
Creator/Executive Producer Shash Lall
Writers Shash Lall, Kodie Bedford, Benjamin Law
Script Editor Erica Harrison
Producer Belinda Dean
Synopsis On receipt of a mysterious clue, bereft Rez Porter reconnects with his only living family back in Australia and together with his new found posse, finally uncovers the truth about his parents’ unsolved disappearance.
WILD
8 x 60 mins
Lovely B Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Thriller, Psychological drama
Writer Kodie Bedford
Producers Kodie Bedford, Liliana Muñoz
Synopsis Fuelled by vengeance after the murder of her mother and sister, Emma’s fantasy of killing turns into a real mission of payback when she encounters her family’s killer at a grocery store.
THE DRESSMAKERS OF YARRANDARRAH PRISON
6 x 60 mins
CJZ Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Writers Peter Gawler, Adrian Russell Wills, Anchuli Felicia King
Producers Claire Tonkin, Elisa Argenzio
Synopsis An unlikely story in an uncommon prison setting about a jailed father, an estranged daughter, a group of criminals and what starts out as a very bad idea to make a wedding dress. Based on the bestselling novel by Meredith Jaffé, the series asks – is it ever too late for a second chance?
SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN
8 x 60 mins
Dollhouse Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Writer/Creator Jessie Stephens
Executive Producer Jessica Carrera
Synopsis An aspiring writer wakes up in a psychiatric unit on the eve of her 29th birthday – how did life go so terribly wrong?
ACID TONGUE
6 x 30 mins
Domino Crescent Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writer/Director Kacie Anning
Producer Kacie Anning
Synopsis When a radical act of truth telling from a junior PR executive creates an explosive media storm, the ripple effect inspires four women from different generations to unleash their own ‘acid tongues’ and start speaking honestly when it comes to their relationships, workplaces, motherhood, health and justice. A 6 x 30 min dark comedy.
WHAT I KNOW NOW ABOUT LOVE
8 x 30 mins
BBC Studios Productions Australia Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Family
Creator/Writer David Hannam
Writers Liz Doran, Thomas Wilson-White, Adrian Chiarella, Hannah Samuel
Executive Producers David Hannam, Warren Clarke
Synopsis A fast-moving 8 x 30 multi-generational rom-com/drama propelled by a chaotic, unconventional pact to pursue a second chance at love, made between widowed late-60s father, Rob, and his gay, recently separated, 40-year-old son Jay. As they embark on their respective romantic misadventures, they must also parent Jay’s teenage son, Kit, as he embarks on his first romance. The series explores love, vulnerability and relationships from a uniquely male point of view – in the most female-friendly way.
UNDERCOVER FAIRY GODMOTHER
6 x 30 mins
Lucy Durack and Daina Reid
Genre Comedy
Writer Penny Flanagan
Producers Daina Reid, Lucy Durack
Synopsis A flailing police detective wakes up to find herself with magical fairy godmother powers. She has to figure out how to harness them while keeping them secret and keeping her job, as she makes her way through her life; granting wishes and solving crimes.
QUOTA
6 x 55 mins
GoodThing Productions
Genre Drama, Crime, Thriller
Writer David Chidlow, Jock Serong
Producers Nick Batzias, Virginia Whitwell
Synopsis Based on the Ned Kelly award-winning book of the same name, Quota is an evocative and gritty thriller that takes the audience deep into the underbelly of small town Australia; into the cold pre-dawn world of commercial fishing both within and beyond the boundaries of the law and into a moral quicksand where criminal justice offers no solutions.
SKIN IN THE GAME
8 x 30 mins
Tony Ayres Productions
Genre Comedy, Drama
Creator Lola Button
Writers Hannah Carroll Chapman, Lola Button, Paddy Macrae, Alberto Di Troia, Kasumi Giselle Borczyk
Producer Sarah Clayton
Executive Producers Andrea Denholm, Tony Ayres
Synopsis As a ‘f*** you’ to her mum, Mali gets a job at a strip club where, after lying about her background, she falls in with Daisy, the club’s top earner and notoriously untouchable showgirl. Skin in the Game is an 8 x 30-minute comedy drama about privilege, gender and class tensions, and fighting back against what our parents fought to give us.
MISS CONDUCT
8 x 30 mins
Blackfella Films Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writer Tommy Murphy
Producers Darren Dale, Penny Smallacombe
Executive Producer Tommy Murphy
Synopsis After a medical catastrophe, a drag queen is told she must quit or she’ll die. But, for Miss Conduct, drag is life. And now is her moment to establish her place to shine. This is a queer tale about art, commerce, community, and finding your true self.
Generate
SHAREHOUSE
8 x 30 mins
Word Ninjas
Genre Musical dramedy
Writers Ruth Estelle, Pete Monaghan, Tammy Coleman-Zweck, Smriti Daniels
Producer Stephen Luby
Synopsis Suddenly broke and homeless, socialite Calliope King is determined to claw her way back to her comfortable mansion life, but instead ends up in a squat with a disparate group of women. Incorporating original songs and authentic story, Sharehouse is a unique entertainment exploring this modern-day scourge with humour and empathy.
STARTING XI
8 x 30 mins
Shop 15
Genre Drama, Romantic comedy
Writer/Directors Hannah-Rae Meegan, Monique Terry
Producers Hannah-Rae Meegan, Monique Terry
Synopsis June attempts to write history by starting Australia’s first national women’s soccer team but even as the early 1970’s promises progress, she must face red tape from the men in charge, societal disapproval, and navigate earth shattering crushes on her teammates.
LIFE OF KEA
6 x 25 mins
Bunnitten Studios Pty Ltd and Kea Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy
Writer/Directors Lyanna Kea, Taysha McFarland, Tristan Braines
Producers Lyanna Kea, Taysha McFarland, Tristan Braines
Synopsis Blinded by her desire to feel close with her daughter again, Kea, a brazen Chinese-Malaysian woman goes to extreme measures to win over her daughter, however escalating misadventures causes their relationship to strain even more, leading Kea to learn what true friendship and motherly love really means.
BIG NOTERS
8 x 45 mins
Sara Khan
Genre Comedy, Drama, Horror
Writers Sara Khan, Nayuka Gorrie, Enoch Mailangi
Script Producer Niki Aken
Synopsis Four charismatic yet chaotic best friends are intent to shed the naive behaviours of their youth. But when a supernatural phenomena wreaks havoc on their lives, they are forced to face the possibility that they might be their own worst enemies.
LOW STEAKS
8 x 30 mins
Co-Curious Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writer Nick Atkins
Producer Kali Reid
Executive Producers Annabel Davis, Mike Jones
Synopsis A team of misfits search for love and dignity while working in a Texan themed restaurant where customers always want more and management always want to spend less.
TEAHOUSE
6 x 60 mins
Victoria Lu
Genre Drama
Writer Victoria Lu
Synopsis In 1900, Mei Quong Tart, a wealthy Chinese merchant, stakes his fortune and reputation on opening a Chinese teahouse in the heart of Sydney’s British colony. He riles up both racist British forces and downtrodden Chinese immigrants — just as Australia prepares to unify as a nation and define its identity. Inspired by a true story.
FAREWELL TOUR
8 x 30 mins
Clem Bastow
Genre Drama, Comedy
Creator Clem Bastow
Writers Clem Bastow, Marisa Nanakhorn Brown, Jonathan Gavin, Cath Moore, Tin Pang, Christos Tsiolkas
Synopsis When an exposé threatens to reveal the long-buried secrets of Melbourne’s tight-knit music scene, a group of former friends are forced to re-examine their shared histories, as cracks form in their rose-tinted memories of ‘indie sleaze’ – and their carefully constructed present.
STUCK IN PARADISE
8 x 30 mins
Unless Pictures
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writers Michele Lee, Trudy Hellier
Producer Meg O’Connell
Synopsis When a glamorous but delusional Vietnamese mother and daughter are left for broke, they band together to take back control of their lives – one manicure at a time.
WRITTEN IN BONE
6 x 54 mins
Nora & R.D. Productions
Genre Thriller, Mystery
Director Anne Renton
Writers Simon Kennedy, Danielle Maclean, Anthony Mullins
Producer Bridget May
Synopsis Phil Jackson, reclusive park ranger with a hidden past as a UK forensic anthropologist, is coaxed into a murder case by a detective. The case hints at a notorious UK serial killer, intertwining Phil’s traumatic history with a quest for justice, pushing her to face her demons and a killer potentially from her past. She collaborates with a young detective and a victim’s niece, confronting her past to seek justice and closure in a case that spans continents and decades.
SHADE
6 x 30 mins
Orange Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Writers Wendy Mocke, Huna Amweero, Sara Khan, Enoch Mailangi
Producers Wendy Mocke, Diya Eid, Dan Lake, Steph Westwood
Executive Producer Kurt Royan
Synopsis When Cilla, a neurotic Black anthropologist finds out her boyfriend has been sending dick pics to other women, her dysfunctional but lovable bestie pack swoop in to confront him. As they drag Cilla through the five stages of grief after the messy break up, he’s suddenly reported as a missing person… and they were the last to see him alive.
