SBS, NITV and Screen Australia have announced the 10 shortlisted projects for the Digital Original Short Form initiative, which received more than 200 submissions from across the country this year.
The program is designed as a springboard for underrepresented creators to enter the industry and incorporates immersive workshops where teams have the opportunity to strengthen their storywriting skillsets and develop projects in line with the SBS Charter and SBS Commissioning Inclusion Guidelines.
Currently being held in Sydney, this year’s workshop features sessions with industry mentors including Alistair Baldwin, Hannah Ngo, Jub Clerc, Julie Kalceff, Mithila Gupta, Nicole Coventry and Taofia Pelesasa.
The project will culminate in the team’s pitch to SBS, NITV and Screen Australia, with up to five projects selected for further development funding. From these, up to three scripted series will progress to obtain production funding and premiere on SBS On Demand, SBS Viceland and NITV.
Previous titles published through this initiative include Series Mania’s Choice series Moonbird (2025); Appetite (2023) premiered at the Canneseries TV Festival and was nominated for the Rose d’Or. Night Bloomers (2023) won the 2024 Australian Writers Guild (AWG) Award for Best Web Series. And Late Comers (2022), which also premiered in the Cannes series, won the 2024 AACTA Award for Best Online Drama or Comedy.
Nakul Rega, Head of Scripts at SBS, said Digital Originals continues to be “one of the world’s most influential channels for visionary new voices to break through and tell bold, original scripted stories.”
“This is the cornerstone of SBS’s commitment to developing the next generation of screen creative,” he said. We were selected from over 200 applications and can’t wait to work with these talented colleagues and help bring their stories to life. ”
Dena Curtis, head of Indigenous production and production at NITV, agreed, calling the initiative a “powerful pathway for Indigenous creators to grow, develop and enter the industry.”
“We are delighted to have such a wide range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander projects shortlisted this year, reflecting the strength of emerging talent. We can’t wait to see these bold new voices continue to evolve and share their stories with NITV viewers.”
Screen Australia director of narrative content Louise Gough said she couldn’t wait to see what came out of this year’s cohort.
“Digital Originals is a significant talent development initiative and partnership with SBS and NITV that has created a concrete pathway for early career creators from diverse backgrounds to tell bold, unique stories to Australian audiences,” she said.
The selected projects are as follows.
Bump Into You: When deaf James meets Frankie, a deaf signer, an unexpected romance forces them to confront their identities, family expectations, and what it means to belong.
Team: Nathan Borg, Sam Martin.
DURIES: Jason and Vinay are two clumsy wannabe infantrymen in the Tobacco War who are on the run after burning down the wrong building.
Team: Kevin Hung, Michaela Le, Rohan Ganju.
Good Boy: A lonely motel receptionist falls in love with a man in prison. Her fantasy life tilts toward the reality of crime when she imitates the crime to prove his innocence.
Team: Rebecca Metcalfe, Anu Hasbold.
Jelly Bean: As opening night approaches, a Torres Strait Islander choreographer faces the toughest decision of her life: hide her pregnancy, become a mother, or choose to be herself.
Team: Brooke Collard, Aaliyah Jade Bradberry.
Lupus: Two mismatched brothers must put aside their tangled differences to save their crumbling family rug store. But when a corpse is discovered wrapped in their signature rug, their final shot at redemption twists into a knot that may never be undone.
Team: Kautal Abdulalim, Oz Malik, Nour Khobros.
Musket: When Elijah dumps a stolen colonial-era musket into Benny’s house, the two Koli best friends are forced into a tense overnight mission to return it. They overcome unruly classmates, buried memories, and the silent weight of an all-boys school in a town that has never truly treated them as equals.
Team: Jack Steele, Bronte Gosper.
Rogue One: Community policing encounters chaos in the Top End, where justice is ambiguous, young people are smarter than cops, and the local barbecue holds more information than headquarters.
Team: Mema Munro, Sian McCue, Rebecca Parker.
Scammer: After retiree Dennis Reynolds loses his life savings to a scam caller, he reluctantly teams up with young aged care worker Anika Luthra to outwit the scammer. But as Annika and Denise grow closer to the truth about each other, a bigger deception is uncovered closer to home.
Team: Mehma Malhi, Xavier Hazard, Paige Falehinga.
“The Salt Line” (tentative title): When a Torres Strait Islander detective returns home to investigate bones floating out of the mudflats, he becomes embroiled in a case that threatens to engulf the island, revive old stories, and hide the truth beneath the tide.
Team: John Harvey, Walter Wyre, Mariana Babia.
Uterus for Improvement: Kaz just wants to relax, until her baby-obsessed girlfriend, comatose Nan, and sassy Aboriginal AI drag her into the wild experience of queer parenting. Matriarchy meets Motherboard in this quirky comedy about starting a family, blackfella style.
Team: Turley Fereday, Damien Pradier.
