Screen Australia has announced more than $8.1 million in production funding for 15 projects across feature film, television and online content.
Among the projects funded is Zack Power, a new animated family film from Flying Bark Productions and Cheeky Little Media based on the popular book series of the same name. Leviticus is the latest release from Causeway Films, the same company behind the worldwide success Talk to Me. Romantic comedy “Adjacent to Love”. Stan’s psychological thriller series “Watching You.” Hoops is an online series from the creative team behind the popular TikTok documentary Transathletica.
Screen Australia CEO Deirdre Brennan said Screen Australia had invested more than $85 million across 57 funding programs, including more than $5.5 million through the Department of Indigenous Peoples. The company has issued 205 final certificates through producer offsets, totaling $413 million through 2023. 24th year.
Projects funded for production include:
Chasing Millions: A crime drama set in Belfast in 2004, Chasing Millions follows the reluctant partners of Diana, an ambitious Australian police officer, and Crawford, a surly veteran Northern Irish detective, in Ireland, England (and Australia). ) The story of the greatest bank robbery in history. , they try to investigate and solve crimes while navigating the minefield of a fragile peace. An official Irish-Australian co-production, helmed by Irish director Stephen Burke (The Maze), based on a screenplay by Stephen Burke and Catherine Thomson (Chappelle, The Hancocks). Producers are Jane Doolan (The Maze, Wolf) of Ireland’s Mammoth Films and Michael Wren of Australia’s Invisible Republic. With major production investment from Screen Ireland, Bonsai Films will handle domestic distribution and Level K will handle international sales.
Displaced: A six-part comedy sci-fi series on YouTube about a dysfunctional physicist who is accidentally sent into the past and tries to fix his future by mentoring his younger self in the process. From writer/director Molly Daniels (The InBESTigators, Wispy), writer/producer Jem Splitter (Galacticare), and producer Rachel Morrow. Displaced is produced and developed in partnership with VicScreen and is funded with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
Hoops: From Transathletica’s team on TikTok, Hoops chronicles the journey of transgender basketball player Lexi Rogers and her battle to qualify to play on the NBL1 South team. Hoops is produced by Eliza Vaughn, with writer/director Hannah McElhinney, screenwriter Rudy Gene Rigg, and executive producer Jamie Searle of TransAthletica.
Leviticus: Leviticus is the story of two teenage boys, Naim and Ryan, who live in a conservative Christian community in regional Victoria. Their attraction to each other is identified by a local priest, and they undergo a ritual of conversion, unwittingly freeing the beings terrorizing society. town. “Leviticus” is from writer/director Adrian Chiarella, producers Hannah Go, Samantha Jennings and Christina Seiton of Causeway Films. Funded in partnership with Salmira Productions and developed and produced in partnership with VicScreen, which also supports post, digital and visual effects (PDV). PDV is also supported by Kojo Studio, with local distribution by Maslow Entertainment and international sales by Studio 301 Films.
Love Adjacent: When top chef Ryan’s restaurant goes out of business due to a review written by food critic Maggie, he is forced to return home and start over from scratch. Maggie, who coincidentally was in the same town for her sister’s wedding, is offered the help of Ryan until a catastrophe occurs and Maggie desperately needs Ryan’s help to make her sister’s wedding happen. I am determined to keep getting rid of things. Love Adjacent is a romantic comedy feature film directed by Louise Alston, written by Sarah Mayberry and Christopher Gist, and produced by Kate Whitbread and Spencer McLaren. The film is produced in association with VicScreen and distributed domestically by Umbrella Entertainment, with international sales managed by Film Seekers.
Afterlife: In this drama, horror feature film, Zoe returns to her estranged father to find a little peace after her life falls apart, but the discovery of a mysterious videotape reveals her late mother’s final moments. Everything she knew about could be undone. And her own birth. “The Posthumous” is a collaboration between screenwriter/director/producer Josh Tanner and screenwriter/producer Jade Van Der Ley, with Joel Anderson serving as executive producer. Funded in partnership with Screen Queensland. Funding is supported by Gold Coast Screen Incentives and local distribution is provided by Kismet Movies.
Saccharine: In this psychological horror film from Carver Pictures (Run Rabbit Run), a heartbroken medical student is terrorized by hungry ghosts after participating in a mysterious weight-loss fad that involves eating human ashes. . Saccharine hails from writer/director/producer Natalie Erica James and producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw. Produced in partnership with VicScreen, Maslow Entertainment will handle domestic distribution and XYZ Films will handle international sales.
Watching You: Stan’s gripping six-part psychological thriller based on the novel “The Last Guests” by JP Pomare. Watching You is created for television by Alexei Mizin and Ryan Van Dyke and produced by Jason Stevens and Breanne Sykes. Helen Borden, Kyla Scobie and Alicia Brown will serve as executive producers. It has received major production investment from Stan and is funded with support from Screen NSW through the Made in NSW Fund. Post, digital and visual effects supported by Screen NSW. It was financed and distributed in association with ITV Studios.
Zack Power: Based on the popular book series of the same name, Zack Power is a family-friendly animated production from Flying Bark Productions and Cheeky Little Media. The film was directed by Alex Staderman and David Webster, and written by Finn Edquist, John Armstrong, Lawrence Leon, and Erica Harrison. Funded in partnership with the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.
Also announced today were 27 television dramas, 23 feature films and six online projects that will share more than $1.7 million in development funding. Of these, 24 projects are supported through the Generate Fund, 26 through the Premium Fund, and 6 through the Online Development Fund.
Projects include the online action-adventure series “Amy the Pirate.” The family music drama features Piano Moms, which follows a promising teenage pianist as she explores the power of music and the love of family. The Skip Ahead project “Life of Kea” has been developed into a television drama series. and the second season of the TikTok documentary series Sextistics, which continues to examine statistics to create a snapshot of gender, sexuality and identity within Australia.
