Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country sequel is one of 19 new projects to share more than $3 million from Screen Australia’s Indigenous division.
Set in 1930s Australia, Wolfram continues the story of Philomack, now 17 years old and still living under the watchful eye of his hot-tempered master, Mick Kennedy. After meeting Max and Kidd, Philomack decides to flee to a desert country to free himself and his brothers from the brutality of white men.
Stephen McGregor and David Tranter wrote the screenplay, with the latter co-producing with David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin, and Cecilia Ritchie.
Thronton said the film represents his family’s story.
“My great-grandmother and her daughters worked in the Hatches Creek Mine for white people,” he said.
“Now the truth will come out. It’s called Wolfram.”
Other titles to be supported include NITV title Dreaming Big, which focuses on young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who are looking to become the next generation of sporting stars; a series of parts, as well as Larissa Behrendt’s feature-length documentary One Mind, One Heart. The discovery of the historic Irurkara bark political petition and its return journey to the land of Yorgnu.
Screen Australia’s head of indigenous people, Angela Bates, said the need for indigenous funding had never been greater.
“Our Indigenous creators are at the forefront of Australian storytelling, with many great projects being celebrated on the world stage and more in development,” she said.
“Over FY23/24, the Department has invested more than $7.1 million in funding, including 105 opportunities across development, production, initiatives, accessories and market support, to capitalize on the incredible talent and rich stories within Indigenous communities. Inspired by the depth of powerful cinematic stories written by Australia’s indigenous people through films like Wolfram and documentaries Dreaming Big and One Mind, One Heart. Masu.”
Screen Australia also announced three television dramas, 11 feature films and two documentaries that will share development funding of more than $540,000. Projects include the feature film Native Gods from 2024 Enterprise Business winner Djali House; “Long Story Short” is a comedy series from writer and director Tanith Glynne-Maroney. The documentary Fire Country is an innovative exploration of Indigenous fire knowledge and wisdom. The feature film RED is about eight Indigenous Western Australian women who share the ugly secret of being surrounded by missing people.
See the full list of projects funded for production here and development here.
