in the archive
feature film Development funding approval details

2013 features summary

MARCH - MAY 2013

SINGLE-PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

ON THE JELLICOE ROAD
Genre Mystery romance
Producers Sue Taylor, Rosemary Blight
Director Kate Woods
Writer Melina Marchetta
Synopsis Abandoned by her mother at a roadside deli on the outskirts of Jellicoe, Taylor Markham knows all about survival, but not much about who she is. Now 17, a chance meeting with a mysterious hermit provides a clue to her identity, but in trying to unlock the truth about her past, Taylor must first deal with the present. Based on the bestselling novel by Melina Marchetta.

FLAMMABLE CHILDREN
Genre Comedy
Producer Al Clark
Writer/Director Stephan Elliott

BAIT 2 3D
Genre Horror
Producer Gary Hamilton
Executive Producer Michael Wrenn
Writers Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause
Synopsis An air marshal and a small group of air crash survivors must try to escape a sinking jetliner before it plunges into an oceanic trench, while they are hunted by huge and deadly tiger sharks.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Genre Drama
Producer Marian Macgowan
Director Gillian Armstrong
Writer Lally Katz
Synopsis 27-year-old Catherine forms an unlikely friendship with neighbour Ana, a cranky 80-year-old Hungarian woman prone to offending everyone. Through a spirited retelling of stories from Ana's past, Catherine finds a way back into her life and Ana can die in peace.

THE BURIAL
Genre Western
Producer Lucy Maclaren
Executive Producer Joe Connor
Director Jasmin Tarasin
Writer Polly Watkins
Synopsis After doing time for cattle-rustling, one time circus star 26-year old Jessie is placed in the custody of a brutal husband. Determined that she and her child will live free, Jessie escapes, but the consequences see her branded as a murderess. Now mother and baby are on the run.

END OF ANIMAL
Genre Science fiction
Producers Michael Wrenn, Paul Yi
Executive Producer Lizzette Atkins
Director Eron Sheean
Writer Shane Danielsen
Synopsis When an unknown catastrophe befalls the Earth, Jess, a pregnant 20-year-old, is caught between towns in the middle of the West Australian desert, which proves the start of a terrifying journey to safety. She realises to her horror that her own unborn child somehow represents the key to this disaster.

DOWNRIVER (AKA SCRATCH THE SURFACE) 
Genre Thriller Drama
Producer Jannine Barnes
Writer/Director Grant Scicluna
Synopsis Seventeen-year-old James is released from juvenile detention and travels back to the scene of his crime to find the body of the young boy he killed when he was 10.

HALFWAY MOTEL
Genre Psychological Drama
Producer Lyn Norfor
Writer/Director Miranda Nation

SOUNDTRACK
Genre Musical
Executive Producer Michael Birnbaum
Writer Stephen Chamberlin

COMMON FOE
Genre Action
Producer/Writer Rob Gibson
Writer/Director Josh Reed

CONFESSIONS OF A SUPER MAN
Genre Horror Drama
Producer Marian Macgowan
Writer/Director Angela How
Synopsis Brian, an indulged Australian Chinese teenage sociopath, records his violent life via a superhero comic strip of his own creation. When Brian’s desire for his father’s mistress ends in their death, his mother acts to finally stop her son.

I AM JACK
Genre Drama
Producer Stephan Wellink
Executive Producer David Whealy
Writer Susanne Gervay
Director Nadia Tass
Synopsis Jack’s a great guy, but school bullying is insidious, taking Jack and everyone around him to the edge.

MICHAEL
Genre Biopic
Producers Richard Lowenstein, Sue Murray
Executive Producer Domenico Procacci
Writer/Director Richard Lowenstein
Synopsis At the height of his internationally renowned career, a sudden blow to the head robs the famously sensual rock star of two of his most cherished senses. A series of personal battles follows, ending tragically with his death at the age of 37, the night before embarking on a world tour.

BAD ANGEL
Genre Comedy
Producers Antonia Barnard, Nicholas Cole
Director Kriv Stenders
Writer Shaun Grant
Synopsis The transformation of Angelo d’Angelo, a New York hit man who is unwittingly embraced into the bosom of a simple, rural Australian community. For the first time, Angelo learns that love and family are just as effective as any weapon he’s ever known.

ONE CROWDED HOUR
Genre Biopic
Producer Todd Fellman
Writer Andy Cox
Director Lance Kelleher
Synopsis Legendary combat cameraman Neil Davis spent over 20 years from the early 60s risking his life on the frontlines of Indo-China to capture some of the most powerful and influential images of war in an effort to save the people and culture he had grown to love.

LOS ALAMOS
Genre Thriller
Producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman
Writer Luke Davies
Synopsis Michael Connolly, a disgraced intelligence operative, enters a labyrinth of secrets and espionage when he arrives at the high-security military base of Los Alamos in Spring, 1945. Sent to investigate a seemingly open-and-shut murder case, Connolly is thrown into the heart of the Manhattan Project and must navigate a path through military protocol, political intrigue and personal agendas in order to uncover the truth in the most secretive place in the world.

LONG TAN
Genre Drama
Producers Charles Hannah, Martin Walsh
Executive Producers Meyer Shwarzstein, Peter Wetherell
Writers Jack Brislee, James Nicholas, Karel Segers, Paul Sullivan
Director Kriv Stenders
Synopsis Major Harry Smith and his company of 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers hold off an overwhelming enemy force of 2,500 battle-hardened Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers in the Battle of Long Tan.

MULAN
Genre Action Adventure
Producer Emile Sherman
Writer Jan Sardi