Funding Approvals
IN the archives
2015–2016 production funding

2:22
Lightstream Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers Paul Currie, Steve Hutensky
Executive Producers Bruce Davey, David Whealy, Bill Mechanic, Jackie O’Sullivan
Director Paul Currie
Writers Todd Stein, Paul Currie
Australian Distributor Icon Film Distribution
International Sales Good Universe International
Synopsis Dylan Boyd’s life is permanently derailed when an ominous pattern of events repeats itself in exactly the same manner every day and threatens the life of the woman he loves.

A FEW LESS MEN
AFLM Pty Ltd
Producers Tania Chambers, Mark Lazarus, Laurence Malkin, Share Stallings
Director Peter Templeman
Writer Dean Craig
Australian Distributor Studio Canal
International Sales Arclight Films International
Synopsis In the sequel to the worldwide hit A Few Best Men, David, Tom and Graham must transport their mate’s coffin to a relative in Perth after a forced plane landing strands them in the middle of Western Australia.

ALI’S WEDDING
Matchbox Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Sheila Jayadev, Helen Panckhurst
Executive Producers Tony Ayres, Michael McMahon, Greg Sitch, Nina Stevenson
Director Wayne Blair
Writers Andrew Knight, Osamah Sami
Australian Distributor Madman Entertainment
International Sales Beta Cinema
Synopsis After a reckless lie sets off a catastrophic chain of events, Ali, the son of a Muslim cleric, finds himself caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart. Based on real events, Ali’s Wedding is an irreverent, warm-hearted comedy, and an affectionate and vivid portrait of Islamic life in Australia.

BEAST
Boulevard Film Pty Ltd
Producers Robert Coe, Bianca Balbeuna
Directors Tom McKeith, Sam McKeith
Writer Will Howarth
Australian Distributor Madman Entertainment
International Sales Arclight Films
Synopsis Over one night, a young Filipino-American boxer travels through Manila in a desperate attempt to make up for a terrible act.

BERLIN SYNDROME
Aquarius Films Pty Ltd
Producer Polly Staniford
Executive Producers Angie Fielder, Troy Lum, David Whealy
Director Cate Shortland
Writer Shaun Grant
Australian Distributor eOne
International Sales Memento Films International
Cast Teresa Palmer, Max Riemelt
Synopsis A passionate holiday romance takes an unexpected and sinister turn when an Australian photographer wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.

BLOODLANDS
Kastle Films Pty Ltd
Genre Horror
Producers Steven Kastrissios, Dritan Arbana
Australian Distributor Umbrella Entertainment
Synopsis A lovingly disfunctional Albanian family must unite against a hungry brood of vampires preying on them.

BOYS IN THE TREES
1997 Productions Pty Ltd, Boys in the Trees Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Michael Gudinski
Producer John Molloy
Writer/director Nicholas Verso
Australian Distributor Mushroom Pictures
International Sales Mushroom Pictures
Synopsis Two estranged teens begrudgingly find themselves walking home together on Halloween 1997, embarking on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears.

CARGO
Causeway Films HQ Pty Ltd
Producers Kristina Ceyton, Sam Jennings, Russell Ackerman, John Schoenfelder, Mark Patterson
Directors Yolanda Ramke, Ben Howling
Writer Yolanda Ramke
Cast Martin Freeman
Australian Distributor Umbrella
International Sales Bankside Films
Synopsis Stranded in rural Australia in the aftermath of a violent pandemic, an infected father desperately seeks a new home for his infant child, and a means to protect her from his own changing nature.

DANCE ACADEMY: THE COMEBACK
Werner Films Pty Ltd
Producer Joanna Werner
Executive Producers Louise Smith, Bernadette O’Mahoney, Joanna Werner
Director Jeffery Walker
Writer Samantha Strauss
Australian Distributor Studio Canal 
International Sales ZDFE
​Synopsis Former ballet student Tara Webster needs to find the courage to return from a crippling injury in order to fulfil her destiny as a star ballerina.

THE DEATH AND LIFE OF OTTO BLOOM
Optimism Film Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Producers Mish Armstrong, Alicia Brown, Melanie Coombs
Executive Producer Jonathan Page
Writer/director Cris Jones
Australian Distributor Bonsai Films
International Sales Global Screen
Cast Xavier Samuel
Synopsis The chronicle of the life and great love of Otto Bloom, an extraordinary man who experiences time in reverse – passing backwards through the years while remembering the future.

EMO (THE MUSICAL)
Matthewswood Productions
Genre Satire, Musical
Producer Lee Matthews
Executive Producers Yael Bergman, Jonathan Page, Shaun Miller
Writer/director Neil Triffett
Australian Distributor Bonsai Films
Synopsis Desperate to belong within his new school, Ethan quickly finds a place in the school Emo band that is ramping up to win the State School Rock Competition. However, when the School’s Hope Group enters the competition as well, the two groups are set at war against one another, making it the worst possible time for Emo Ethan to fall in love with Trinity, the lead vocalist in the Christian band.

THE EMPYREAN
357 Film Pty Ltd
Producers Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Kate Laurie, John Baker
Executive producers Tony Nagle, Lizzette Atkins, Matt Noonan
Writer/director Amiel Courtin-Wilson
Synopsis The Empyrean is an impressionistic, visceral portrait of sex, death, betrayal, revenge and the profound delicacy of love.

FLAMMABLE CHILDREN
Wildheart Films, See Pictures
Genre Comedy
Writer/director Stephan Elliott
Producers Al Clark, Jamie Hilton
Australian Distributor Becker Film Group
International Sales WestEnd Films
Synopsis 1975: an extraordinary event sets in motion a crucial, comical and revelatory week for a teenage boy and girl.

GUARDIANS OF THE TOMB (formerly THE NEST, NEST)
Arclight Films International Pty Ltd, Nest Holdings Pty Ltd
Genre Action Adventure
Producers Gary Hamilton, Ying Ye, Mark Lazarus
Executive Producers Mike Gabrawy, Elliot Tong
Writer/director Kimble Rendall
Australian Distributor Label
International Sales Arclight Films International
Synopsis An innocent discovery of a well-preserved mummified Emperor from 200 BC China unearths a 2000 year-old nightmare – a secret that should have remained buried.

HOTEL MUMBAI
Hotel Mumbai Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Basil Iwanyck, Andrew Ogilvie, Julie Ryan, Gary Hamilton, Mike Gabrawy
Director Anthony Maras
Writers John Collee, Anthony Maras
Australian Distributor Icon
International Sales Arclight
Synopsis Hotel Mumbai explores the intersecting stories of the survivors, victims and perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

HOUNDS OF LOVE
Factor 30 Films Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Producer Melissa Kelly
Writer/director Ben Young
Australian Distributor Label
Cast Stephen Curry
Synopsis Teenager Vicki Maloney is abducted by sinister couple John and Evelyn White and quickly realises that she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive. 

JASPER JONES
Porchlight Films & Bunya Productions
Producers Vincent Sheehan, David Jowsey
Executive Producers Anita Sheehan, Colin McCumstie, Liz Watts, Rebecca O’Brien
Director Rachel Perkins
Writer Shaun Grant
Australian Distributor Madman Entertainment
International Sales Mongrel Media
Synopsis Jasper Jones is a coming-of-age murder mystery based on the best-selling Australian novel by Craig Silvey.

JUNGLE
Arclight Films International Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Producers  Gary Hamilton, Mike Gabrawy, Dana Lustig, Todd Fellman, Greg McLean
Executive Producer  Mark Lazarus
Director Greg McLean
Writer Justin Monjo
Australian Distributor Umbrella Entertainment
International Sales Arclight Films International
Cast Daniel Radcliffe, Thomas Krestschmann, Alex Russell, Joel Jackson, Yasmin Kassim, Lily Sullivan 
Synopsis Four travelers set off into the heart of the Amazon rainforest, but what begins as a dream adventure quickly deteroriates into an utter nightmare. After a terrible accident, Yossi is forced to survive for weeks alone against one of the most treacherous backdrops on the planet:  the Amazon Jungle. Stranded without a knife, map, or survival training, he must improvise shelter and forage to survive. After losing all sense of direction, Yossi begins to give up hope, wondering if he will even make it out of the jungle alive. Based on the real story of bestselling author, Yossi Ghinsberg.

KILLING GROUND
Hypergiant Films Pty Ltd
Producer Joe Weatherstone
Executive Producer Lisa Shaunessy
Writer/director Damien Power
Australian Distributor Mushroom Distribution
International Sales Films Distribution
Synopsis A young couple’s camping trip turns into a violent ordeal when they stumble across the scene of a shocking crime.

THE KOKO STORY
Good Dog Enterprises Pty Ltd, Koko Story Film Productions Pty
Producer Nelson Woss
Executive Producer Bryce Menzies
Director Gracie Otto
Synopsis This is no ordinary dog. This is Koko.

NEKROMANCER
Nekromancer Pty Ltd
Producers Tristan Roache-Turner, Troy Lum, Andrew Mason
Director Kiah Roache-Turner
Writers Tristan Roache-Turner, Kiah Roache-Turner
Australian Distributor Entertainment One Films Australia
International Sales Entertainment One International
Synopsis Howard North, electronics genius, is dragged into a conflict between The Tribe - a family of powerful demon hunters, and Asgaroth - an evil demon possessing the world’s internet, assisted by his devil-worshipping corporate acolytes. Molly, a Tribeswoman and warrior, is desperate to destroy the demon and is sure that Howard has the right stuff to become a true hero. They must learn to work together to exorcise the fiend from the web and blow him back to Hell.

THE NIGHTINGALE 
Causeway Films HQ Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Producer Kristina Ceyton
Writer/director Jennifer Kent
Australian Distributor Transmission
International Sales FilmNation
Synopsis 1829 Tasmania. A beautiful 19-year-old Irish convict woman witnesses her family brutally murdered by her soldier master and his cronies. Unable to find justice, she takes an Aboriginal male tracker with her through the hellish wilderness to seek revenge on the men, and gets much more than she bargained for. 

THE NORTH WIND
See-Saw Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Rachel Gardner, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning
Director John Curran
Writer Alice Addison
Synopsis Seven months on a remote island off the coast of Alaska in the middle of winter with a father he hardly knows turns into the best year of a young boy’s life, and inspires some of the most famous illustrations of the 20th century.
Production funding for this feature film was revoked in November 2016.

OBSERVANCE
Sterling Cinema Australia Pty Ltd
Producer/director Joseph Sims-Dennett
Executive producer Raquelle David
Writer Josh Zammit
Synopsis In the grip of grief following the death of his young son, Parker reluctantly returns to work as a private investigator. Embarking on an unusual assignment to observe a woman from an abandoned apartment, Parker records the strange occurrences surrounding her, unaware that the derelict building that he surveys her from has birthed a dark presence which slowly threatens to consume him.

OTHERLIFE
Ticket to Ride Pty Ltd, Otherlife Films Pty Ltd
Producers Janelle Landers, Jamie Hilton, Aidan O'Bryan, Michael Pontin
Director Ben C. Lucas
Synopsis A brilliant software engineer must reclaim control of her revolutionary neurotechnology in order to save her comatose brother and prevent her business partner using it to imprison the minds of millions.

UPGRADE (Formerly STEM)
Stem Film Production Pty Ltd
Producers Kylie du Fresne, James Blum, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones
Writer/director Leigh Whannell
Synopsis In a utoptian near-future when technology controls everything, a technophobe avenges his wife's murder and his own paralysis-causing injury with the help of an experimental computer chip implant - that turns out to have a mind of its own.
Production funding for this feature film was revoked in November 2016.

THREE SUMMERS
Invisible Republic Pty Ltd & Taylor Media
Producers Michael Wrenn, Sue Taylor
Writer/director Ben Elton
Australian Distributor Transmission Films
International Sales Arclight
Synopsis An ensemble romantic comedy, Three Summers is a spirited take on the players at a regional music festival over three consecutive years. Embracing the diversity of this typically Australian community the film combines dance, love and song with Elton’s trademark wit and political satire.