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Podcast – Summer box office breakdown and Australians in Film

Australians in Film’s Peter Ritchie on working in Hollywood and their call-out for new voices to learn from some of the biggest names in the business.

Australians in Film's Peter Ritchie and Isabel Pappani with Margot Robbie

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Warwick Thornton, Taika Waititi, Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films, Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment.

These are just a fraction of the high-profile names and companies involved in the new Australians in Film program Untapped, which is calling for applications from underrepresented and undiscovered voices.

Australians in Film Executive Director Peter Ritchie breaks down Untapped in the latest episode of the Screen Australia podcast, saying it’s something they developed with early and emerging screenwriters and directors in mind “who haven’t yet received any significant recognition or opportunity.”

“They may have had a writing gig on a TV show but they may not have ‘popped’ yet internationally or in Australia; they may have been writing just on the side but feel as though they’ve got a vision; they may be in the advertising industry or they may be school teachers in Rockhampton,” he says.

Throughout the episode, Ritchie breaks down the two-part approach of the Untapped program consisting of:

  • Phase One: online masterclasses with Sarah-Violet Bliss & Charles Rogers (Search Party), Nisha Ganatra (The High Note; Late Night), Alma Har’el (Honey Boy; Bombay Beach), Warwick Thornton (Mystery Road; Sweet Country) and Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit; Thor: Ragnarok)
  • Phase Two: a four-month intensive mentorship for five creators or creative teams at companies including Blossom Films, Made Up Stories, LuckyChap Entertainment, See-Saw Films and Truant Pictures.

Ritchie also talks to what Australians in Film does, how they adapted when COVID-19 shut down their main working space ‘Charlie’s’, and advice for those who want to make the leap to working in Hollywood. Also on the podcast is Screen Australia’s Distribution Manager Anthony Grundy to provide an update following the box office success of Australian films including The Dry and Penguin Bloom at the cinema over the Australian summer.

To apply or learn more about Untapped, a program from Australians in Film in association with Screen Australia and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, click here

Read Peter Ritchie’s advice piece here

Also register for an Untapped Q&A session live on Zoom on 5 March, 12pm AEDT by clicking here

For feedback about this episode, please email Podcast.

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