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31 03 2022 - Media release

Screen Australia appoints Christopher Sharp as Head of Scripted

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Christopher Sharp

Screen Australia is pleased to announce that Christopher Sharp, former Investment and Development Manager has moved into the newly created role of Head of Scripted where he will manage the agency’s funding programs across feature film, general television drama and children’s drama. Reporting to Head of Content Grainne Brunsdon, Christopher will oversee the Content Department’s team of investment and development managers, Scripted.

Screen Australia’s Head of Content Grainne Brunsdon said, “Christopher has an incredibly strong and varied background in development and production and is a natural fit to oversee our scripted funding programs. I look forward to working with him in this new role.”

With 18 years’ experience in the screen industry, Christopher has worked as a story developer and producer in Australia, the UK and the US. He has held senior development roles for production companies as well as at government funding bodies including a previous stint at Screen Australia as Development Executive in 2010.

Christopher joined Screen Australia again in 2020, and as Investment & Development Manager he has managed titles including New Gold Mountain, The Newsreader, Love Me and Crazy Fun Park. Prior to this, Christopher was Head of Development at Thumper Pictures where he led a development slate of commercial TV and online projects. Christopher has also worked as Head of Development at RevLover and as Director of Development at Screen Queensland where he helped design and implement development workshops and talent incubators including the SQ Projector.

Christopher worked at the London-based Material Entertainment, a co-venture between New Line Cinema and Entertainment Film Distributors, as well as the New York-based film sales company FilmNation. During his career he has lectured at the Australian Film Television & Radio School where he designed and taught a course in Script Assessing.

Sharp said, “I’m excited at the task of working with producers to finance their projects in this competitive market, and to support them in bringing compelling Australian stories to our screens, big and small. The team at Screen Australia is particularly focused on being proactive to ensure the long term sustainably of our sector, whilst also ensuring we fund projects and storytellers that reflect the rich diversity within our culture, and support the emergence of the next generation of storytellers coming through.”

In other changes to the Screen Australia Scripted team, Investment Manager Cristina Pozzan will be returning to her career as a producer and will be depart the agency in April, while Lucy Hill will be commencing parental leave, also in April. Recruitment for a new Investment Manager, Scripted, will commence shortly.

Brunsdon said, “Cristina has been an invaluable team member at Screen Australia during her four years here and will be hugely missed. We wish her all the best as she heads back into producing, and we also give our best wishes to Lucy as she goes on parental leave for the next 12 months.”

“It’s wonderful to have Seph McKenna now on board who many in the industry will know from his distinguished career as Head of Australian Production at Roadshow and CEO of Screenwest, and we look forward to a new Investment Manager joining the team soon.”

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