Gender Matters
funding recipients
Brilliant stories
Scripted television | Scripted online and interactive | Features
SCRIPTED TELEVISION
THE ELEMENTALS
8 x 30 min
Snap Pants Productions
Genre Action adventure, Comedy
Producers Diana Glenn, Kat Stewart, Jane Harber, Andrew Walker
Writers Diana Glenn, Kat Stewart, Jane Harber
Synopsis Three disgraced, co-dependent superheroes living in a share house wrestle with their responsibilities to save the planet and their desire to do very little. Things heat up with the emergence of a new uber villain and news that they are about to lose their government superhero payouts.
FALLOUT
6 x 1 hr
Seymour Films
Genre Drama
Producer Charlotte Seymour
Executive Producer Sue Maslin
Writer Jane Allen
Synopsis The decline of an ageing parent is the catalyst for a complex drama series around love, loss and shifting loyalties and the discovery that sometimes those closest to you are the greatest strangers of all.
FEARLESS
2 x 90 min
Werner Film Productions
Genre Drama
Producers Louise Smith, Joanna Werner
Writer Megan Simpson Huberman, Steven McGregor
Synopsis A two part mini-series based on the inspiring true life story of one of Australia's best-known and most loved female heroes.
THE GIFTED
10 x 1 hr
Princess Pictures Holdings & Wonderland Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Action Supernatural Drama
Producers Jessica Leslie, Andrea Denholm
Writer Courtney Wise
Synopsis Vivica Webb, a 16 year old orphan murder suspect, is offered refuge at The Phoenix Institute for Gifted Teenagers, only to discover that the school is run by a highly evolved supernatural race preparing for a war against humanity.
HOLY COW
6 x 1 hr
See Pictures, Bliss Bomb, Jungle FTV
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producers Ester Harding, Radha Mitchell, Chloe Rickard
Directors Alethea Jones, Daina Reid
Writers Liz Doran, Lally Katz, Greg Waters
Synopsis When media commentator Sarah runs to foreign correspondent Jonathan’s New Delhi doorstep, she keeps her reasons secret. A romantic adventure through India’s extremes is not what she expects, but it may turn out to be what she needs.
JUMPER
6 x 30 min
Porchlight Films
Genre Comedy
Producers Sylvia Warmer, Tanya Phegan
Executive Producers Anita Sheehan, Vincent Sheehan, Liz Watts
Writer/Director Kacie Anning
Synopsis A big-hearted comedic underdog sports series where a working class university student forms a jump rope team to protest the repeal of free tertiary education in 1980’s Australia.
MS GREER (previously known as I AM WOMAN)
2 x 2 hr
Ruby Entertainment
Genre Drama
Producers Stephen Luby, Mark Ruse
Director Daina Reid
Writer Alica Gwinner
Synopsis 28-year-old Germaine Greer is at a crossroads. Does she choose marriage, academia and respectability, or instead pursue a burning personal intuition? Her decision leads to the publication of ‘The Female Eunuch’ which cements her place in the history books as a mother of modern feminism.
OVERFLOW
6 x 1 hr
Genre Drama, Crime, Mystery
Producer Claudia Karvan
Writer Elise McCredie
Synopsis When 17-year-old, private school boy Albie disappears without a trace, Detective Sophie Krawitz is on a mission to find him, but his social media trail leads her back to her own family and the past she had determined to leave behind forever. Overflow is a dense, action packed, crime drama set against the backdrop of the mysteriously rising Yarra River.
PROPINQUITY
8 x 1 hr
FremantleMedia Australia
Genre Drama
Executive Producers Jo Porter, Rachel Ward
Producer Shay Spencer
Director Rachel Ward
Writer Emma Jensen
Synopsis The series charts the journeys of three young women whose worlds collide in a Melbourne boarding house
PUBLIC RELATIONS
6 x 30 min
Revlover Films
Genre Comedy
Producer Martha Coleman
Director Sarah Bishop
Writers Claire Phillips, Sarah Bishop, Ainslie Clouston
Synopsis An outrageously funny and biting satirical ensemble comedy set in a PR firm that struggles to keep its clients out of the papers and their dick pics offline.
SEX IN THE WEST (SITW)
6 x 30 min
Entertainment One Films & eOne TV International
Genre Drama with Comedy
Producers Jude Troy, Troy Lum
Executive Producer Fadia Abboud
Writers Fadia Abboud, Amal Awad, Sarah Walker
Synopsis SEX IN THE WEST follows three young Lebanese women as they navigate life and love against the backdrop of Sydney’s multicultural Western Suburbs. Raised to be good girls but plagued by temptations – their own and others' – best friends Frida, Salma and Rima must serve the expectations of the community they love and respect, while secretly pursuing their own ambitions and desires.
SILVER LINING
8 x 30 min
Carver Films
Genre Drama
Producers Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw
Writer/Director Mirrah Foulkes
Synopsis SILVER LININGS chronicles the chaotic, dramatic and sometimes tragic lives of the Young family, as Rose finds herself parenting her parents at age 45.
SIXTEEN
8 x 50 min
Madman Production Company
Genre Drama, Science fiction
Producers Nick Batzias, Virginia Whitwell, Veronica Gleeson
Director Amy Gebhardt
Writer/Creator Veronica Gleeson
Synopsis Sixteen girls disappear on a three-night hike. They return pregnant – carrying a new species.
SWEET JANE
13 x 1 hr
Cordell Jigsaw Productions
Genre Drama, Romantic comedy
Producer Paul Bennett, Claire Tonkin
Director Jennifer Leacy
Writers Claire Tonkin, Ally Burnham, Paul Bennett
Synopsis A contemporary workplace comedy set against the dramatic highs and lows of the book publishing industry.
TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA
12 x 11 min
Spirited Pty Ltd T/A Highly Spirited
Genre Family
Producer Sophie Byrne
Executive Producer Julia Adams
Director Shaun Tan
Writer Lally Katz
Synopsis Two siblings discover a strange world beneath a deceptively ordinary surface: a wise local buffalo; an inch-tall exchange student; a hidden room that leads to other countries; a lost deep sea diver and many other mysteries, all raising questions about what it means to be a family.
TORN
10 x 30 min
Common Language Films
Genre Drama
Producers Julie Kalceff, Rosie Lourde
Writer/Director Julie Kalceff
Synopsis Two women, former school friends, are reunited. While they each appear to have moved on with their lives, there is still one thing holding them back – their unresolved feelings for each other.
SCRIPTED ONLINE AND INTERACTIVE
ALL OUR EGGS
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer Dan Prichard
Director Martha Goddard
Writers Vanessa Bates, Martha Goddard
Synopsis The journey taken by a family…to make a family, humorously navigating all the agonies and ecstasies of the Great Big Fertility Ride.
CARAVAN OF LOVE
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producers Trudy Hellier, Maria Theodorakis
Executive Producers Susie Dee, Nicci Wilks
Writer Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Angus Cerini, Wayne MacCauley
Synopsis One caravan. One mother. One daughter. Eight Tinder dates.
COSMICA
Paper Rabbits
Genre Science fiction, Action adventure, Comedy
Producer Makoto Koji
Writer/Director Makoto Koji
Synopsis A vivid intergalactic animated anthology following young space-faring women as they overcome, grow and succeed on the vast cosmic stage.
FUNNY RABBIT
Genre Comedy
Writer/Director/Producer Biddy O’Loughlin
Synopsis A dark comic satire and poignant series about the human condition as told through the eyes of a rabbit named Bill.
GOOD GRIEF
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer Amanda Reedy
Executive Producer Nicole Minchin
Director Amanda Jane
Writers Natalie Harris, Jess Harris
Synopsis A funny and touching series on grief. Whether it's mourning a loved one, your youth, or last night’s bottle(s) of pinot, grief is inevitable and never convenient.
NEWS JUNKIES
Weave Films
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producers Emma Masters, Kristy O'Brien
Director Emma Masters
Writer Lucy McNally
Synopsis Wannabe hotshot journalist Elle Walker faces a baptism of fire when she's banished from Sydney to a tabloid television newsroom in remote Northern Australia.
POSSE (previously known as MANIFEST)
Genre Comedy
Producer Sarah Bishop
Writer/Director Shae-Lee Shackleford
Synopsis The female Entourage! Set in a new world called 'The Grotto', a multicultural Burning Man-esk camp filled with creatives in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The story follows Zoe, a new arrival from Australia as she attempts to fit in with the girls who have taken her under their wing. A book promising to manifest their all of their desires out of thin air leads them to magical thinking and misconstrued 'synchronicities'. Can creativity, spiritually and friendship hold them afloat in a comedy of delusion, or do fabulous miracles just happen to this posse?
SHEILAS
Giant Dwarf
Genre Comedy
Producer Nikita Agzarian
Executive Producer Julian Morrow
Writers/Directors Eliza Reilly, Hannah Reilly
Synopsis A playful celebration of the forgotten and most badass women in Australian History.
SUNSHINE
RKPix
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer Eva Di Blasio
Director Julietta Boscolo
Writer Lou Sanz
Synopsis When the global internet is destroyed, the residents of a sleepy town that technology forgot - Sunshine - find themselves catapulted to the verge of becoming a world power. As they ready themselves for their annual ‘Sunshiny Fair’, the population face a global apocalyptic meltdown, served up alongside a nice slice of award-winning sponge cake.
TRIPLE OH!
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer Poppy Stockell
Executive Producer Chloe Rickard
Director Melvin Montalban, Poppy Stockell
Writer Erica Harrison
Synopsis In the shadow of the night, a comically mismatched pair of Sydney ambulance paramedics working the graveyard shift inadvertently explore life, death – and each other, as Tayls introduces Josh to her policy of ‘life-affirming sex’ to help ‘balance things out’ when a patient dies.
THE VIRGIN INTERVENTION
Galvanized Film Group
Genre Comedy
Producers Heather Ogilvie, Holly Fraser
Director Erin White
Writer Fiona Gillman
Synopsis When did ‘virgin’ become the new ‘slut’?
FEATURES
BABY CAT
Bus Stop Films
Genre Comedy, Drama, Family
Producer Eleanor Winkler
Writer/Director Genevieve Clay-Smith
Synopsis An ambitious budding actress is drawn back into her dysfunctional family to help her KRUMP-obsessed sister with Down Syndrome become independent after learning of her recluse mother’s cancer diagnosis. Whilst grappling with her sister’s stubborn behaviour, she must also navigate the unwanted affections of an unlikely new family member; a duplicitous street dancer, invited by her mother to give dance lessons to her sister.
BIG GIRL
Rogue Productions
Genre Drama
Producer Glenda Hambly
Writer/Director Melanie Scammell
Synopsis With their father in jail, two sisters escape poverty-stricken suburbia and embark on a dangerous journey to find their absent mother. Sisterly bonds are pushed to the limit as they discover a new meaning of ‘family’.
BONDI BEACH BREAKFAST CLUB
Film Depot
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer Louise Smith
Writer Liz Doran
Synopsis Three friends, one beach, four decades – and a secret that could tear them apart.
CLOUD MONEY
Brindle Films
Genre Comedy
Producers Rachel Clements, Meredith Garlick, Trisha Morton-Thomas
Writer Trisha Morton-Thomas
Synopsis An old female artist from a remote Aboriginal community runs away to France to fulfil a lifelong dream to see Claude Monet’s garden before her eyesight fails. Her community and family go into crisis and send out a search party to bring her back.
FLOWER
Aquarius Films
Genre Drama
Producers Angie Fielder, Cecilia Ritchie, Polly Staniford
Director Del Kathryn Barton
Synopsis A middle-aged accountant fights against an increasingly intense erotic fetish for flowers. He meets a kindred spirit, a researcher who analyses historic suicide notes, who helps him accept and celebrate his secret sexual proclivities.
GIRLS IN HOTELS
The Dollhouse Pictures, Ralf Films
Genre Drama, Mystery
Producers Jessica Carrera, Gracie Otto
Executive Producer Robyn Kershaw
Director Gracie Otto
Writer Lee Tulloch
Synopsis The last 24 hours in the life of one woman. Her final day is shared through the eyes of eight women around the world in multiple time zones and hotel rooms.
HOW TO PLEASURE A WOMAN (previously known as HER PREDILECTION)
Feisty Dame Productions
Genre Comedy
Producer Tania Chambers
Writer/Director Renee Webster
Synopsis A mature woman starts a business providing women with quality sexual experiences packaged with a house clean, and discovers the boundless nature of not only their desires, but her own.
KILL THE MESSENGER
Handmaid Media
Genre Romantic comedy
Director Samantha Lang
Writer Nakkiah Lui
Synopsis Nakkiah and Peter are the two parts of a post-colonial interracial love story: passionately in love, and furiously at odds. As fiction and reality collide, Nakkiah has to rewrite their story if they are ever to have a happy ending.
THE LAST FLIGHT
Deep Blue Pacific
Genre Thriller
Director Unjoo Moon
Writer Joan Sauers
Synopsis In 1975, during the height of the Vietnam War, Pan Am flew one last commercial flight into the warzone. This is the untold true story of the five brave air stewardesses who volunteered for the heroic mission to rescue over 500 civilians.
THE MOTEL AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Rummin Productions
Genre Post-apocalyptic psycho-biddy
Producers Catherine Pettman, Briony Kidd
Writer/Director Briony Kidd
Synopsis A mother and daughter running a motel in post-apocalyptic suburbia are each other's fiercest ally, until the arrival of a disturbed solider turns the relationship deadly.
RUN RABBIT RUN (previously known as REINCARNATION)
Carver Films
Genre Psychological thriller
Producers Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw
Writer Hannah Kent
Synopsis A doctor is frightened by her young son’s inexplicable visions of a past life. She must abandon her scientific rationale to uncover the hidden dark history of her estranged mother.
RELIC
Carver Films
Genre Psychological horror
Producers Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw
Director Natalie Erika James
Writers Natalie Erika James, Christian White
Synopsis Creeping dread turns to sheer panic as a mother and daughter search an isolated town for their missing grandmother. To survive they must confront their worst fears and face a sinister manifestation of aged dementia.
RIDE LIKE A GIRL
100 to 1 Films, The Film Company
Genre Comedy, Drama, Family
Producer Richard Keddie
Director Rachel Griffiths
Writers Andrew Knight, Elise McCredie
Synopsis The inspirational true story of Michelle Payne, the youngest girl in a family of eight jockeys, determined to defy the odds and become the first female jockey to win the holy grail of horse racing, and put the Payne name into the history books.
RUNAWAY
Whitefalk Films
Genre Drama, Thriller
Producer Alex White
Executive Producers Jane Campion, Jan Chapman
Writer/Director Mirrah Foulkes
Synopsis Fearing the unravelling of her relationship, a young woman leads her husband into a complex and dangerous world of sexual fantasy that entangles the lives of her older neighbours.
SHEEDA
Epic Films
Genre Romantic comedy
Producer Kirsty Stark
Writer/Director Shideh Faramand
Synopsis When her mother’s matchmaking antics unearth a surprisingly charming suitor, a struggling 30-something actress is torn between ambition, family and the surprise return of an unrequited flame.
THE SOUND OF MUMBAI
The Sound of Mumbai Australia
Genre Drama, Musical
Producers James Brown, Nicky Bentham
Writer/Director Sarah McCarthy
Synopsis Based on an extraordinary true story, a music teacher on sabbatical in India discovers a choir of children from Mumbai’s harshest slum, and conspires to have them perform a concert of songs from The Sound of Music at Mumbai’s most prestigious concert hall.
STRANGERS (previously known as ARRIVALS)
Genre Comedy, Drama
Director Corrie Chen
Writers Penelope Chai, Corrie Chen
Synopsis A young Australian woman travels to a mysterious city in China to track down her long-absent father, but all she finds is a desolate metropolis with a single inhabitant awaiting the arrival of others.
TOUCHED BY UNDERGROUND WIRES (previously known as A TERRIBLE BEAUTY)
Storey Kids
Genre Comedy, Science fiction
Producers Anna Kojevnikov, Sally Storey
Writer/Director Sarah-Jane Woulahan
Synopsis In 2064 the world’s leading social-robot engineer, Dr Olivia Hallaran, her robot partner and a robotics psychologist are drawn into a manipulative love triangle where they test what it means to love.