Latest development news

Find out who are the latest Story Development and Talent Development funding recipients. Read up also on who the Hot Shots short filmmaking teams are, and what's coming up for our exciting new Family Films Initiative. 

Emo (The Musical)

WHAT’S GETTING FUNDED?

STORY DEVELOPMENT AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT FUNDING RECIPIENTS

Teams are embracing the flexibility of the Story Development Fund, undertaking a variety of development approaches that include strategically-designed research trips, filming that will inform writing and writers’ rooms. We've also invited a number of applicants from the Wildcard Pitch to apply for our Story Development Fund.

A few examples of recently funded projects include Pig’s Blood, the next comedy/drama from the Downriver team; Contest, a collaboration from Australian novelist Matthew Riley and acclaimed animation studio Animal Logic; and Young Romantics, Cate Shortland’s feature. We’ve funded a number of attachments too, including producer Mary Minas on Ridley Scott’s Scott Free London and director Fadia Abboud on hotly-anticipated TV series Here Come the Habibs. Screen Works Northern Rivers has also received Event Partnership funding for an ‘on demand’ initiative that will see them go national over the web with their events program.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

HOT SHOTS

The successful Hot Shots short filmmaking teams attended a two-day workshop with mentors including director Sophie Hyde, editor Drew Thompson, cinematographer Simon Chapman, sound designer Jed Palmer and production designer Felicity Abbott. The first day involved table reads with actors and the second was an intensive one-on-one with the mentors, looking at story and exploring elements of design, sound, performance, cinematography and editing.

Short films as a proof of concept can help to launch careers, as highlighted by Emo: The Musical, which received completion funding from Screen Australia. The Emo: The Musical feature, based on the short, is currently in production. The short film can be seen here.

FAMILY FILM INITIATIVE

Family films produced in Australia are culturally important and appeal to local audiences. To stimulate the number of projects being shown on Australian Screens, we designed the Family Film Initiative and did a call out for applications from experienced writers. We were thrilled to receive more than 90 eligible applications!

In conjunction with this initiative, we're holding the Family Film Forum on Saturday 19 March. This event will be open to the industry and live streamed around Australia. Updates on how to register for this will be available in the Screen Australia newsletter.