David JoblingSCREEN AUSTRALIA PRODUCTION APPROVALS
August 19th 2008 15:36
SCREEN AUSTRALIA KICKS OFF WITH A FULL SLATE OF PRODUCTION APPROVALS
19 August 2008: Screen Australia’s board met in Brisbane yesterday and approved a range of projects in all major areas of production.
In total 25 projects were approved for funding during August, with a production value of $86 million. This includes four feature films, one adult television drama, four children’s dramas, 13 documentaries (four of which are series), one commissioned production and two projects from Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch.
Following a decision by the board, projects requiring funding up to $1 million can be approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Screen Australia, outside the timetable of board meetings.
“The projects approved in the past month, including those at this board meeting, show the vast range of creativity and ideas the industry has put forward to us,” says interim CEO Lyn Maddock.
“We are setting in place a framework we believe will streamline the process of funding projects for the industry while also focussing on the development and marketing sides of the business.”
Feature films
Feature films approved for finance yesterday will see two highly experienced directors, Nadia Tass and Simon Wincer, heading into production along with Dean Murphy as well as first-time feature director Brendan Fletcher.
• The Cup, with director Simon Wincer, writers Eric O’Keefe and Simon Wincer, producers Jan Bladier, David Lee, Lance Hool and Simon Wincer, tells of the emotional 2002 Melbourne Cup – with young jockey Damien Oliver at the heart of the story.
• Love and Mortar, with director Nadia Tass, writers Lynne Renew and David Parker and producers David Parker, Richard Keddie and Nadia Tass, is a love story that defies explanation and breaks all the rules…
• Mad Bastards is to be directed by Brendan Fletcher, who also takes a producer role along with Alan Pigram and Stephen Pigram, consultant producer David Jowsey and executive producer Martin Fabinyi. The film is set in Australia’s last frontier – the vast and remote Kimberley region of WA. A raw, gutsy character film, it’s a meditation on violence, community and the living spirit of contemporary Aboriginal people of the Kimberley.
• Charlie and Boots to be directed by Dean Murphy, producers Shana Levine, Dean Murphy and David Redman and executive producers Thomas Augsberger, Andrew Mackie and Richard Payten. Boots McFarland and his estranged dad Charlie head off to Cape York Peninsula to drop a line off the northern most tip of Australia. This film will combine the comic talents of Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson.
Letters of Intent
Two letters of intent for feature films were approved: one to the Mad Bastards team, and the other to producer Ian Iveson, executive producer Michelle Harrison and writer/director Marty Murphy for End of Anxiety.
(Films chosen through Screen Australia’s evaluation program receive a letter of intent containing the terms and conditions of proposed Screen Australia funding.)
Adult Television Drama
In adult television drama, a second series of Bed of Roses was financed, with producers Mark Ruse and Stephen Luby, and writers Jutta Goetze and Elizabeth Coleman. Bed of Roses is the story of a woman’s search – and a community’s search – for a workable identity in the 21st century.
Children’s Drama
Children’s drama sees funding for a second series of the popular Dogstar approved, a third series of H20 Just Add Water and Lockie Leonard series 2, as well as a new series, My Place.
• My Place is being produced by Penny Chapman with co-producer Helen Panckhurst, on-line producer David Gurney, script producer Simon Hopkinson and writers Alice Addison, Beth Armstrong, Blake Ayshford, Leah Purcell, Nicholas Parsons, Jacquelin Perske, Tim Pye and Greg Waters; the director is Jessica Hobbs. My Place is the story of one spot in Australia, told by the children who live there over 260 years.
• Dogstar is from producers Colin South and Ross Hutchens, and writers Doug MacLeod and Phillip Dalkin. In series 2 the Clark kids have located the missing Dogstar, been reunited with their pet dog Hobart, returned all the dogs back to their owners on a rejuvenated earth and defeated the evil robotics tycoon Bob Santino – or so they think.
• H20 Just Add Water series 2 is from producer Jonathan M Shiff, executive producers Jonathan M Shiff and Julia Adams, associate producer Stuart Wood, and writers Anthony Morris, Max Dann, Simon Butters, Joss King, Chris Roache, Phillip Dalkin, Sam Carroll and Sam Strauss; directors are Colin Budds and Jeffrey Walker. Cleo and Lewis think they know everything there is to know about Mako Island, but when water attacks them in a full moon, they realise a new, potentially dangerous force is developing on the mysterious island.
• Lockie Leonard series 2 is from producer Kylie du Fresne with executive producers Rosemary Blight, Jo Horsburgh and Bernadette O’Mahony, and writers Keith Thompson, Shelley Birse, Michael Miller, Drew Proffitt, LeeAnne Innes, David Ogilvy, Peter Templeman, Josh Wakely, Wayne Blair, Rhys Muldoon and Matt Ford. Series 2 features the same familiar endearing characters and humour that made the award-winning series 1 such a success, enjoyed by kids, adults and critics alike.
Documentaries
A broad range of documentary projects was approved. Including Contact, which looks at the first contact between white and indigenous people in the Great Sandy Desert in 1964, and China Art, exploring life and art through the reflections of Chinese contemporary artists.
• Anatomy of a Massacre tells the story of the 1991 massacre of an estimated 200 people during an independence march in occupied East Timor. Executive producer is Michael Cordell, directors Andrew Sully and Max Stahl.
• China Art, from producers Peter Hiscock and Graham Davis and director Catherine Hunter, combines art and life on screen in spectacular fashion as Chinese contemporary artists reflect on the vast social upheaval that has accompanied China’s emergence as a world economic power.
• Contact, from producers/directors Martin Butler and Bentley Dean, is being constructed around one of the most extraordinary pieces of footage in Australian history where a group of 20 Martu women and children walked out of the Great Sandy Desert in 1964.
• For Valour is being produced by Michael Tear and directed by Serge Ou. On the road from Sydney to Canberra 22 ordinary Australians are remembered for their extraordinary deeds of courage and sacrifice. They are all winners of the Victoria Cross. This is their story.
• Heartbreak Science, from producers Ed Punchard and Julia Redwood with director Andrea Ulbrick, looks at research into the workings of the human heart and how doctors are searching for answers that could finally unlock the mysteries of the heart and understand an intriguing system of neurons dubbed ‘the little brain in the heart‘.
• My Asian Heart is from producers Carmelo Musca and producer/director David Bradbury and is about contemporary Australian photographer Philip Blenkinsop, who brings us Asia, a world of conflict, life, love and beauty – a unique perspective through his Asian heart.
• Skippy: Australia’s First Superstar from producers Andrew Ogilvie and Andrea Quesnelle and director Stephen Oliver tells the inside story of a remarkable television series starring a crime-fighting kangaroo who became the emblem of a nation for children the world over.
• The Ocean’s Super Mum – A Sea Lion Odyssey is a natural history documentary from producer Tina Dalton and director Susan McMillan featuring previously unknown underwater behaviour, and a passionate and engaging scientist whose mission it is to unlock the secrets of the most devoted of all marine mothers – the Australian Sea Lion.
• Winning World War 1 – The Western Front Diaries from producers Dr Jonathan King and producer/director Bill Leimbach, is an Armistice Day tribute to the Australian soldiers who fought in the battles of the West Front from Fromelies to Montbrehain and through to Armistice.
Documentary Series
• Angels in New York, from producers Gregory Miller and Elizabeth Courtenay and director Chester Dent, tells of two rookie writer/producers from Sydney who take on Broadway with a most unique show, Angels – the Musical!
• Bush Slam, from producers Matt Scully and Chris Thorburn and executive producer Rick Spence, brings together Australia’s top poets, songwriters and comedians in a performance best described as a poetry brawl. Two poets, one town, capturing the heartbeat of the nation in verse.
• Persons of Interest, from producers Frank Haines and Gai Steele and series director Haydn Keenan, follows four Australians as they guide us through their ASIO files. Using evidence kept secret for more than 30 years, it is the story of ASIO and the people they spied on.
• Whatever! The Science of Teenagers comes from producers Ian Collie and Chris Hilton and director Daniella Ortega, questioning why perfectly loveable children turn into grunting aliens overnight.
Commissioned Production
Tackling Peace, from producer/director/writer Marc Radomsky with executive producer Catriona Hughes, is a one-hour documentary about a combined Israeli-Palestinian Aussie Rules football team who are travelling to Australia in September to compete in the 2008 AFL International Cup.
Indigenous Branch
The two projects approved from Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch are part of the New Black initiative, which is developing and producing 10-minute dramas with emerging directors and producers.
• Nia’s Melancholy from producer Andrew Arbuthnot and writer/director Sio Tusa Fa’Aaefili tells of a young ‘Yalanji’ girl who witnesses her sister’s suicide. This is the story of her descent into melancholy and her journey of redemption.
• Ralph from producer Jessie Mangum, writer/director Deborah Mailman and writer Wayne Blair tells of Madeline, who learns that it takes more than just dreaming to survive; it takes a friend.
Producer Offset
Since the Producer Offset's inception, 142 projects have been issued with provisional certificates. Two final certificates have been issued, with a further seven applications for final certificates currently under assessment.
For a full list of new backed projects, see below:
Feature Films
Letter of Intent
END OF ANXIETY
Agenda Film Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Michelle Harrison
Producer Ian Iveson
Writer/Director Marty Murphy
Synopsis The End of Anxiety is an ironic comedy about life, love and the pursuit of happiness in our post 9/11 world.
MAD BASTARDS
Bush Turkey Films Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Martin Fabinyi
Consultant Producer David Jowsey
Producers Alan Pigram, Stephen Pigram
Director/Producer Brendan Fletcher
Synopsis Mad Bastards is a feature drama set on Australia’s last frontier – the vast and remote Kimberley region, WA. A raw, gutsy character film, it’s a meditation on violence, community and the living spirit of contemporary Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. It features performances and stories from real people in the Kimberley rather than actors, all weaved through the music of Broome legendary musicians The Pigram Brothers.
Production Approvals
CHARLIE AND BOOTS
Instinct Entertainment
Executive Producers Thomas Augsberger, Andrew Mackie, Richard Payten
Producers Shana Levine, Dean Murphy, David Redman
Writers Stewart Faichney, Dean Murphy
Director Dean Murphy
Sales and Distribution Instinct Eden Rock International, Transmission
Synopsis Boots McFarland and his estranged dad Charlie head off to Cape York Peninsula to drop a line off the northern most tip of Australia
THE CUP
The Cup Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Kirk D’Amico, Greg Sitch, Joel Pearlman, Omnilab
Producers Jan Bladier, David Lee, Lance Hool
Producer/Director Simon Wincer
Writers Eric O’Keefe, Simon Wincer
Sales and Distribution Village Roadshow, Myriad
Synopsis Probably no race had a more extraordinary effect on the nation than the running of the 2002 Melbourne Cup. At the heart of this true story is a young jockey, Damien Oliver, who having lost his only brother in a tragic racing accident just days before the race, suffers through a series of discouraging defeats, only to triumph in one of the most thrilling finales of all sport.
LOVE AND MORTAR
Cascade Films Pty Ltd
Producers David Parker, Richard Keddie, Nadia Tass
Writers Lynne Renew, David Parker
Director Nadia Tass
Sales and Distribution Fox (Aust/NZ), Content (ROW)
Synopsis A woman struggles with her son's illness and her husband's infidelity, but, after a chance encounter with an Irish sailor and his son, her life is turned upside down in a love story that defies explanation and breaks all the rules.
MAD BASTARDS
Bush Turkey Films Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Martin Fabinyi
Consultant Producer David Jowsey
Producers Alan Pigram, Stephen Pigram
Director/Producer Brendan Fletcher
Sales and Distribution Mushroom Pictures, Hopscotch, Maximum
Synopsis Mad Bastards is a feature drama set on Australia’s last frontier – the vast and remote Kimberley region, WA. A raw, gutsy character film, it’s a meditation on violence, community and the living spirit of contemporary Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. It features performances and stories from real people in the Kimberley rather than actors, all weaved through the music of Broome legendary musicians The Pigram Brothers.
Adult Television Drama
BED OF ROSES – SERIES 2
Southern Star and Ruby Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers Mark Ruse, Stephen Luby
Writers Jutta Goetze, Elizabeth Coleman
Sales and Distribution Southern Star International
Synopsis Series 2 of Bed of Roses is the story of a woman’s search – and a community’s search – for a workable identity in the 21st Century. It is also a love story. Because whether you’re 80, 50 or 17, none of us is immune to that totally infuriating, confusing, heating, frighteningly vulnerable sensation that renders us smiling, crying, despairing, and hopeful, all in the same breath. Particularly when you’re not sure which man you’re in love with.
Children’s Television Drama
DOGSTAR – SERIES 2
Media World Pictures
Producers Colin South, Ross Hutchens
Writers Doug MacLeod, Phillip Dalkin
Sales and Distribution Nine Network, Disney Australia, Daro
Synopsis The Clark kids have located the missing Dogstar, been reunited with their pet dog Hobart, returned all the dogs back to their owners on a rejuvenated earth, and defeated the evil robotics tycoon Bob Santino – or so they think.
H2O JUST ADD WATER – SERIES 3
Jonathan M Shiff Productions
Executive Producers Jonathan M Shiff, Julia Adams
Producer Jonathan M Shiff
Associate Producer Stuart Wood
Writers Anthony Morris, Max Dann, Simon Butters, Joss King, Chris Roache, Phillip Dalkin, Sam Carroll, Sam Strauss
Directors Colin Budds, Jeffery Walker
Sales and Distribution Network Ten, Disney Channel, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises
Synopsis Cleo and Lewis think they know everything there is to know about Mako Island, but when water attacks them in a full moon, they realise a new, potentially dangerous force is developing on the mysterious island. Thankfully they find an ally in Bella, a new girl in town who reveals an equally surprising twist; she too is a mermaid with extraordinary super powers.
LOCKIE LEONARD – SERIES 2
Goalpost Pictures
Executive Producers Rosemary Blight (Goalpost), Jo Horsburgh (Nine Network), Bernadette O’Mahony (ACTF)
Producer Kylie du Fresne
Writers Keith Thompson, Shelley Birse, Michael Miller, Drew Proffitt, LeeAnne Innes, David Ogilvy, Peter Templeman, Josh Wakely, Wayne Blair, Rhys Muldoon, Matt Ford
Sales and Distribution Nine Network, Nickelodeon, BBC, IDM, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Synopsis Lockie Leonard is back, with the same familiar endearing characters and humour that made the award-winning series 1 such a success and enjoyed by kids, adults and critics alike.
MY PLACE
Chapman Pictures
Producer Penny Chapman
Co-producer Helen Panckhurst
On-line Producer David Gurney
Script Producer Simon Hopkinson
Writers Alice Addison, Beth Armstrong, Blake Ayshford, Leah Purcell, Nicholas Parsons, Jacquelin Perske, Tim Pye, Greg Waters
Director Jessica Hobbs
Based on the Nadia Wheatley/Donna Rawlins children’s book My Place.
Sales and Distribution ABC, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Synopsis My Place is the story of one spot in Australia told by the children who live there over 260 years.
Documentaries
ANATOMY OF A MASSACRE
Cordell Jigsaw Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Michael Cordell
Directors Andrew Sully, Max Stahl
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, Target Entertainment
Synopsis Tells the story of a forensic investigation into one of the world’s most notorious massacres. In 1991, an estimated 200 people were shot and killed by the Indonesian military during an independence march in occupied East Timor. None of the victims’ bodies has ever been found. Now forensic pathologists from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine have been asked to help find and identify the victims.
CHINA ART
Grubstreet Media Pty Ltd
Producers Peter Hiscock, Graham Davis
Director Catherine Hunter
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, Australia Network
Synopsis Art and life combine in spectacular fashion on screen as Chinese contemporary artists reflect the vast social upheaval that has accompanied China’s emergence as a world economic power.
CONTACT
Contact Films Pty Ltd
Producers/Directors Martin Butler, Bentley Dean
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, ZDF/ARTE, ABC Commercial
Synopsis Contact will be constructed around one of the most extraordinary pieces of footage in Australian history: the moment in 1964 where a group of 20 Martu women and children walked out of the Great Sandy Desert into a new universe of European modernity. The event was only captured on film because scientists were testing the Blue Streak Rocket in the desert at the time. Many of the players on both sides are alive to recreate and tell their story.
FOR VALOUR
Bearcage Pty Ltd
Producer Michael Tear
Director Serge Ou
Sales and Distribution Foxtel History Channel
Synopsis Ordinary people. Extraordinary deeds. On the road from Sydney to Canberra 22 ordinary Australians are remembered for their extraordinary deeds of courage and sacrifice: they are winners of the Victoria Cross. This is their story.
HEARTBREAK SCIENCE
Prospero Productions (2006) Pty Ltd
Producers Ed Punchard, Julia Redwood
Director Andrea Ulbrick
Sales and Distribution SBS, BBC Scotland, BBC Worldwide
Synopsis Could the heart be more than just a pump? Startling first-hand experiences appear to suggest something absolutely incredible – that the heart may be capable of thinking, feeling and remembering. Now, in the battle against heart disease, doctors are searching for answers that could finally unlock the mysteries of the heart and understand an intriguing system of neurons dubbed ‘the little brain in the heart’.
MY ASIAN HEART
CM Film Productions and Frontline Films
Producers Carmelo Musca, David Bradbury
Director David Bradbury
Sales and Distribution SBS TV, SBS Content Sales
Synopsis Contemporary Australian photographer Philip Blenkinsop brings us Asia, a world of conflict, life, love and beauty – a unique perspective through his Asian heart.
THE OCEAN’S SUPER MUM – A SEA LION ODYSSEY
Content Mint Pty Ltd
Producer Tina Dalton
Director Susan McMillan
Sales and Distribution ABC, ZDF Arte, National Geographic Television International
Synopsis A natural history documentary featuring previously unknown underwater behaviour, and a passionate and engaging scientist whose mission it is to unlock the secrets of the most devoted of all marine mothers – the Australian Sea Lion.
SKIPPY: AUSTRALIA'S FIRST SUPERSTAR
Electric Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers Andrew Ogilvie, Andrea Quesnelle
Director Stephen Oliver
Sales and Distribution ABC, BBC, BBC Worldwide, NRK
Synopsis The inside story of a remarkable television series starring a crime-fighting kangaroo who became the emblem of a nation for children the world over.
WINNING WORLD WAR 1 – THE WESTERN FRONT DIARIES
Dunheved Pty Ltd
Producers Dr Jonathan King, Bill Leimbach
Presenter/writer Dr Jonathan King
Director Bill Leimbach
Sales and Distribution Foxtel History Channel, Roadshow Entertainment
Synopsis ANZACS on the Western Front, battle by battle. To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the end of WWI, this will be an Armistice Day tribute to the Australian soldiers who fought in the battles of the Western Front from Fromelles (July 1916) to Montbrehain (October 1918) and through to the Armistice. The film is based on the book by Jonathan King “Western Front Diaries - World War 1 Anzac stories battle by battle”(Simon Schusper October 2008).
Documentary Series
ANGELS IN NEW YORK
Angels Television Pty Ltd
Producers Gregory Miller, Elizabeth Courtenay
Director Chester Dent
Sales and Distribution SBS TV, Ovation, SBS Content Sales
Synopsis Two rookie writer/producers from Sydney take on Broadway with a most unique show Angels – the Musical!
BUSH SLAM
Freehand Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Rick Spence
Series Producers Matt Scully, Chris Thorburn
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, BBC Worldwide
Synopsis Bush Slam brings together Australia’s top poets, songwriters and comedians in a performance best described as a poetry brawl. Two poets, one town,capturing the heartbeat of the nation in verse.
PERSONS OF INTEREST
Smart St Films Pty Ltd
Producers Frank Haines, Gai Steele
Series Director Haydn Keenan
Sales and Distribution SBS TV
Synopsis: Four Australians show us through their ASIO files. Using evidence kept secret for more than thirty years, Persons of Interest is the story of ASIO and the people they spied on.
WHATEVER! THE SCIENCE OF TEENAGERS
Essential Media & Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers Ian Collie, Chris Hilton
Director Daniella Ortega
Sales and Distribution ABC TV
Synopsis Why do perfectly loveable children turn into grunting aliens overnight? Teenagers are in limbo. Not yet adults, but no longer children, they are caught up in a confusing world of intense and rapid change; to their bodies, their emotions and in their relationships with the rest of the world. The stakes are high: problems affecting teenagers are of enormous significance, with profound ramifications for their own future as well as the rest of society – but at last science has some answers to one of life’s greatest mysteries.
Commissioned Production
TACKLING PEACE
Screen Australia in association with Dreamstone Productions & GFN Productions
Executive Producer Catriona Hughes
Producer/Director/Writer Marc Radomsky
Sales and Distribution Screen Australia Promotions and Distribution
Synopsis A one-hour documentary with Network Ten about a combined
Israeli-Palestinian Aussie Rules football team that will travel to Australia in September to compete in the 2008 AFL International Cup. But none of the players has ever played this Australian code of football before. Can these traditional enemies sideline decades of conflict to compete together against the world?
Indigenous Branch
NIA’S MELANCHOLY
Lala Pictures Pty Ltd as part of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch New Black initiative
Producer Andrew Arbuthnot
Writer/Director Sio Tusa Fa'Aaefili
Synopsis A young ‘Yalanji’ girl witnesses her sister’s suicide. This is the tale of her descent into melancholy and her journey of redemption.
RALPH
Goalpost Pictures Australia as part of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch New Black initiative
Producer Jessie Mangum
Writer/Director Deborah Mailman
Writer Wayne Blair
Synopsis Madeline learns that it takes more than just dreaming to survive; it takes a friend.
19 August 2008: Screen Australia’s board met in Brisbane yesterday and approved a range of projects in all major areas of production.
In total 25 projects were approved for funding during August, with a production value of $86 million. This includes four feature films, one adult television drama, four children’s dramas, 13 documentaries (four of which are series), one commissioned production and two projects from Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch.
Following a decision by the board, projects requiring funding up to $1 million can be approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Screen Australia, outside the timetable of board meetings.
“The projects approved in the past month, including those at this board meeting, show the vast range of creativity and ideas the industry has put forward to us,” says interim CEO Lyn Maddock.
“We are setting in place a framework we believe will streamline the process of funding projects for the industry while also focussing on the development and marketing sides of the business.”
Feature films
Feature films approved for finance yesterday will see two highly experienced directors, Nadia Tass and Simon Wincer, heading into production along with Dean Murphy as well as first-time feature director Brendan Fletcher.
• The Cup, with director Simon Wincer, writers Eric O’Keefe and Simon Wincer, producers Jan Bladier, David Lee, Lance Hool and Simon Wincer, tells of the emotional 2002 Melbourne Cup – with young jockey Damien Oliver at the heart of the story.
• Love and Mortar, with director Nadia Tass, writers Lynne Renew and David Parker and producers David Parker, Richard Keddie and Nadia Tass, is a love story that defies explanation and breaks all the rules…
• Mad Bastards is to be directed by Brendan Fletcher, who also takes a producer role along with Alan Pigram and Stephen Pigram, consultant producer David Jowsey and executive producer Martin Fabinyi. The film is set in Australia’s last frontier – the vast and remote Kimberley region of WA. A raw, gutsy character film, it’s a meditation on violence, community and the living spirit of contemporary Aboriginal people of the Kimberley.
• Charlie and Boots to be directed by Dean Murphy, producers Shana Levine, Dean Murphy and David Redman and executive producers Thomas Augsberger, Andrew Mackie and Richard Payten. Boots McFarland and his estranged dad Charlie head off to Cape York Peninsula to drop a line off the northern most tip of Australia. This film will combine the comic talents of Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson.
Letters of Intent
Two letters of intent for feature films were approved: one to the Mad Bastards team, and the other to producer Ian Iveson, executive producer Michelle Harrison and writer/director Marty Murphy for End of Anxiety.
(Films chosen through Screen Australia’s evaluation program receive a letter of intent containing the terms and conditions of proposed Screen Australia funding.)
Adult Television Drama
In adult television drama, a second series of Bed of Roses was financed, with producers Mark Ruse and Stephen Luby, and writers Jutta Goetze and Elizabeth Coleman. Bed of Roses is the story of a woman’s search – and a community’s search – for a workable identity in the 21st century.
Children’s Drama
Children’s drama sees funding for a second series of the popular Dogstar approved, a third series of H20 Just Add Water and Lockie Leonard series 2, as well as a new series, My Place.
• My Place is being produced by Penny Chapman with co-producer Helen Panckhurst, on-line producer David Gurney, script producer Simon Hopkinson and writers Alice Addison, Beth Armstrong, Blake Ayshford, Leah Purcell, Nicholas Parsons, Jacquelin Perske, Tim Pye and Greg Waters; the director is Jessica Hobbs. My Place is the story of one spot in Australia, told by the children who live there over 260 years.
• Dogstar is from producers Colin South and Ross Hutchens, and writers Doug MacLeod and Phillip Dalkin. In series 2 the Clark kids have located the missing Dogstar, been reunited with their pet dog Hobart, returned all the dogs back to their owners on a rejuvenated earth and defeated the evil robotics tycoon Bob Santino – or so they think.
• H20 Just Add Water series 2 is from producer Jonathan M Shiff, executive producers Jonathan M Shiff and Julia Adams, associate producer Stuart Wood, and writers Anthony Morris, Max Dann, Simon Butters, Joss King, Chris Roache, Phillip Dalkin, Sam Carroll and Sam Strauss; directors are Colin Budds and Jeffrey Walker. Cleo and Lewis think they know everything there is to know about Mako Island, but when water attacks them in a full moon, they realise a new, potentially dangerous force is developing on the mysterious island.
• Lockie Leonard series 2 is from producer Kylie du Fresne with executive producers Rosemary Blight, Jo Horsburgh and Bernadette O’Mahony, and writers Keith Thompson, Shelley Birse, Michael Miller, Drew Proffitt, LeeAnne Innes, David Ogilvy, Peter Templeman, Josh Wakely, Wayne Blair, Rhys Muldoon and Matt Ford. Series 2 features the same familiar endearing characters and humour that made the award-winning series 1 such a success, enjoyed by kids, adults and critics alike.
Documentaries
A broad range of documentary projects was approved. Including Contact, which looks at the first contact between white and indigenous people in the Great Sandy Desert in 1964, and China Art, exploring life and art through the reflections of Chinese contemporary artists.
• Anatomy of a Massacre tells the story of the 1991 massacre of an estimated 200 people during an independence march in occupied East Timor. Executive producer is Michael Cordell, directors Andrew Sully and Max Stahl.
• China Art, from producers Peter Hiscock and Graham Davis and director Catherine Hunter, combines art and life on screen in spectacular fashion as Chinese contemporary artists reflect on the vast social upheaval that has accompanied China’s emergence as a world economic power.
• Contact, from producers/directors Martin Butler and Bentley Dean, is being constructed around one of the most extraordinary pieces of footage in Australian history where a group of 20 Martu women and children walked out of the Great Sandy Desert in 1964.
• For Valour is being produced by Michael Tear and directed by Serge Ou. On the road from Sydney to Canberra 22 ordinary Australians are remembered for their extraordinary deeds of courage and sacrifice. They are all winners of the Victoria Cross. This is their story.
• Heartbreak Science, from producers Ed Punchard and Julia Redwood with director Andrea Ulbrick, looks at research into the workings of the human heart and how doctors are searching for answers that could finally unlock the mysteries of the heart and understand an intriguing system of neurons dubbed ‘the little brain in the heart‘.
• My Asian Heart is from producers Carmelo Musca and producer/director David Bradbury and is about contemporary Australian photographer Philip Blenkinsop, who brings us Asia, a world of conflict, life, love and beauty – a unique perspective through his Asian heart.
• Skippy: Australia’s First Superstar from producers Andrew Ogilvie and Andrea Quesnelle and director Stephen Oliver tells the inside story of a remarkable television series starring a crime-fighting kangaroo who became the emblem of a nation for children the world over.
• The Ocean’s Super Mum – A Sea Lion Odyssey is a natural history documentary from producer Tina Dalton and director Susan McMillan featuring previously unknown underwater behaviour, and a passionate and engaging scientist whose mission it is to unlock the secrets of the most devoted of all marine mothers – the Australian Sea Lion.
• Winning World War 1 – The Western Front Diaries from producers Dr Jonathan King and producer/director Bill Leimbach, is an Armistice Day tribute to the Australian soldiers who fought in the battles of the West Front from Fromelies to Montbrehain and through to Armistice.
Documentary Series
• Angels in New York, from producers Gregory Miller and Elizabeth Courtenay and director Chester Dent, tells of two rookie writer/producers from Sydney who take on Broadway with a most unique show, Angels – the Musical!
• Bush Slam, from producers Matt Scully and Chris Thorburn and executive producer Rick Spence, brings together Australia’s top poets, songwriters and comedians in a performance best described as a poetry brawl. Two poets, one town, capturing the heartbeat of the nation in verse.
• Persons of Interest, from producers Frank Haines and Gai Steele and series director Haydn Keenan, follows four Australians as they guide us through their ASIO files. Using evidence kept secret for more than 30 years, it is the story of ASIO and the people they spied on.
• Whatever! The Science of Teenagers comes from producers Ian Collie and Chris Hilton and director Daniella Ortega, questioning why perfectly loveable children turn into grunting aliens overnight.
Commissioned Production
Tackling Peace, from producer/director/writer Marc Radomsky with executive producer Catriona Hughes, is a one-hour documentary about a combined Israeli-Palestinian Aussie Rules football team who are travelling to Australia in September to compete in the 2008 AFL International Cup.
Indigenous Branch
The two projects approved from Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch are part of the New Black initiative, which is developing and producing 10-minute dramas with emerging directors and producers.
• Nia’s Melancholy from producer Andrew Arbuthnot and writer/director Sio Tusa Fa’Aaefili tells of a young ‘Yalanji’ girl who witnesses her sister’s suicide. This is the story of her descent into melancholy and her journey of redemption.
• Ralph from producer Jessie Mangum, writer/director Deborah Mailman and writer Wayne Blair tells of Madeline, who learns that it takes more than just dreaming to survive; it takes a friend.
Producer Offset
Since the Producer Offset's inception, 142 projects have been issued with provisional certificates. Two final certificates have been issued, with a further seven applications for final certificates currently under assessment.
For a full list of new backed projects, see below:
Feature Films
Letter of Intent
END OF ANXIETY
Agenda Film Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Michelle Harrison
Producer Ian Iveson
Writer/Director Marty Murphy
Synopsis The End of Anxiety is an ironic comedy about life, love and the pursuit of happiness in our post 9/11 world.
MAD BASTARDS
Bush Turkey Films Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Martin Fabinyi
Consultant Producer David Jowsey
Producers Alan Pigram, Stephen Pigram
Director/Producer Brendan Fletcher
Synopsis Mad Bastards is a feature drama set on Australia’s last frontier – the vast and remote Kimberley region, WA. A raw, gutsy character film, it’s a meditation on violence, community and the living spirit of contemporary Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. It features performances and stories from real people in the Kimberley rather than actors, all weaved through the music of Broome legendary musicians The Pigram Brothers.
Production Approvals
CHARLIE AND BOOTS
Instinct Entertainment
Executive Producers Thomas Augsberger, Andrew Mackie, Richard Payten
Producers Shana Levine, Dean Murphy, David Redman
Writers Stewart Faichney, Dean Murphy
Director Dean Murphy
Sales and Distribution Instinct Eden Rock International, Transmission
Synopsis Boots McFarland and his estranged dad Charlie head off to Cape York Peninsula to drop a line off the northern most tip of Australia
THE CUP
The Cup Pty Ltd
Executive Producers Kirk D’Amico, Greg Sitch, Joel Pearlman, Omnilab
Producers Jan Bladier, David Lee, Lance Hool
Producer/Director Simon Wincer
Writers Eric O’Keefe, Simon Wincer
Sales and Distribution Village Roadshow, Myriad
Synopsis Probably no race had a more extraordinary effect on the nation than the running of the 2002 Melbourne Cup. At the heart of this true story is a young jockey, Damien Oliver, who having lost his only brother in a tragic racing accident just days before the race, suffers through a series of discouraging defeats, only to triumph in one of the most thrilling finales of all sport.
LOVE AND MORTAR
Cascade Films Pty Ltd
Producers David Parker, Richard Keddie, Nadia Tass
Writers Lynne Renew, David Parker
Director Nadia Tass
Sales and Distribution Fox (Aust/NZ), Content (ROW)
Synopsis A woman struggles with her son's illness and her husband's infidelity, but, after a chance encounter with an Irish sailor and his son, her life is turned upside down in a love story that defies explanation and breaks all the rules.
MAD BASTARDS
Bush Turkey Films Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Martin Fabinyi
Consultant Producer David Jowsey
Producers Alan Pigram, Stephen Pigram
Director/Producer Brendan Fletcher
Sales and Distribution Mushroom Pictures, Hopscotch, Maximum
Synopsis Mad Bastards is a feature drama set on Australia’s last frontier – the vast and remote Kimberley region, WA. A raw, gutsy character film, it’s a meditation on violence, community and the living spirit of contemporary Aboriginal people of the Kimberley. It features performances and stories from real people in the Kimberley rather than actors, all weaved through the music of Broome legendary musicians The Pigram Brothers.
Adult Television Drama
BED OF ROSES – SERIES 2
Southern Star and Ruby Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers Mark Ruse, Stephen Luby
Writers Jutta Goetze, Elizabeth Coleman
Sales and Distribution Southern Star International
Synopsis Series 2 of Bed of Roses is the story of a woman’s search – and a community’s search – for a workable identity in the 21st Century. It is also a love story. Because whether you’re 80, 50 or 17, none of us is immune to that totally infuriating, confusing, heating, frighteningly vulnerable sensation that renders us smiling, crying, despairing, and hopeful, all in the same breath. Particularly when you’re not sure which man you’re in love with.
Children’s Television Drama
DOGSTAR – SERIES 2
Media World Pictures
Producers Colin South, Ross Hutchens
Writers Doug MacLeod, Phillip Dalkin
Sales and Distribution Nine Network, Disney Australia, Daro
Synopsis The Clark kids have located the missing Dogstar, been reunited with their pet dog Hobart, returned all the dogs back to their owners on a rejuvenated earth, and defeated the evil robotics tycoon Bob Santino – or so they think.
H2O JUST ADD WATER – SERIES 3
Jonathan M Shiff Productions
Executive Producers Jonathan M Shiff, Julia Adams
Producer Jonathan M Shiff
Associate Producer Stuart Wood
Writers Anthony Morris, Max Dann, Simon Butters, Joss King, Chris Roache, Phillip Dalkin, Sam Carroll, Sam Strauss
Directors Colin Budds, Jeffery Walker
Sales and Distribution Network Ten, Disney Channel, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises
Synopsis Cleo and Lewis think they know everything there is to know about Mako Island, but when water attacks them in a full moon, they realise a new, potentially dangerous force is developing on the mysterious island. Thankfully they find an ally in Bella, a new girl in town who reveals an equally surprising twist; she too is a mermaid with extraordinary super powers.
LOCKIE LEONARD – SERIES 2
Goalpost Pictures
Executive Producers Rosemary Blight (Goalpost), Jo Horsburgh (Nine Network), Bernadette O’Mahony (ACTF)
Producer Kylie du Fresne
Writers Keith Thompson, Shelley Birse, Michael Miller, Drew Proffitt, LeeAnne Innes, David Ogilvy, Peter Templeman, Josh Wakely, Wayne Blair, Rhys Muldoon, Matt Ford
Sales and Distribution Nine Network, Nickelodeon, BBC, IDM, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Synopsis Lockie Leonard is back, with the same familiar endearing characters and humour that made the award-winning series 1 such a success and enjoyed by kids, adults and critics alike.
MY PLACE
Chapman Pictures
Producer Penny Chapman
Co-producer Helen Panckhurst
On-line Producer David Gurney
Script Producer Simon Hopkinson
Writers Alice Addison, Beth Armstrong, Blake Ayshford, Leah Purcell, Nicholas Parsons, Jacquelin Perske, Tim Pye, Greg Waters
Director Jessica Hobbs
Based on the Nadia Wheatley/Donna Rawlins children’s book My Place.
Sales and Distribution ABC, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Synopsis My Place is the story of one spot in Australia told by the children who live there over 260 years.
Documentaries
ANATOMY OF A MASSACRE
Cordell Jigsaw Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Michael Cordell
Directors Andrew Sully, Max Stahl
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, Target Entertainment
Synopsis Tells the story of a forensic investigation into one of the world’s most notorious massacres. In 1991, an estimated 200 people were shot and killed by the Indonesian military during an independence march in occupied East Timor. None of the victims’ bodies has ever been found. Now forensic pathologists from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine have been asked to help find and identify the victims.
CHINA ART
Grubstreet Media Pty Ltd
Producers Peter Hiscock, Graham Davis
Director Catherine Hunter
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, Australia Network
Synopsis Art and life combine in spectacular fashion on screen as Chinese contemporary artists reflect the vast social upheaval that has accompanied China’s emergence as a world economic power.
CONTACT
Contact Films Pty Ltd
Producers/Directors Martin Butler, Bentley Dean
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, ZDF/ARTE, ABC Commercial
Synopsis Contact will be constructed around one of the most extraordinary pieces of footage in Australian history: the moment in 1964 where a group of 20 Martu women and children walked out of the Great Sandy Desert into a new universe of European modernity. The event was only captured on film because scientists were testing the Blue Streak Rocket in the desert at the time. Many of the players on both sides are alive to recreate and tell their story.
FOR VALOUR
Bearcage Pty Ltd
Producer Michael Tear
Director Serge Ou
Sales and Distribution Foxtel History Channel
Synopsis Ordinary people. Extraordinary deeds. On the road from Sydney to Canberra 22 ordinary Australians are remembered for their extraordinary deeds of courage and sacrifice: they are winners of the Victoria Cross. This is their story.
HEARTBREAK SCIENCE
Prospero Productions (2006) Pty Ltd
Producers Ed Punchard, Julia Redwood
Director Andrea Ulbrick
Sales and Distribution SBS, BBC Scotland, BBC Worldwide
Synopsis Could the heart be more than just a pump? Startling first-hand experiences appear to suggest something absolutely incredible – that the heart may be capable of thinking, feeling and remembering. Now, in the battle against heart disease, doctors are searching for answers that could finally unlock the mysteries of the heart and understand an intriguing system of neurons dubbed ‘the little brain in the heart’.
MY ASIAN HEART
CM Film Productions and Frontline Films
Producers Carmelo Musca, David Bradbury
Director David Bradbury
Sales and Distribution SBS TV, SBS Content Sales
Synopsis Contemporary Australian photographer Philip Blenkinsop brings us Asia, a world of conflict, life, love and beauty – a unique perspective through his Asian heart.
THE OCEAN’S SUPER MUM – A SEA LION ODYSSEY
Content Mint Pty Ltd
Producer Tina Dalton
Director Susan McMillan
Sales and Distribution ABC, ZDF Arte, National Geographic Television International
Synopsis A natural history documentary featuring previously unknown underwater behaviour, and a passionate and engaging scientist whose mission it is to unlock the secrets of the most devoted of all marine mothers – the Australian Sea Lion.
SKIPPY: AUSTRALIA'S FIRST SUPERSTAR
Electric Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers Andrew Ogilvie, Andrea Quesnelle
Director Stephen Oliver
Sales and Distribution ABC, BBC, BBC Worldwide, NRK
Synopsis The inside story of a remarkable television series starring a crime-fighting kangaroo who became the emblem of a nation for children the world over.
WINNING WORLD WAR 1 – THE WESTERN FRONT DIARIES
Dunheved Pty Ltd
Producers Dr Jonathan King, Bill Leimbach
Presenter/writer Dr Jonathan King
Director Bill Leimbach
Sales and Distribution Foxtel History Channel, Roadshow Entertainment
Synopsis ANZACS on the Western Front, battle by battle. To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the end of WWI, this will be an Armistice Day tribute to the Australian soldiers who fought in the battles of the Western Front from Fromelles (July 1916) to Montbrehain (October 1918) and through to the Armistice. The film is based on the book by Jonathan King “Western Front Diaries - World War 1 Anzac stories battle by battle”(Simon Schusper October 2008).
Documentary Series
ANGELS IN NEW YORK
Angels Television Pty Ltd
Producers Gregory Miller, Elizabeth Courtenay
Director Chester Dent
Sales and Distribution SBS TV, Ovation, SBS Content Sales
Synopsis Two rookie writer/producers from Sydney take on Broadway with a most unique show Angels – the Musical!
BUSH SLAM
Freehand Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer Rick Spence
Series Producers Matt Scully, Chris Thorburn
Sales and Distribution ABC TV, BBC Worldwide
Synopsis Bush Slam brings together Australia’s top poets, songwriters and comedians in a performance best described as a poetry brawl. Two poets, one town,capturing the heartbeat of the nation in verse.
PERSONS OF INTEREST
Smart St Films Pty Ltd
Producers Frank Haines, Gai Steele
Series Director Haydn Keenan
Sales and Distribution SBS TV
Synopsis: Four Australians show us through their ASIO files. Using evidence kept secret for more than thirty years, Persons of Interest is the story of ASIO and the people they spied on.
WHATEVER! THE SCIENCE OF TEENAGERS
Essential Media & Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers Ian Collie, Chris Hilton
Director Daniella Ortega
Sales and Distribution ABC TV
Synopsis Why do perfectly loveable children turn into grunting aliens overnight? Teenagers are in limbo. Not yet adults, but no longer children, they are caught up in a confusing world of intense and rapid change; to their bodies, their emotions and in their relationships with the rest of the world. The stakes are high: problems affecting teenagers are of enormous significance, with profound ramifications for their own future as well as the rest of society – but at last science has some answers to one of life’s greatest mysteries.
Commissioned Production
TACKLING PEACE
Screen Australia in association with Dreamstone Productions & GFN Productions
Executive Producer Catriona Hughes
Producer/Director/Writer Marc Radomsky
Sales and Distribution Screen Australia Promotions and Distribution
Synopsis A one-hour documentary with Network Ten about a combined
Israeli-Palestinian Aussie Rules football team that will travel to Australia in September to compete in the 2008 AFL International Cup. But none of the players has ever played this Australian code of football before. Can these traditional enemies sideline decades of conflict to compete together against the world?
Indigenous Branch
NIA’S MELANCHOLY
Lala Pictures Pty Ltd as part of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch New Black initiative
Producer Andrew Arbuthnot
Writer/Director Sio Tusa Fa'Aaefili
Synopsis A young ‘Yalanji’ girl witnesses her sister’s suicide. This is the tale of her descent into melancholy and her journey of redemption.
RALPH
Goalpost Pictures Australia as part of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Branch New Black initiative
Producer Jessie Mangum
Writer/Director Deborah Mailman
Writer Wayne Blair
Synopsis Madeline learns that it takes more than just dreaming to survive; it takes a friend.
| 20 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
