Australian and New Zealand indie distributor Umbrella Entertainment will launch Brollie, a free of charge, ad-supported streaming service later this month. It will lean on Umbrella’s library of classic content and claims to be the first free streaming platform specializing in Australian film and TV content.
Brollie will launch on Nov. 23 with over 300 titles including: “Babadook”; “Two Hands” (dir. Gregor Jordan, 1999); cult classics “Sweat”; “Erskineville Kings”; and “Cut” starring Kylie Minogue.
Brollie will also have a section for Indigenous Australia, including a collection of films starring Aboriginal screen legend David Gulpilil. These include “Walkabout”; “Storm Boy”; and “The Last Wave”.
A documentary slate includes “Servant or Slave” and “Ablaze”.
Subscribers will be invited to be part of the Brollie Film Club, where Brollie’s in-house team handpicks the best of the catalogue twice a month. Members can terrify themselves with the ‘Australian Nightmares’ collection exploring the best of Aussie...
Brollie will launch on Nov. 23 with over 300 titles including: “Babadook”; “Two Hands” (dir. Gregor Jordan, 1999); cult classics “Sweat”; “Erskineville Kings”; and “Cut” starring Kylie Minogue.
Brollie will also have a section for Indigenous Australia, including a collection of films starring Aboriginal screen legend David Gulpilil. These include “Walkabout”; “Storm Boy”; and “The Last Wave”.
A documentary slate includes “Servant or Slave” and “Ablaze”.
Subscribers will be invited to be part of the Brollie Film Club, where Brollie’s in-house team handpicks the best of the catalogue twice a month. Members can terrify themselves with the ‘Australian Nightmares’ collection exploring the best of Aussie...
- 11/14/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road: Origin is underway in Western Australia’s Kalgoorlie-Boulder for the ABC, with a stacked ensemble cast to join Mark Coles Smith as a young Jay Swan.
They include Toby Leonard Moore, Daniel Henshall, Lisa Flanagan, Clarence Ryan, Steve Bisley, Caroline Brazier, Hayley McElhinney, Dubs Yunupingu, Kelton Pell, Leonie Whyman, Salme Geransar, Nina Young and rising stars Jayden Popik and Tuuli Narkle, who will play Jay’s first love Mary.
The third season of the series is set in 1999 and follows Constable Jay Swan, a charismatic young officer who arrives at his new station. Fresh from the city and tipped for big things, Jay might be the new copper, but he’s not new to this town. His estranged father Jack lives here, as does the woman who will change his life forever, Mary.
The Mystery Road franchise stems back to Ivan Sen’s 2013 film by the same title,...
They include Toby Leonard Moore, Daniel Henshall, Lisa Flanagan, Clarence Ryan, Steve Bisley, Caroline Brazier, Hayley McElhinney, Dubs Yunupingu, Kelton Pell, Leonie Whyman, Salme Geransar, Nina Young and rising stars Jayden Popik and Tuuli Narkle, who will play Jay’s first love Mary.
The third season of the series is set in 1999 and follows Constable Jay Swan, a charismatic young officer who arrives at his new station. Fresh from the city and tipped for big things, Jay might be the new copper, but he’s not new to this town. His estranged father Jack lives here, as does the woman who will change his life forever, Mary.
The Mystery Road franchise stems back to Ivan Sen’s 2013 film by the same title,...
- 10/12/2021
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Newly-appointed Screen Australia head of First Nations Angela Bates is taking an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach to the role, insisting her focus is on furthering the strides made by her predecessors.
Bates, who first joined the department in early 2019 as development and investment manager, had the opportunity to work closely with previous head Penny Smallacombe, who vacated the position in May after more than six years.
Speaking to If, she said she would draw on the five strategic pillars identified in The Next 25 Years, a strategy that Smallacombe developed in consultation with filmmakers and industry stakeholders during the department’s 25th anniversary year in 2018.
“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here,” she said.
“There are five key pillars that underpin The Next 25 Years strategy – Indigenous storytelling, identifying stories and talent, developing talent, connecting talent, and advocating for indigenous representation and leadership.
“I...
Bates, who first joined the department in early 2019 as development and investment manager, had the opportunity to work closely with previous head Penny Smallacombe, who vacated the position in May after more than six years.
Speaking to If, she said she would draw on the five strategic pillars identified in The Next 25 Years, a strategy that Smallacombe developed in consultation with filmmakers and industry stakeholders during the department’s 25th anniversary year in 2018.
“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here,” she said.
“There are five key pillars that underpin The Next 25 Years strategy – Indigenous storytelling, identifying stories and talent, developing talent, connecting talent, and advocating for indigenous representation and leadership.
“I...
- 10/5/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Six-part anthology series Fires, about the experiences of everyday people at the frontline of the 2019-2020 bushfires, will premiere on Sunday, 26 September, 8.40pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Filmed in Melbourne and regional Victoria earlier this year, the Tony Ayres Productions drama goes behind the images and the headlines to touch on the stories of people directly affected by the fires.
The series begins in Queensland in September 2019, at the start of the fire season, and continues as the fires make their deadly march south, burning out of control through Nsw and Victoria until February 2020. Each episode is set in a different location as the fires spread and build to a terrifying onslaught across the country through Christmas and New Year.
As the fires grow in intensity and ferocity and threaten different communities, new characters appear, whose stories reflect the breadth of experience during Australia’s black summer.
Bringing...
Filmed in Melbourne and regional Victoria earlier this year, the Tony Ayres Productions drama goes behind the images and the headlines to touch on the stories of people directly affected by the fires.
The series begins in Queensland in September 2019, at the start of the fire season, and continues as the fires make their deadly march south, burning out of control through Nsw and Victoria until February 2020. Each episode is set in a different location as the fires spread and build to a terrifying onslaught across the country through Christmas and New Year.
As the fires grow in intensity and ferocity and threaten different communities, new characters appear, whose stories reflect the breadth of experience during Australia’s black summer.
Bringing...
- 8/30/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Mark Coles Smith is set to take the baton from Aaron Pedersen and play a young Jay Swan in Mystery Road: Origin, ABC/Bunya Productions’ latest instalment in the crime drama franchise.
Set in 1999, the series will see Constable Jay Swan as young charismatic officer at his new station. Fresh from the city and tipped for big things, Jay might be the new copper, but he’s not new to this town. His estranged father Jack lives here, as does the woman who will change his life forever, Mary.
Mystery Road: Origin will explore how a tragic death, an epic love, and the brutal reality of life as a police officer straddling two worlds, form the indelible mould out of which will emerge Detective Jay Swan.
“Audiences have long been intrigued with the enigmatic detective,” said producer Greer Simpkin.
“Now we peel back the layers of Jay Swan, to discover...
Set in 1999, the series will see Constable Jay Swan as young charismatic officer at his new station. Fresh from the city and tipped for big things, Jay might be the new copper, but he’s not new to this town. His estranged father Jack lives here, as does the woman who will change his life forever, Mary.
Mystery Road: Origin will explore how a tragic death, an epic love, and the brutal reality of life as a police officer straddling two worlds, form the indelible mould out of which will emerge Detective Jay Swan.
“Audiences have long been intrigued with the enigmatic detective,” said producer Greer Simpkin.
“Now we peel back the layers of Jay Swan, to discover...
- 8/23/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Rarriwuy Hick leads the ensemble cast of Bunya Productions’ drama True Colours (formerly Copping It Black), now shooting in the Northern Territory’s Macdonnell Ranges for Sbs and Nitv.
The four-part series stems from an original concept from Arrernte singer-songwriter Warren H. Williams, who also stars, and co-creator, writer and director Erica Glynn.
Hick plays Detective Toni Alma, assigned to investigate a suspicious car accident in Perdar Theendar, the Indigenous community she left as a child and has had little to do with over the years. The beauty of Indigenous art and the sometimes-devious practices in the global art market take the detective on an epic hunt for a killer.
Starring alongside Hick are Luke Arnold, Erroll Shand, Emilie de Ravin, Trisha Morton-Thomas, Ben Oxenbould and Miranda Otto.
The series will also include a range of fresh faces such as Kumalie Riley, Kurt Abbott, Sabella Turner, Natalie Peperill, Warren ‘Wazza’ Williams,...
The four-part series stems from an original concept from Arrernte singer-songwriter Warren H. Williams, who also stars, and co-creator, writer and director Erica Glynn.
Hick plays Detective Toni Alma, assigned to investigate a suspicious car accident in Perdar Theendar, the Indigenous community she left as a child and has had little to do with over the years. The beauty of Indigenous art and the sometimes-devious practices in the global art market take the detective on an epic hunt for a killer.
Starring alongside Hick are Luke Arnold, Erroll Shand, Emilie de Ravin, Trisha Morton-Thomas, Ben Oxenbould and Miranda Otto.
The series will also include a range of fresh faces such as Kumalie Riley, Kurt Abbott, Sabella Turner, Natalie Peperill, Warren ‘Wazza’ Williams,...
- 8/4/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Outgoing Screen Australia head of First Nations Penny Smallacombe is set to join Bunya Media Group as a producer.
Smallacombe will produce a number of the company’s upcoming projects, including Sbs drama series Copping It Black, working with directors Erica Glynn and Steven McGregor, who both penned the script with Danielle Maclean.
While at Screen Australia, Smallacombe helped shepherd to screen several Bunya Productions projects, including ABC series Mystery Road, Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country and Ivan Sen’s Goldstone, as well as helping to facilitate Bunya Talent Hub LA.
Smallacombe, a Maramanindji woman from the Northern Territory, tells If she has loved Bunya’s “big, bold” output over the past few years, and considers it a privilege to join the team. She is keen to use her new role to continue to bring authentic First Nations stories to screen, particularly from exciting new talent.
“They’re a trusted...
Smallacombe will produce a number of the company’s upcoming projects, including Sbs drama series Copping It Black, working with directors Erica Glynn and Steven McGregor, who both penned the script with Danielle Maclean.
While at Screen Australia, Smallacombe helped shepherd to screen several Bunya Productions projects, including ABC series Mystery Road, Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country and Ivan Sen’s Goldstone, as well as helping to facilitate Bunya Talent Hub LA.
Smallacombe, a Maramanindji woman from the Northern Territory, tells If she has loved Bunya’s “big, bold” output over the past few years, and considers it a privilege to join the team. She is keen to use her new role to continue to bring authentic First Nations stories to screen, particularly from exciting new talent.
“They’re a trusted...
- 5/26/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Production in and around Sydney, Australia has started on “Preppers,” a comedy series about the end of the world.
Directed by Steven McGregor (“Black Comedy”), “Preppers” follows a young Aboriginal woman whose world crumbles around her after experiencing a personal, cataclysmic event. Escaping the fallout, she finds herself at the center of a mismatched community of doomsday preppers.
“Preppers” stars Nakkiah Lui who also co-wrote the series with Gabriel Dowrick.
Penny Smallacombe, head of the First Nations Department at Screen Australia said: “Nakkiah Lui has a track record of creating boundary-pushing comedy and we’re proud to support her and the rest of the talented creative team in bringing this hilarious and clever series to life. Who doesn’t need a few lessons in Prepping!”
The show is a Porchlight Films production in association with Spirit Pictures. The series producer is Sylvia Warmer, with Porchlight’s Liz Watts and the...
Directed by Steven McGregor (“Black Comedy”), “Preppers” follows a young Aboriginal woman whose world crumbles around her after experiencing a personal, cataclysmic event. Escaping the fallout, she finds herself at the center of a mismatched community of doomsday preppers.
“Preppers” stars Nakkiah Lui who also co-wrote the series with Gabriel Dowrick.
Penny Smallacombe, head of the First Nations Department at Screen Australia said: “Nakkiah Lui has a track record of creating boundary-pushing comedy and we’re proud to support her and the rest of the talented creative team in bringing this hilarious and clever series to life. Who doesn’t need a few lessons in Prepping!”
The show is a Porchlight Films production in association with Spirit Pictures. The series producer is Sylvia Warmer, with Porchlight’s Liz Watts and the...
- 5/6/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
ABC doomsday comedy Preppers has started filming in Sydney, with the six-part series set to air later this year.
Directed by Steven McGregor, Preppers follows Charlie (Nakkiah Lui), a young Aboriginal woman whose world crumbles around her after experiencing a personal, cataclysmic event.
Escaping the fallout, Charlie finds herself at the centre of a hilariously mismatched community of doomsday preppers.
Written by Lui and Gabriel Dowrick, the cast includes Ursula Yovich, Chum Ehelepola , Meyne Wyatt, Aaron McGrath, Eryn Jean Norvill, Jack Charles, Grant Denyer, Christine Anu, Miranda Tapsell, Brooke Satchwell, Luke Carroll and singer Kate Miller-Heidke.
Preppers is a Porchlight Films production, in association with Spirit Pictures. Sylvia Warmer produces, with Liz Watts executive producing alongside Margaret Ross from the ABC.
Backers include Screen Australia’s First Nations Department, while there has also been a major production investment from the ABC, in association with Screen Nsw.
Lui and Dowrick, a wife and husband team,...
Directed by Steven McGregor, Preppers follows Charlie (Nakkiah Lui), a young Aboriginal woman whose world crumbles around her after experiencing a personal, cataclysmic event.
Escaping the fallout, Charlie finds herself at the centre of a hilariously mismatched community of doomsday preppers.
Written by Lui and Gabriel Dowrick, the cast includes Ursula Yovich, Chum Ehelepola , Meyne Wyatt, Aaron McGrath, Eryn Jean Norvill, Jack Charles, Grant Denyer, Christine Anu, Miranda Tapsell, Brooke Satchwell, Luke Carroll and singer Kate Miller-Heidke.
Preppers is a Porchlight Films production, in association with Spirit Pictures. Sylvia Warmer produces, with Liz Watts executive producing alongside Margaret Ross from the ABC.
Backers include Screen Australia’s First Nations Department, while there has also been a major production investment from the ABC, in association with Screen Nsw.
Lui and Dowrick, a wife and husband team,...
- 5/6/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Leading producers Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko have assembled an extraordinary Australian cast for Fires, a drama series that presents personal tales from the front lines of the country’s recent catastrophic fire season.
The series, which is now shooting in Victoria state is produced by NBCUniversal -backed Tony Ayres Productions and Matchbox Pictures. Australian Broadcasting Corporation is on board as local broadcaster. International rights are handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
The project is helmed by three leading film directors: Michael Rymer, Ana Kokkinos and Kim Mordaunt.
The ensemble cast includes: Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto (“Homeland”), Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall and Noni Hazlehurst.
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires” is structured as an anthology that weaves character studies inspired by true stories into a narrative about the Australian bushfires of 2019-...
The series, which is now shooting in Victoria state is produced by NBCUniversal -backed Tony Ayres Productions and Matchbox Pictures. Australian Broadcasting Corporation is on board as local broadcaster. International rights are handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
The project is helmed by three leading film directors: Michael Rymer, Ana Kokkinos and Kim Mordaunt.
The ensemble cast includes: Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto (“Homeland”), Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall and Noni Hazlehurst.
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires” is structured as an anthology that weaves character studies inspired by true stories into a narrative about the Australian bushfires of 2019-...
- 4/9/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The ABC and Tony Ayres Productions’ (Tap) anthology drama Fires is underway in Victoria, with a stellar cast that boasts Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto, Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall, and Noni Hazlehurst.
Joining the ensemble are also newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires, co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, is inspired by accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season of late 2019 and early 2020.
Each episode is based around a different community, drawn from reports of ordinary people and the impossible choices they were forced to make.
Chayko, who is the showrunner and lead writer, said: “So many people were affected by the fires of 2019/2020 and we wanted to honour their experiences and the losses they suffered – to ensure that their stories were not forgotten. Fires is a series about ordinary people, caught in the unimaginable,...
Joining the ensemble are also newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires, co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, is inspired by accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season of late 2019 and early 2020.
Each episode is based around a different community, drawn from reports of ordinary people and the impossible choices they were forced to make.
Chayko, who is the showrunner and lead writer, said: “So many people were affected by the fires of 2019/2020 and we wanted to honour their experiences and the losses they suffered – to ensure that their stories were not forgotten. Fires is a series about ordinary people, caught in the unimaginable,...
- 4/9/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: Australian drama series Fires has put together its cast.
The series, created by Stateless creator Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, has put together an ensemble cast featuring Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Richard Roxburgh (The Crown), Sullivan Stapleton (Blindspot), Miranda Otto (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Hunter Page-Lochard (Harrow), Anna Torv (Mindhunter), Kate Box (Stateless), Helana Sawires (Stateless), Daniel Henshall (Defending Jacob) and Noni Hazlehurst (A Place to Call Home).
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
The six-part series, which is inspired by extraordinary accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season in Australia of late 2019 and early 2020, will air on ABC in Australia and NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international sales.
It is produced by NBCU-backed Tony Ayres Productions and written by showrunner Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Executive Producers include Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts.
The series, created by Stateless creator Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, has put together an ensemble cast featuring Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Richard Roxburgh (The Crown), Sullivan Stapleton (Blindspot), Miranda Otto (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Hunter Page-Lochard (Harrow), Anna Torv (Mindhunter), Kate Box (Stateless), Helana Sawires (Stateless), Daniel Henshall (Defending Jacob) and Noni Hazlehurst (A Place to Call Home).
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
The six-part series, which is inspired by extraordinary accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season in Australia of late 2019 and early 2020, will air on ABC in Australia and NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international sales.
It is produced by NBCU-backed Tony Ayres Productions and written by showrunner Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Executive Producers include Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts.
- 4/9/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Following on from their collaboration on Stateless and the upcoming ABC drama Fires, Liz Watts has signed an overall television deal with Matchbox Pictures.
The deal will see the NBC Universal-owned company work with Watts to develop and produce high-end television projects for the Australian and global market.
Watts was an executive producer on Matchbox’s Stateless for the ABC/Netflix, and is also serving as executive producer on Fires, a six-part anthology co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, drawing on the experiences of those who had their lives devastated by last summer’s bushfires. The series is expected to into production later this year, from scripts penned by Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Matchbox MD Alastair McKinnon said: “Liz’s incredible skill set and wealth of experience across film and TV make her the perfect addition to the exceptional talent we have at Matchbox.
The deal will see the NBC Universal-owned company work with Watts to develop and produce high-end television projects for the Australian and global market.
Watts was an executive producer on Matchbox’s Stateless for the ABC/Netflix, and is also serving as executive producer on Fires, a six-part anthology co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, drawing on the experiences of those who had their lives devastated by last summer’s bushfires. The series is expected to into production later this year, from scripts penned by Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Matchbox MD Alastair McKinnon said: “Liz’s incredible skill set and wealth of experience across film and TV make her the perfect addition to the exceptional talent we have at Matchbox.
- 3/31/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Two distinctly Australian stories have taken out the top prizes at the inaugural Aidc Awards, with Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream and Southern Pictures’ Miriam Margolyes: Almost Australian awarded Best Feature Documentary and Best Documentary/Factual Series, respectively.
Held as a conclusion to this year’s Aidc, the awards ceremony crowned winners across six categories and distributed more than $200,000 of development funding and prizes.
The event was was broadcast live from Acmi in Melbourne to six cities around Australia.
It caps of this year’s online conference, which comprised more than 40 sessions across four days, and came with contributions from a diverse range of speakers and decision-makers.
The winners of the inaugural Aidc Awards are:
Best Feature Documentary
The Australian Dream
Daniel Gordon, Good Thing Productions & Passion Pictures.
Jury Statement: “In collaboration with Stan Grant, what Gordon finds in the story of Adam Goodes’ disgraceful public discrimination is potent,...
Held as a conclusion to this year’s Aidc, the awards ceremony crowned winners across six categories and distributed more than $200,000 of development funding and prizes.
The event was was broadcast live from Acmi in Melbourne to six cities around Australia.
It caps of this year’s online conference, which comprised more than 40 sessions across four days, and came with contributions from a diverse range of speakers and decision-makers.
The winners of the inaugural Aidc Awards are:
Best Feature Documentary
The Australian Dream
Daniel Gordon, Good Thing Productions & Passion Pictures.
Jury Statement: “In collaboration with Stan Grant, what Gordon finds in the story of Adam Goodes’ disgraceful public discrimination is potent,...
- 3/3/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Pursekey Productions director and principal producer Michaela Perske is the Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) Stanley Hawes Award recipient for 2021.
Perske’s recognition was announced today alongside the 20 nominees for the inaugural Aidc awards.
Designed to recognise the “outstanding completed works of new Australian documentary and factual content”, the awards will be presented in person across eight cities, as well as livestreamed to Aidc delegates.
Originally trained as a journalist, Perske has over 20 years of media experience across radio, print and TV.
Since turning her hand to factual content, she has produced films including Girls Can’t Surf, Black Divaz, After the Apology, and Destination Arnold.
In announcing the award, the Aidc said it wanted to acknowledge “her outstanding contribution to the Australian documentary and factual sector”.
Australian practitioners had the opportunity to submit across six categories for the Aidc Awards: Best Feature Documentary, with a $5,000 cash prize presented by Doc...
Perske’s recognition was announced today alongside the 20 nominees for the inaugural Aidc awards.
Designed to recognise the “outstanding completed works of new Australian documentary and factual content”, the awards will be presented in person across eight cities, as well as livestreamed to Aidc delegates.
Originally trained as a journalist, Perske has over 20 years of media experience across radio, print and TV.
Since turning her hand to factual content, she has produced films including Girls Can’t Surf, Black Divaz, After the Apology, and Destination Arnold.
In announcing the award, the Aidc said it wanted to acknowledge “her outstanding contribution to the Australian documentary and factual sector”.
Australian practitioners had the opportunity to submit across six categories for the Aidc Awards: Best Feature Documentary, with a $5,000 cash prize presented by Doc...
- 2/10/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Two feature films, three TV dramas, one children’s series, and one online project will share in $5.9 million of production funding from Screen Australia.
The projects include feature How To Please A Woman about a woman’s choice to take her all-male housecleaning business to a more intimate level; the previously announced ABC anthology drama series Fires, set during last summer’s devastating bushfires; Stan feature Gold, and a comedy about a single woman and her database of potential sexual partners in Spreadsheet for Viacom CBS.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said it was a testament to the resilience of the screen industry to have so many projects move into production during such a challenging period.
“It’s fantastic to kick off 2021 with such a great sample of the premium dramas that have been greenlit across the country,” she said.
“We’re so pleased to have supported...
The projects include feature How To Please A Woman about a woman’s choice to take her all-male housecleaning business to a more intimate level; the previously announced ABC anthology drama series Fires, set during last summer’s devastating bushfires; Stan feature Gold, and a comedy about a single woman and her database of potential sexual partners in Spreadsheet for Viacom CBS.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said it was a testament to the resilience of the screen industry to have so many projects move into production during such a challenging period.
“It’s fantastic to kick off 2021 with such a great sample of the premium dramas that have been greenlit across the country,” she said.
“We’re so pleased to have supported...
- 2/3/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
So hefty is the ABC’s slate in 2021, director entertainment and specialist Michael Carrington is confident audiences won’t even realise that many of the broadcaster’s productions faced shutdowns and delays during the pandemic.
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
- 11/25/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Sbs unveiled its largest ever local drama slate at its upfronts today, including a new four-part crime series from Bunya Productions and Caama, Copping it Black, to be directed by Erica Glynn and Steven McGregor.
Next year will also see the broadcaster air a hefty roster of local unscripted projects, including the seven one-off docs produced via the Australia Uncovered initiative, and landmark factual series covering off on topics such as domestic violence, adult literacy, disability, ageism and obesity.
Goalpost’s gold rush drama New Gold Mountain, delayed due to Covid-19, is now underway in Victoria, with Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, and Mabel Li toplining the cast.
Set in the Bendigo Goldfields in 1855, it follows the charismatic headman of the Chinese mining camp who suddenly finds himself struggling to maintain the fragile harmony between Chinese and European diggers and authorities when a murdered European woman...
Next year will also see the broadcaster air a hefty roster of local unscripted projects, including the seven one-off docs produced via the Australia Uncovered initiative, and landmark factual series covering off on topics such as domestic violence, adult literacy, disability, ageism and obesity.
Goalpost’s gold rush drama New Gold Mountain, delayed due to Covid-19, is now underway in Victoria, with Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, and Mabel Li toplining the cast.
Set in the Bendigo Goldfields in 1855, it follows the charismatic headman of the Chinese mining camp who suddenly finds himself struggling to maintain the fragile harmony between Chinese and European diggers and authorities when a murdered European woman...
- 11/18/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
‘I Am Mother’.
Australia’s production incentives and Indigenous storytelling will be showcased at this year’s virtual IFP Week in New York, thanks to the Australian International Screen Forum and Screen Australia.
Running September 20-24, the event will feature two panels with an Aussie focus, while two local projects have also been selected for the No Borders International Co-Production Market.
In a session moderated by Jenny Cooney, writers Steven McGregor (Sweet Country) and Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road) will discuss the importance of Indigenous Australians telling their own stories, and taking those projects to a global audience.
Kodie Bedford.
Separately, director Grant Sputore and producer Kelvin Munro will break down how they leveraged South Australia’s production incentives and facilities to produce sci-fi I Am Mother, to which Netflix ultimately snapped up the worldwide rights. The discussion will be designed for international filmmakers interested in working with Australians to make...
Australia’s production incentives and Indigenous storytelling will be showcased at this year’s virtual IFP Week in New York, thanks to the Australian International Screen Forum and Screen Australia.
Running September 20-24, the event will feature two panels with an Aussie focus, while two local projects have also been selected for the No Borders International Co-Production Market.
In a session moderated by Jenny Cooney, writers Steven McGregor (Sweet Country) and Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road) will discuss the importance of Indigenous Australians telling their own stories, and taking those projects to a global audience.
Kodie Bedford.
Separately, director Grant Sputore and producer Kelvin Munro will break down how they leveraged South Australia’s production incentives and facilities to produce sci-fi I Am Mother, to which Netflix ultimately snapped up the worldwide rights. The discussion will be designed for international filmmakers interested in working with Australians to make...
- 9/17/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Tony Ayres.
The impact of the devastating bushfires of last summer will be explored in six-part drama The Fires, currently in development at the ABC.
The Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) series is planned as a serialised anthology, inspired by the stories of the people who survived the catastrophe and continue to endure its aftermath.
Each episode will be based around character studies of ordinary people caught in the unimaginable and the impossible choices they were forced to make. These will include volunteer firefighters; families who lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones; people who had to make agonising decisions about whether to stay or flee; and others who found themselves responsible for the lives of friends and strangers.
Working with Ayres in the creative team is Tap head of development Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team is led by Belinda Chayko, working with Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
The impact of the devastating bushfires of last summer will be explored in six-part drama The Fires, currently in development at the ABC.
The Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) series is planned as a serialised anthology, inspired by the stories of the people who survived the catastrophe and continue to endure its aftermath.
Each episode will be based around character studies of ordinary people caught in the unimaginable and the impossible choices they were forced to make. These will include volunteer firefighters; families who lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones; people who had to make agonising decisions about whether to stay or flee; and others who found themselves responsible for the lives of friends and strangers.
Working with Ayres in the creative team is Tap head of development Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team is led by Belinda Chayko, working with Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
- 8/13/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) is developing The Fires, a six-part anthology series drawing on the experiences of those directly affected by the Australian megafires of last summer.
The company, which has an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, has ABC already on board with the series in Australia.
The creative team includes Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team, led by International Emmy Award-winning showrunner/writer Belinda Chayko includes Jacquelin Perske (The Cry), Mirrah Foulkes (Judy and Punch), Steven McGregor (Mystery Road) and Anya Beyersdorf.
The Fires is a serialized anthology inspired by the stories of the people who survived last summer’s catastrophic fire season and continue to endure the aftermath. Each episode is based around character studies...
The company, which has an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, has ABC already on board with the series in Australia.
The creative team includes Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team, led by International Emmy Award-winning showrunner/writer Belinda Chayko includes Jacquelin Perske (The Cry), Mirrah Foulkes (Judy and Punch), Steven McGregor (Mystery Road) and Anya Beyersdorf.
The Fires is a serialized anthology inspired by the stories of the people who survived last summer’s catastrophic fire season and continue to endure the aftermath. Each episode is based around character studies...
- 8/13/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Steven Oliver in ‘Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky’.
Local films from directors Jo-Anne Brechin and Steven McGregor are among the 12 world premieres to feature on the line-up for Miff 68½ – Melbourne International Film Festival’s upcoming digital-only iteration.
To run August 6-23, the event will encompass some 69 features and 44 shorts from 56 countries – an impressive number given the rights complications inherent in putting together an online showcase. Forty-nine per cent of films are from a female director, and all films are available to stream across Australia.
Miff artistic director Al Cossar said: “I’m delighted to say that, despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring you the world through unforgettable screen experiences. At Miff, we are driven by a deep understanding that film has the ability to entertain, inspire, illuminate and empower audiences in a way that few other...
Local films from directors Jo-Anne Brechin and Steven McGregor are among the 12 world premieres to feature on the line-up for Miff 68½ – Melbourne International Film Festival’s upcoming digital-only iteration.
To run August 6-23, the event will encompass some 69 features and 44 shorts from 56 countries – an impressive number given the rights complications inherent in putting together an online showcase. Forty-nine per cent of films are from a female director, and all films are available to stream across Australia.
Miff artistic director Al Cossar said: “I’m delighted to say that, despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring you the world through unforgettable screen experiences. At Miff, we are driven by a deep understanding that film has the ability to entertain, inspire, illuminate and empower audiences in a way that few other...
- 7/15/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” is set as the opening movie of the Melbourne International Film Festival. The event was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, before being revived online under the label Miff 68 ½. The festival will unspool virtually Aug 6-23, 2020.
“First Cow” is an unlikely story of friendship and free enterprise on the American frontier, involving a skilled cook, a Chinese immigrant and a wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow. It previously played at the Telluride, New York and Berlin festivals.
In total, the festival will present 60 feature films, including 3 in a retrospective section, and 44 shorts. They hail from 56 countries and territories and 49% include at least one female director. All film screenings are geo-blocked to play only within Australia, but are available nationwide.
“Despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring (to audiences) the world through unforgettable screen experiences,...
“First Cow” is an unlikely story of friendship and free enterprise on the American frontier, involving a skilled cook, a Chinese immigrant and a wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow. It previously played at the Telluride, New York and Berlin festivals.
In total, the festival will present 60 feature films, including 3 in a retrospective section, and 44 shorts. They hail from 56 countries and territories and 49% include at least one female director. All film screenings are geo-blocked to play only within Australia, but are available nationwide.
“Despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring (to audiences) the world through unforgettable screen experiences,...
- 7/14/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Dylan River and Tanith Glynn-Maloney.
After producing She Who Must Be Loved and co-producing Robbie Hood and The Beach, Tanith Glynn-Maloney is sticking to her mission of telling “blackfella” stories.
“I only want to tell positive stories about blackfellas. I’m not interested in working for white fellas just to tick some boxes,” Glynn-Maloney told First Nations Media Australia’s Catherine Liddle in a Media Ring interview last week.
Glynn-Maloney, who is partnered with her cousin Dylan River in Since 1788 Productions, is developing multiple projects including Finding Jedda, a short film funded by the No Ordinary Black initiative, in which Screen Australia’s Indigenous department is partnered with Nitv and state agencies.
Also in the works are a prequel to Robbie Hood with Ludo Studio; The Visitors, a feature drama based on Jane Harrison’s play, a co-production with Nick Batzias’ Good Thing Productions; and Pictures in Paradise’s action-adventure-drama Musquito.
After producing She Who Must Be Loved and co-producing Robbie Hood and The Beach, Tanith Glynn-Maloney is sticking to her mission of telling “blackfella” stories.
“I only want to tell positive stories about blackfellas. I’m not interested in working for white fellas just to tick some boxes,” Glynn-Maloney told First Nations Media Australia’s Catherine Liddle in a Media Ring interview last week.
Glynn-Maloney, who is partnered with her cousin Dylan River in Since 1788 Productions, is developing multiple projects including Finding Jedda, a short film funded by the No Ordinary Black initiative, in which Screen Australia’s Indigenous department is partnered with Nitv and state agencies.
Also in the works are a prequel to Robbie Hood with Ludo Studio; The Visitors, a feature drama based on Jane Harrison’s play, a co-production with Nick Batzias’ Good Thing Productions; and Pictures in Paradise’s action-adventure-drama Musquito.
- 7/7/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Prince Albert II with Alick Tipoti (© Monaco Expeditions/Ariel Fuchs).
Screen Australia’s Indigenous department is contributing $745,000 in production funding to four documentary projects including two for Nitv and one for the ABC.
Co-funded by Stan, Freshwater Pictures’ Alick and Albert looks at the unlikely friendship between art activist Alick Tipoti and Prince Albert of Monaco.
Commissioned by Nitv, Tamarind Tree Pictures and Roar Film’s Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky is billed as a fresh, funny and provocative look at Captain Cook’s arrival from a First Nations’ perspective.
Also for Nitv, Kalori Productions and Jotz Productions’ feature documentary Kindred explores friendship, adoption and belonging through the relationship between filmmakers Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills.
Commissioned by the ABC, Blackfella Films’ Maralinga Tjarutja will chronicle the history of the Maralinga Tjarutja people and the impact the British nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s had on their land and community.
Screen Australia’s Indigenous department is contributing $745,000 in production funding to four documentary projects including two for Nitv and one for the ABC.
Co-funded by Stan, Freshwater Pictures’ Alick and Albert looks at the unlikely friendship between art activist Alick Tipoti and Prince Albert of Monaco.
Commissioned by Nitv, Tamarind Tree Pictures and Roar Film’s Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky is billed as a fresh, funny and provocative look at Captain Cook’s arrival from a First Nations’ perspective.
Also for Nitv, Kalori Productions and Jotz Productions’ feature documentary Kindred explores friendship, adoption and belonging through the relationship between filmmakers Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills.
Commissioned by the ABC, Blackfella Films’ Maralinga Tjarutja will chronicle the history of the Maralinga Tjarutja people and the impact the British nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s had on their land and community.
- 3/25/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Cate Blanchett in ‘Stateless.’ (Photo: Ben King).
The first two episodes of Matchbox Pictures’ Stateless and the second series of Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road will have their world premieres at the sixth edition of the Berlin International Film Festival’s Berlinale Series.
In addition, Goalpost’s Dark Victory from writer-director Matthew Saville is among eight titles selected for the Co-Pro Series 2020, which seeks to link projects with international partners.
Adapted from the book by David Marr and Marian Wilkinson, Dark Victory is the story of the Howard government’s refusal to allow Norwegian frieghter Tampa, with hundreds of mainly Afghan refugees on board, to enter Christmas Island.
The Berlinale Series line-up consists of eight series from around the world including Damien Chazelle’s Paris-set musical-drama The Eddy for Netflix, Jason Segel’s AMC series Dispatches from Elswehere and the BBC-HBO Max’s Trigonometry.
“An abundance of topics and...
The first two episodes of Matchbox Pictures’ Stateless and the second series of Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road will have their world premieres at the sixth edition of the Berlin International Film Festival’s Berlinale Series.
In addition, Goalpost’s Dark Victory from writer-director Matthew Saville is among eight titles selected for the Co-Pro Series 2020, which seeks to link projects with international partners.
Adapted from the book by David Marr and Marian Wilkinson, Dark Victory is the story of the Howard government’s refusal to allow Norwegian frieghter Tampa, with hundreds of mainly Afghan refugees on board, to enter Christmas Island.
The Berlinale Series line-up consists of eight series from around the world including Damien Chazelle’s Paris-set musical-drama The Eddy for Netflix, Jason Segel’s AMC series Dispatches from Elswehere and the BBC-HBO Max’s Trigonometry.
“An abundance of topics and...
- 1/14/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Ewen Leslie and Emma Booth filming The Gloaming (Photo credit: Stan).
For Vicki Madden, Blake Ayshford, Glendyn Ivin and no doubt myriad other content creators, the challenge is to find unique Australian stories which resonate internationally and can cut through the worldwide glut of English-language drama.
More broadly, Madden calls for more respect for writers from some producers and networks, telling If: “At times there is too much interference and the stories become bland and impersonal.”
Ayshford welcomes increasing collaboration between experienced writers and newer voices and predicts: “I think the next few years could be transformational for our industry and usher in a new generation of voices and stories.”
Ivin is excited by the competition from streaming services but wonders how many consumers can afford to spend more than $100 a month to subscribe to multiple platforms.
However Ivin, the director of The Cry, Safe Harbour and Penguin Bloom, the...
For Vicki Madden, Blake Ayshford, Glendyn Ivin and no doubt myriad other content creators, the challenge is to find unique Australian stories which resonate internationally and can cut through the worldwide glut of English-language drama.
More broadly, Madden calls for more respect for writers from some producers and networks, telling If: “At times there is too much interference and the stories become bland and impersonal.”
Ayshford welcomes increasing collaboration between experienced writers and newer voices and predicts: “I think the next few years could be transformational for our industry and usher in a new generation of voices and stories.”
Ivin is excited by the competition from streaming services but wonders how many consumers can afford to spend more than $100 a month to subscribe to multiple platforms.
However Ivin, the director of The Cry, Safe Harbour and Penguin Bloom, the...
- 1/14/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Blake Ayshford.
Blake Ayshford is writing a pilot for the BBC, a comedy-drama set in the near future in which an Uber-like app provides emotional labour for time-poor people.
The writer-producer likens the project entitled Hearts to a cross between the Netflix series Black Mirror and The Breaker Upperers, the Kiwi comedy created by Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek.
The app enables people to employ ‘hearts’ to undertake such tasks as having dinner with him or her after their spouse has died, or simply attending a work function as a proxy.
Ayshford is writing the pilot for Castlefield, a Fremantle backed, Manchester-based production company founded by ex-BBC North producers Hilary Martin and Simon Judd.
“It’s been a lot of fun working on it so far but we are only at pilot stage so not exactly a story yet,” he tells If.
The writer’s first UK...
Blake Ayshford is writing a pilot for the BBC, a comedy-drama set in the near future in which an Uber-like app provides emotional labour for time-poor people.
The writer-producer likens the project entitled Hearts to a cross between the Netflix series Black Mirror and The Breaker Upperers, the Kiwi comedy created by Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek.
The app enables people to employ ‘hearts’ to undertake such tasks as having dinner with him or her after their spouse has died, or simply attending a work function as a proxy.
Ayshford is writing the pilot for Castlefield, a Fremantle backed, Manchester-based production company founded by ex-BBC North producers Hilary Martin and Simon Judd.
“It’s been a lot of fun working on it so far but we are only at pilot stage so not exactly a story yet,” he tells If.
The writer’s first UK...
- 1/7/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Aaron Pedersen and Jada Alberts in ‘Mystery Road 2’ (Photo: David Dare Parker).
Swedish actress Sofia Helin, who starred in all four seasons of The Bridge, is co-starring with Aaron Pedersen in the second series of Bunya Productions’ ABC crime drama Mystery Road.
Helin, who played Saga Norén, a homicide detective from Malmö, in the Swedish/Danish film noir crime series which screened here on Sbs, is cast as archaeologist Professor Sondra Elmquist.
The professor is conducting a dig near a remote coastal town when she encounters Pedersen’s Detective Jay Swan, who has moved to the town to be closer to his family and is investigating a grisly case.
Warwick Thornton and Wayne Blair are sharing the directing duties on the six episodes produced by David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, with Thornton as the Dop.
Two weeks into the 10 weeks shoot in Broome and the Dampier Peninsular, the series is...
Swedish actress Sofia Helin, who starred in all four seasons of The Bridge, is co-starring with Aaron Pedersen in the second series of Bunya Productions’ ABC crime drama Mystery Road.
Helin, who played Saga Norén, a homicide detective from Malmö, in the Swedish/Danish film noir crime series which screened here on Sbs, is cast as archaeologist Professor Sondra Elmquist.
The professor is conducting a dig near a remote coastal town when she encounters Pedersen’s Detective Jay Swan, who has moved to the town to be closer to his family and is investigating a grisly case.
Warwick Thornton and Wayne Blair are sharing the directing duties on the six episodes produced by David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, with Thornton as the Dop.
Two weeks into the 10 weeks shoot in Broome and the Dampier Peninsular, the series is...
- 7/24/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Danielle MacLean.
Considering Danielle MacLean’s original ambition was to be a stills photographer, her 23-year career as a writer, producer and director is quite remarkable.
Currently MacLean is juggling numerous projects including preparing a short film for the anthology feature Cook 2020: Our Right of Reply, writing an episode of the second series of Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road and signing on to direct at least one episode of the third season of Ned Lander Media’s Little J and Big Cuz.
In addition, she is developing a raft of projects including drama series Rough Justice with frequent collaborator Steven McGregor, children’s animated series Yellow Water Billabong and kids series The Barrumbi Kids with Ambience Entertainment.
“I have found my voice and I have a strong team of people around me,” she tells If. She credits Screen Australia’s Indigenous department, originally headed by Wal Saunders, followed by Sally Riley and now Penny Smallacombe,...
Considering Danielle MacLean’s original ambition was to be a stills photographer, her 23-year career as a writer, producer and director is quite remarkable.
Currently MacLean is juggling numerous projects including preparing a short film for the anthology feature Cook 2020: Our Right of Reply, writing an episode of the second series of Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road and signing on to direct at least one episode of the third season of Ned Lander Media’s Little J and Big Cuz.
In addition, she is developing a raft of projects including drama series Rough Justice with frequent collaborator Steven McGregor, children’s animated series Yellow Water Billabong and kids series The Barrumbi Kids with Ambience Entertainment.
“I have found my voice and I have a strong team of people around me,” she tells If. She credits Screen Australia’s Indigenous department, originally headed by Wal Saunders, followed by Sally Riley and now Penny Smallacombe,...
- 6/13/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Kodie Bedford.
When Kodie Bedford sets out to create a project or is offered a writing gig, she looks for three elements: Strong female characters, a regional setting which harks back to her childhood in country Wa, and a genre piece.
So far everything the Indigenous writer has accomplished in her burgeoning career has ticked all three boxes, with credits on Grace Beside Me, Robbie Hood and Mystery Road as well as the horror short Scout, which marks her directing debut.
“I pinch myself every day as I get to tell stories; I am living the dream,” she tells If. She turned to screenwriting after working as a cadet journalist for Sbs before moving to the ABC as a researcher on documentary series Message Sticks.
A graduate of the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Communications and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney,...
When Kodie Bedford sets out to create a project or is offered a writing gig, she looks for three elements: Strong female characters, a regional setting which harks back to her childhood in country Wa, and a genre piece.
So far everything the Indigenous writer has accomplished in her burgeoning career has ticked all three boxes, with credits on Grace Beside Me, Robbie Hood and Mystery Road as well as the horror short Scout, which marks her directing debut.
“I pinch myself every day as I get to tell stories; I am living the dream,” she tells If. She turned to screenwriting after working as a cadet journalist for Sbs before moving to the ABC as a researcher on documentary series Message Sticks.
A graduate of the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Communications and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney,...
- 5/15/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Timothy Lee on location in ‘Mystery Road.’
After serving as a script editor on three seasons of House Husbands and writing episodes of Rush and Serangoon Road, Timothy Lee’s career has gone up a couple of gears.
Lee, who graduated from Aftrs in 2006, modestly credits his progression in part to the talent drain which has resulted in numerous Aussie writers plying their trade in the Us and the UK.
“That has created opportunities for the next generation of writers,” says Lee, who got his start as a script assistant/researcher on Rescue Special Ops after securing an Australian Writers’ Guild internship with Southern Star, mentored by Sarah Smith.
That led to writing episodes of the Nine Network drama and the fourth season of Network Ten’s cop show Rush. Working on Playmaker Media’s House Husbands, he reflects, “was good for my craft but not so good for my profile.
After serving as a script editor on three seasons of House Husbands and writing episodes of Rush and Serangoon Road, Timothy Lee’s career has gone up a couple of gears.
Lee, who graduated from Aftrs in 2006, modestly credits his progression in part to the talent drain which has resulted in numerous Aussie writers plying their trade in the Us and the UK.
“That has created opportunities for the next generation of writers,” says Lee, who got his start as a script assistant/researcher on Rescue Special Ops after securing an Australian Writers’ Guild internship with Southern Star, mentored by Sarah Smith.
That led to writing episodes of the Nine Network drama and the fourth season of Network Ten’s cop show Rush. Working on Playmaker Media’s House Husbands, he reflects, “was good for my craft but not so good for my profile.
- 5/13/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Diary of an Uber Driver.’
Sally Riley is bemused when people use this line when they are pitching projects to her: “This is definitely an ABC show.”
The ABC’s head of scripted production, Riley usually replies: “What is that? What is an ABC show?”
Interviewed in her Ultimo office for a two-part story, she tells If: “If it’s a great show, we’ll do it. I don’t think it must fit in the parameters of what is supposed to be an ABC show.
“We want to not only hold our audiences but also bring in new and younger audiences and we have a broad slate to try to meet both. We will definitely take a calculated risk when we believe in a show.”
As an example of a program which she thinks most people would not expect to see on the public broadcaster, she points to Les Norton,...
Sally Riley is bemused when people use this line when they are pitching projects to her: “This is definitely an ABC show.”
The ABC’s head of scripted production, Riley usually replies: “What is that? What is an ABC show?”
Interviewed in her Ultimo office for a two-part story, she tells If: “If it’s a great show, we’ll do it. I don’t think it must fit in the parameters of what is supposed to be an ABC show.
“We want to not only hold our audiences but also bring in new and younger audiences and we have a broad slate to try to meet both. We will definitely take a calculated risk when we believe in a show.”
As an example of a program which she thinks most people would not expect to see on the public broadcaster, she points to Les Norton,...
- 5/7/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Warwick Thornton and Sam Neill on the set of ‘Sweet Country.’
While movie sequels are relatively rare in Australia, the producers of Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country are convinced they have a new, compelling story which is worth telling.
Currently being scripted, the follow-up will look at events from the perspective of the mother of scrappy child labourer Philomac, played in the original by twins Tremayne and Trevon Doolan.
Philomac and old Aboriginal hand Archie (Gibson John) are sent by farmer Mick Kennedy (Thomas M. Wright) to work for Harry March (Ewen Leslie), who chains the boy to a rock on suspicion of stealing his watch. Philomac frees himself and March heads in pursuit, leading to a violent confrontation.
“Sweet Country was really the story of Sam (Hamilton Morris) and Philomac,” Bunya Productions’ David Jowsey, who produced with Greer Simpkin, tells If. “Philomac has a sister and a mother, which...
While movie sequels are relatively rare in Australia, the producers of Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country are convinced they have a new, compelling story which is worth telling.
Currently being scripted, the follow-up will look at events from the perspective of the mother of scrappy child labourer Philomac, played in the original by twins Tremayne and Trevon Doolan.
Philomac and old Aboriginal hand Archie (Gibson John) are sent by farmer Mick Kennedy (Thomas M. Wright) to work for Harry March (Ewen Leslie), who chains the boy to a rock on suspicion of stealing his watch. Philomac frees himself and March heads in pursuit, leading to a violent confrontation.
“Sweet Country was really the story of Sam (Hamilton Morris) and Philomac,” Bunya Productions’ David Jowsey, who produced with Greer Simpkin, tells If. “Philomac has a sister and a mother, which...
- 2/5/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Leah Purcell and Bain Stewart.
This year is shaping as the most memorable and action-packed in the 20-year-career of Indigenous writer-director-producer-actor Leah Purcell.
After focussing on acting for the past few years she has signed on as the start-up director of My Life is Murder, the 10-part mystery-drama starring Lucy Lawless, commissioned by Network 10.
That assignment will help her prepare for her biggest project: directing, co-producing, writing and starring in The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, the feature film adaptation of her play ‘The Drover’s Wife’ in September.
Later this year she will return to the TV screens as Rita Connors in season seven of Foxtel/Fremantle’s Wentworth and she will embark on season eight after the movie wraps.
Penguin Random House has commissioned her to write a novel based on the play, which will be published in mid-2019, and the producers are also developing a TV series spin-off.
This year is shaping as the most memorable and action-packed in the 20-year-career of Indigenous writer-director-producer-actor Leah Purcell.
After focussing on acting for the past few years she has signed on as the start-up director of My Life is Murder, the 10-part mystery-drama starring Lucy Lawless, commissioned by Network 10.
That assignment will help her prepare for her biggest project: directing, co-producing, writing and starring in The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, the feature film adaptation of her play ‘The Drover’s Wife’ in September.
Later this year she will return to the TV screens as Rita Connors in season seven of Foxtel/Fremantle’s Wentworth and she will embark on season eight after the movie wraps.
Penguin Random House has commissioned her to write a novel based on the play, which will be published in mid-2019, and the producers are also developing a TV series spin-off.
- 1/16/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Sweet Country’.
Sweet Country was named Best Film at last night’s Aacta Award Ceremony, with the period Western also taking home Best Direction for Warwick Thornton and Best Lead Actor for Hamilton Morris.
Produced by Bunya Productions, Sweet Country beat out Boy Erased, Cargo, Ladies in Black and Breath. Based on real events, the 1929-set film follows an Aboriginal stockman (Morris) who a kills white station owner in self-defence and goes on the run. It was Morris’ first film role – he previously had only a small part in ABC series 8Mmm Aboriginal Radio.
Accepting the award for best film, producer David Jowsey said: “Sweet Country is a Trojan horse. We drive through your gate, and there in our belly is a story about our history, a story about the birth of our nation. Sweet Country is really about our identity.”
Last night’s accolades join the three awards Sweet Country...
Sweet Country was named Best Film at last night’s Aacta Award Ceremony, with the period Western also taking home Best Direction for Warwick Thornton and Best Lead Actor for Hamilton Morris.
Produced by Bunya Productions, Sweet Country beat out Boy Erased, Cargo, Ladies in Black and Breath. Based on real events, the 1929-set film follows an Aboriginal stockman (Morris) who a kills white station owner in self-defence and goes on the run. It was Morris’ first film role – he previously had only a small part in ABC series 8Mmm Aboriginal Radio.
Accepting the award for best film, producer David Jowsey said: “Sweet Country is a Trojan horse. We drive through your gate, and there in our belly is a story about our history, a story about the birth of our nation. Sweet Country is really about our identity.”
Last night’s accolades join the three awards Sweet Country...
- 12/5/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Jirga’ won the Aacta for Best Indie Film.
Director Benjamin Gilmour’s Jirga took home the inaugural Aacta Award for Best Indie Film – designed to honour films made under $2 million – at the Aacta Industry Luncheon in Sydney yesterday.
The film, produced by John Maynard, beat out Strange Colours, Brothers’ Nest, West of Sunshine and The Second. Starring Sam Smith as a former Australian soldier who returns to Afghanistan seeking forgiveness, Jirga is also Australia’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards.
Some 35 awards were given away at yesterday’s Aacta event, hosted by actress Kat Stewart and comedian Nazeem Hussain. Other key feature film winners were Sweet Country and Ladies in Black, which each took home three gongs.
David Tranter and Steven McGregor won Best Original Screenplay for Sweet Country, while film’s director and Dop Warwick Thornton was honoured with the award for Best...
Director Benjamin Gilmour’s Jirga took home the inaugural Aacta Award for Best Indie Film – designed to honour films made under $2 million – at the Aacta Industry Luncheon in Sydney yesterday.
The film, produced by John Maynard, beat out Strange Colours, Brothers’ Nest, West of Sunshine and The Second. Starring Sam Smith as a former Australian soldier who returns to Afghanistan seeking forgiveness, Jirga is also Australia’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards.
Some 35 awards were given away at yesterday’s Aacta event, hosted by actress Kat Stewart and comedian Nazeem Hussain. Other key feature film winners were Sweet Country and Ladies in Black, which each took home three gongs.
David Tranter and Steven McGregor won Best Original Screenplay for Sweet Country, while film’s director and Dop Warwick Thornton was honoured with the award for Best...
- 12/3/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Nicole Kidman and Joel Edgerton on the set of ‘Boy Erased.’
Joel Edgerton and Simon Baker have scored nominations in the feature film direction and acting categories for Boy Erased and Breath, the first time that’s happened in the same year in AFI | Aacta history.
Edgerton and Baker will compete for four prizes at this year’s awards which will be handed out at an industry luncheon on December 3 and at the ceremony on December 5. Both titles have been nominated for best film and Edgerton and Baker are also in the running for best supporting actor and adapted screenplay.
In total 19 features received nominations, with five vying for best film: Boy Erased, Breath, Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling’s Cargo, Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country.
The five titles competing for the new category of best indie film budgeted under $2 million are the Jacobson brothers’ Sibling Rivalry,...
Joel Edgerton and Simon Baker have scored nominations in the feature film direction and acting categories for Boy Erased and Breath, the first time that’s happened in the same year in AFI | Aacta history.
Edgerton and Baker will compete for four prizes at this year’s awards which will be handed out at an industry luncheon on December 3 and at the ceremony on December 5. Both titles have been nominated for best film and Edgerton and Baker are also in the running for best supporting actor and adapted screenplay.
In total 19 features received nominations, with five vying for best film: Boy Erased, Breath, Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling’s Cargo, Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country.
The five titles competing for the new category of best indie film budgeted under $2 million are the Jacobson brothers’ Sibling Rivalry,...
- 10/29/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Leah Purcell and Warwick Thornton.
Warwick Thornton, Leah Purcell, Ivan Sen, Steven McGregor, Erica Glynn, Danielle Maclean and Bain Stewart will travel to Los Angeles next month for high-level networking.
The visit by the delegation, which includes David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin and Charlotte Seymour, is an extension of Screen Australia’s Talent USA initiative and coincides with the agency celebrating 25 years of Indigenous screen stories.
The November 5-10 program will focus on setting up business connections for the delegates with Us film and TV industry stakeholders and providing opportunities to learn from established La-based creators and decision-makers.
Participants were selected based on their international success and/or having established interest in the Us.
“It is fantastic to be able to offer this incredible opportunity to luminaries of our industry, which will assist in opening new doors to expand their already successful careers in the Us market,” said Penny Smallacombe, Screen Australia...
Warwick Thornton, Leah Purcell, Ivan Sen, Steven McGregor, Erica Glynn, Danielle Maclean and Bain Stewart will travel to Los Angeles next month for high-level networking.
The visit by the delegation, which includes David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin and Charlotte Seymour, is an extension of Screen Australia’s Talent USA initiative and coincides with the agency celebrating 25 years of Indigenous screen stories.
The November 5-10 program will focus on setting up business connections for the delegates with Us film and TV industry stakeholders and providing opportunities to learn from established La-based creators and decision-makers.
Participants were selected based on their international success and/or having established interest in the Us.
“It is fantastic to be able to offer this incredible opportunity to luminaries of our industry, which will assist in opening new doors to expand their already successful careers in the Us market,” said Penny Smallacombe, Screen Australia...
- 10/18/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Mystery Road.’
BBC4 in the UK has acquired Bunya Productions’ six-part drama Mystery Road in a deal with All3Media International.
The series starring Aaron Pedersen and Judy Davis, a spin-off of Ivan Sen’s feature film, will premiere as a weekly double bill at 9 pm on Saturday September 22.
Directed by Rachel Perkins, the show launched last month in the Us on Acorn TV, which bills itself as North America’s most popular streaming service for British and international television. Acorn also picked up secondary rights in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
BBC2 bought the Mystery Road movie which screened on September 2 and is still available to stream.
Sue Deeks, BBC head of program acquisition, said: “Mystery Road is set in a uniquely stark and beautiful landscape and features a cast of some of the best acting talent around. We’re thrilled to be bringing this compelling and visually stunning drama to BBC viewers.
BBC4 in the UK has acquired Bunya Productions’ six-part drama Mystery Road in a deal with All3Media International.
The series starring Aaron Pedersen and Judy Davis, a spin-off of Ivan Sen’s feature film, will premiere as a weekly double bill at 9 pm on Saturday September 22.
Directed by Rachel Perkins, the show launched last month in the Us on Acorn TV, which bills itself as North America’s most popular streaming service for British and international television. Acorn also picked up secondary rights in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
BBC2 bought the Mystery Road movie which screened on September 2 and is still available to stream.
Sue Deeks, BBC head of program acquisition, said: “Mystery Road is set in a uniquely stark and beautiful landscape and features a cast of some of the best acting talent around. We’re thrilled to be bringing this compelling and visually stunning drama to BBC viewers.
- 9/12/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
MaryAnn’s quick take… As harshly beautiful as its landscape, this is a stark corrective to the American western it echoes, and a pragmatic confrontation with the deep, tenacious roots of modern racism. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film
(learn more about this)
Australia’s Northern Territory in the 1920s is “sweet country,” drools Sergeant Fletcher, “cattle country.” But it’s not his country to do anything with, and this is not his story, except as the villain… or, rather, as a personification and representation of the villainy of colonialism and racism.
As the title of the story of Sam Kelly (Hamilton Morris), Sweet Country is ironic at best: it’s no longer sweet for him, and its sweetness is what has enticed his invaders. Sam is an Aboriginal...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film
(learn more about this)
Australia’s Northern Territory in the 1920s is “sweet country,” drools Sergeant Fletcher, “cattle country.” But it’s not his country to do anything with, and this is not his story, except as the villain… or, rather, as a personification and representation of the villainy of colonialism and racism.
As the title of the story of Sam Kelly (Hamilton Morris), Sweet Country is ironic at best: it’s no longer sweet for him, and its sweetness is what has enticed his invaders. Sam is an Aboriginal...
- 4/23/2018
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Includes world premieres of Succession and The Split.
The world premiere of the 60-minute pilot episode of HBO’s Succession, written by Jesse Armstrong, the UK creator of Peep Show and Fresh Meat, and directed by Adam McKay, whose credits include The Big Short and Anchorman, will open the ninth edition of Series Mania in Lille on April 27.
Brian Cox, Hiam Abbass and Matthew Macfadyen head the ensemble cast of Succession, which follows the travails of a dysfunctional media dynasty.
Additionally, the Official Competition is comprised of 10 world premieres of original global TV series. They include BBC and Sundance TV series The Split,...
The world premiere of the 60-minute pilot episode of HBO’s Succession, written by Jesse Armstrong, the UK creator of Peep Show and Fresh Meat, and directed by Adam McKay, whose credits include The Big Short and Anchorman, will open the ninth edition of Series Mania in Lille on April 27.
Brian Cox, Hiam Abbass and Matthew Macfadyen head the ensemble cast of Succession, which follows the travails of a dysfunctional media dynasty.
Additionally, the Official Competition is comprised of 10 world premieres of original global TV series. They include BBC and Sundance TV series The Split,...
- 3/28/2018
- by Louise Tutt
- ScreenDaily
Author: Daniel Goodwin
In his incredible forty year career, legendary Northern Ireland and New Zealand raised actor Sam Neill has starred in a multitude of both mainstream movies and independent films, spanning continents, characters, genres and budget sizes. His latest film, Sweet Country, is an Australian frontier drama inspired by true events that embraces traits from the Western genre.
Australian native Warwick Thornton adapts Steven McGregor and David Tranter’s screenplay which tells the tale of Aboriginal farmhand Sam Kelly (Hamilton Morris), who accidentally kills an irate white bigot tormenting his family. Kelly goes on the run from law enforcement which takes the shape of the affable Sergeant Fletcher (Bryan Brown), accompanied by his Good Samaritan employer Fred Smith (Neill) who wishes to guide Kelly home to safety.
Before Sweet Country, Neill featured in critically acclaimed commercial thrillers (Dead Calm, The Hunt For Red October), prestige dramas (A Cry in the Dark,...
In his incredible forty year career, legendary Northern Ireland and New Zealand raised actor Sam Neill has starred in a multitude of both mainstream movies and independent films, spanning continents, characters, genres and budget sizes. His latest film, Sweet Country, is an Australian frontier drama inspired by true events that embraces traits from the Western genre.
Australian native Warwick Thornton adapts Steven McGregor and David Tranter’s screenplay which tells the tale of Aboriginal farmhand Sam Kelly (Hamilton Morris), who accidentally kills an irate white bigot tormenting his family. Kelly goes on the run from law enforcement which takes the shape of the affable Sergeant Fletcher (Bryan Brown), accompanied by his Good Samaritan employer Fred Smith (Neill) who wishes to guide Kelly home to safety.
Before Sweet Country, Neill featured in critically acclaimed commercial thrillers (Dead Calm, The Hunt For Red October), prestige dramas (A Cry in the Dark,...
- 3/5/2018
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The latest film from Warwick Thornton possesses both shocking cruelty and haunting beauty with its tragic tale of tensions in the outback
Sweet Country is Old Testament cinema, with an almost biblical starkness in its cruelty and mysterious beauty, set in a burning plain where it looks as if the sun-bleached jawbone of an ass could at any moment be picked up and used as a murder weapon.
The director, Warwick Thornton, is an Australian film-maker who made a superb debut with Samson and Delilah in 2009 and now raises his game still further with this brutally powerful outback western, written by Steven McGregor and David Tranter and set in the 1920s Northern Territory. It’s a place where white men are traumatised by the heat, hardship and memories of serving the motherland in the first world war, and where Indigenous Australians are treated with casual racism as virtual plantation field-hands,...
Sweet Country is Old Testament cinema, with an almost biblical starkness in its cruelty and mysterious beauty, set in a burning plain where it looks as if the sun-bleached jawbone of an ass could at any moment be picked up and used as a murder weapon.
The director, Warwick Thornton, is an Australian film-maker who made a superb debut with Samson and Delilah in 2009 and now raises his game still further with this brutally powerful outback western, written by Steven McGregor and David Tranter and set in the 1920s Northern Territory. It’s a place where white men are traumatised by the heat, hardship and memories of serving the motherland in the first world war, and where Indigenous Australians are treated with casual racism as virtual plantation field-hands,...
- 9/16/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Aaron Pedersen as Jay Swan in 'Goldstone'..
Detective Jay Swan, the protagonist in Ivan Sen.s films Mystery Road and Goldstone, is headed to the small screen.
Aaron Pedersen will reprise the role in Mystery Road - The Series, alongside Judy Davis as a small town cop, for the ABC and international distributor All3Media International.
Directed by Rachel Perkins and produced by Bunya Productions. David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, the 6-part mystery/drama starts shooting in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia in late August..
The plot follows Swan as he investigates the disappearance of two young farm hands on an outback cattle station. One is a local Indigenous footy hero, the other a backpacker. Working with local cop Emma James (Davis), his investigation uncovers a past injustice that threatens the whole community
It is a rare Australian screen role for Davis, who was last seen...
Detective Jay Swan, the protagonist in Ivan Sen.s films Mystery Road and Goldstone, is headed to the small screen.
Aaron Pedersen will reprise the role in Mystery Road - The Series, alongside Judy Davis as a small town cop, for the ABC and international distributor All3Media International.
Directed by Rachel Perkins and produced by Bunya Productions. David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, the 6-part mystery/drama starts shooting in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia in late August..
The plot follows Swan as he investigates the disappearance of two young farm hands on an outback cattle station. One is a local Indigenous footy hero, the other a backpacker. Working with local cop Emma James (Davis), his investigation uncovers a past injustice that threatens the whole community
It is a rare Australian screen role for Davis, who was last seen...
- 7/12/2017
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Warwick Thornton in 'We Don't Need A Map'..
Director Warwick Thornton decided to make his latest documentary We Don.t Need A Map.following backlash he received when he compared the Southern Cross to a swastika..
Then nominated for Australian of the Year, Thornton said in 2010: "Aboriginal people have used the Southern Cross for the last 40,000 years as a beacon guiding them to travel through country for survival, and I'm starting to see that star system symbol being used as a very racist nationalistic emblem - and that is seriously worrying me.
"We don't want to turn the Southern Cross into a swastika - that's bloody important..
Thornton told If that the reaction to those comments in the media afterwards frightened him.
.I got scared. Then it took a year or two, and then I got angry. I.m not good at turning being afraid into energy,...
Director Warwick Thornton decided to make his latest documentary We Don.t Need A Map.following backlash he received when he compared the Southern Cross to a swastika..
Then nominated for Australian of the Year, Thornton said in 2010: "Aboriginal people have used the Southern Cross for the last 40,000 years as a beacon guiding them to travel through country for survival, and I'm starting to see that star system symbol being used as a very racist nationalistic emblem - and that is seriously worrying me.
"We don't want to turn the Southern Cross into a swastika - that's bloody important..
Thornton told If that the reaction to those comments in the media afterwards frightened him.
.I got scared. Then it took a year or two, and then I got angry. I.m not good at turning being afraid into energy,...
- 6/6/2017
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Lineup Announcements
– The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the full slate of films for AFI Docs 2017, a five-day documentary celebration in the nation’s capital. Each year, the festival is committed to providing artists with the opportunity to present powerfully told, artfully constructed stories — and to connect audiences and filmmakers with policy leaders. AFI Docs 2017 runs June 14 – 18 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.
“The 2017 slate of films reflects AFI Docs’ mission to celebrate powerfully told stories and the people at the heart of them,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director, AFI Docs. “Documentaries continue to play an important role in our country regardless of partisan lines. No matter your background, these human stories have the power to inform and inspire. We look forward to another year of dynamic nonfiction cinema.
Lineup Announcements
– The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the full slate of films for AFI Docs 2017, a five-day documentary celebration in the nation’s capital. Each year, the festival is committed to providing artists with the opportunity to present powerfully told, artfully constructed stories — and to connect audiences and filmmakers with policy leaders. AFI Docs 2017 runs June 14 – 18 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD.
“The 2017 slate of films reflects AFI Docs’ mission to celebrate powerfully told stories and the people at the heart of them,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director, AFI Docs. “Documentaries continue to play an important role in our country regardless of partisan lines. No matter your background, these human stories have the power to inform and inspire. We look forward to another year of dynamic nonfiction cinema.
- 5/19/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Warriors.
Filming has started in Melbourne on The Warriors, an eight-part Indigenous comedy drama for the ABC.
Lisa McCune, John Howard and Vince Colosimo will star alongside a cast of emerging Indigenous actors.
The Warriors, which explores the world of Aussie Rules, is the brainchild of Tony Briggs (The Sapphires) and Robert Connolly (Paper Planes, Barracuda).
The series has been exclusively written and directed by Indigenous Australians, including Jon Bell (Cleverman), Briggs and newcomer Tracey Rigney..
Directors include Adrian Russell Wills (Wentworth), Beck Cole (Black Comedy), Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, Redfern Now), Catriona McKenzie (The Circuit, Redfern Now and The Gods of Wheat Street)..
Producers are Connolly, John Harvey and Liz Kearney, and Justin Monjo is story producer.
The Warriors follows two new Afl recruits - plucked from obscurity into fame and fortune - and two established players, who have been thrown together into a share house in Melbourne.
Filming has started in Melbourne on The Warriors, an eight-part Indigenous comedy drama for the ABC.
Lisa McCune, John Howard and Vince Colosimo will star alongside a cast of emerging Indigenous actors.
The Warriors, which explores the world of Aussie Rules, is the brainchild of Tony Briggs (The Sapphires) and Robert Connolly (Paper Planes, Barracuda).
The series has been exclusively written and directed by Indigenous Australians, including Jon Bell (Cleverman), Briggs and newcomer Tracey Rigney..
Directors include Adrian Russell Wills (Wentworth), Beck Cole (Black Comedy), Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, Redfern Now), Catriona McKenzie (The Circuit, Redfern Now and The Gods of Wheat Street)..
Producers are Connolly, John Harvey and Liz Kearney, and Justin Monjo is story producer.
The Warriors follows two new Afl recruits - plucked from obscurity into fame and fortune - and two established players, who have been thrown together into a share house in Melbourne.
- 10/11/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Kriv Stenders on a recce for Wake In Fright in Broken Hill.
The Nsw Government has invested over $2 million to secure four new feature films, four television drama series and four factual TV series, as well as several one-off documentaries, a web series and a multiplatform project. The productions are predicted to create 1080 new screen jobs and generate a direct production spend of almost $35 million in Nsw. Included among them is Ten.s recently announced mini-series Wake In Fright, the first local production to be supported under the Screen Nsw.s $20 million Made in Nsw Fund. The other 15 productions are being supported through the Film Production Finance Fund. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant the fund can now support many more local film and television productions because funds have been freed-up by the Made in Nsw Fund. The full list of funding recipients: Project: Ali's Wedding...
The Nsw Government has invested over $2 million to secure four new feature films, four television drama series and four factual TV series, as well as several one-off documentaries, a web series and a multiplatform project. The productions are predicted to create 1080 new screen jobs and generate a direct production spend of almost $35 million in Nsw. Included among them is Ten.s recently announced mini-series Wake In Fright, the first local production to be supported under the Screen Nsw.s $20 million Made in Nsw Fund. The other 15 productions are being supported through the Film Production Finance Fund. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant the fund can now support many more local film and television productions because funds have been freed-up by the Made in Nsw Fund. The full list of funding recipients: Project: Ali's Wedding...
- 9/12/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Blackfella films' Jacob Hickey, Rachel Perkins, Darren Dale and Miranda Dear.
Blackfella Films is set to cast one of Australia's most prominent literary heroines as it moves into late stage development of an adaptation of Frank Moorhouse's Edith Trilogy.
This comes more than two years after Moorhouse optioned the right to Grand Days, Dark Palace and Cold Light to Blackfella Films, who have just finished shooting gay hate-crime drama Deep Water for Sbs in Sydney.
The production will be a six by one-hour adaptation of the three books commonly known as the Edith Trilogy for Foxtel.
Blackfella Films producer, Miranda Dear, told If, that Edith was the kind of heroine that everybody loved.
"It follows a young woman who goes off to work at the League of Nations in the 20s and takes her right the way through to the 60s in Canberra..
"In a way it explores the...
Blackfella Films is set to cast one of Australia's most prominent literary heroines as it moves into late stage development of an adaptation of Frank Moorhouse's Edith Trilogy.
This comes more than two years after Moorhouse optioned the right to Grand Days, Dark Palace and Cold Light to Blackfella Films, who have just finished shooting gay hate-crime drama Deep Water for Sbs in Sydney.
The production will be a six by one-hour adaptation of the three books commonly known as the Edith Trilogy for Foxtel.
Blackfella Films producer, Miranda Dear, told If, that Edith was the kind of heroine that everybody loved.
"It follows a young woman who goes off to work at the League of Nations in the 20s and takes her right the way through to the 60s in Canberra..
"In a way it explores the...
- 6/2/2016
- by Brian Karlovsky
- IF.com.au
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