Australian screen production companies warn the local industry could be “wiped out” within two years if streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney+ are not forced by regulators to incorporate local content.
Tracey Vieira, the chief content officer of Hoodlum Entertainment, said Australia’s production industry was made up of small businesses desperate for a resolution about how streaming services would be regulated.
“I work for Hoodlum Entertainment which was founded 25 years ago,” she said. “They struggled at times and have fought for every part of that company and that could be wiped out within two years.”
Benedict Cumberbatch in Netflix release The Power of the Dog, which was filmed in New Zealand. Netflix
The proposal would give the federal communications minister the power to designate large services such as Netflix as “tier one services”. Tier one services would be required to report annually to the Australian Communications and Media Authority about their spending on, and provision of, Australian content, as well as the steps they are taking to make local content prominent and discoverable on their services.
If a tier one service was investing less than 5 per cent of its gross Australian revenue in new Australian commissions in any given year, the minister could designate the service as tier two, triggering a formal investment requirement backed by an enforcement regime.
Australian Directors Guild chief executive Alaric McAusland said streaming services brought huge opportunities, noting that AppleTV+ had just become the first streaming service to win best picture at the Academy Awards with CODA.
But the ongoing regulatory void in Australia was “disastrous”, he said.
“There’s huge opportunities but we’ve got to get the settings right,” Mr McAusland said.
“De-regulating the free-to-airs on the premise that audiences were migrating to streamers without then imparting regulation on them has left a huge gap.”
Mr McAusland pointed to the declining figures of local children’s content and drama following changes to the regulations that ensured free-to-air providers delivered a certain amount of content in these categories.
“There still remains no obligation by any broadcaster here to make, produce and show kids content,” he said.
“It’s going to take us a long time to recover.”
He argued the lack of regulation would see production companies fold.
“People are going to walk away from their businesses, it’s a disaster,” he said.
Ms Vieira argued the regulation needed to focus on commissions because acquisitions of content that had already been made “don’t pay for us to make that content”.
“We still need to find the money to make our content, I have real concern on behalf of the producers on the viability of our industry,” she said.
Ms Vieira said the production industry needed clear terms of trade and market oversight as “producers have very little power when we’re dealing with streamers”.
South Australian Film Corporation chief executive Kate Croser said any regulation of the industry needed to benefit the Australian independent production sector and deliver Australian stories to Australian screens.
“That’s because Australian independent producers are the bedrock of our industry,” she said.
Shuang Hu will star as a Chinese-Australian tea shop owner searching for love, family, and cultural connection in Amazon’s first original Australian feature, Five Blind Dates.
The Goalpost Pictures and Amazon Studios film is created and written by Hu and Nathan Ramos-Park, and will be directed by Shawn Seet.
Whilst visiting her family in Townsville for her sister Alice’s engagement festivities, tea shop owner Lia (Hu) finds herself at a comedically tumultuous family luncheon with her best friend Mason and is gifted an unwelcome prophecy that she will soon meet her suitor. Her family, unsure of Lia’s ability to discern a partner for herself, decides to set her up on five blind dates. Even though her true passion and current focus lies in saving her tea-shop—a legacy left to her from her grandmother—Lia reluctantly agrees to go on these dates.
Joining Hu is a yet to be announced ensemble cast.
In a joint statement, Hu and Ramos-Park said: “For Five Blind Dates to be the first Australian Amazon Original Feature is such an honour. The script has been a real labour of love for us both and we can’t wait for production to begin!”
Kylie du Fresne will produce, with Goalpost colleagues Ben Grant and Rosemary Blight executive producers. Production will begin in April and take place around Sydney and Townsville.
“As a melting pot of cultures, traditions and communities, Australia is fertile ground for local stories. With Five Blind Dates, Prime Video Australia’s first feature film, we are celebrating Chinese-Australian culture and its warm family dynamics to full and joyful effect,” said Amazon Studios head of originals Asia Pacific Erika North.
“Shuang and Nathan have created an effervescent and lighthearted romantic comedy which we know will be enjoyed by millions of Prime members worldwide. We cannot wait to work with the incredibly talented Goalpost team to bring this heartwarming story to life.”
Five Blind Dates marks Amazon’s 16th Australian original since 2019, with others including the upcoming Deadloch, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, and Class of ’07.
Addressing Screen Forever today, North told Australian filmmakers that Amazon is “open for business”.
“If you have great ideas in mind; ideas which you might have always wanted to embark on but never could, this is the time. This is the time to reach out with your ideas. Amazon Studios has the ambition to become the home for talent in Australia; your favourite partner in the region.”
In terms of what is looking for in film, North said Amazon is interested in multiple genres but was about “movies with an event feel” and “ideas that bring people together”.
Hi Jennifer, can you tell us a bit about yourself and what your role as Head of Factual and Culture involves?
‘I’m an exec of 30 years experience. I’ve enjoyed a rewarding career at the ABC, where I’ve worked across all genres of production, scripted and unscripted, from producing to executive producing, and then into management roles. I left the ABC from the role of Head of Entertainment, previously having been Head of Factual/Documentaries. I was Head of Non-Scripted at Screentime, followed by Director of Content at Fremantle, and now back at the ABC as Head of Factual and Culture.
‘In this role, I’m responsible for commissioning over 100 hours of factual and documentary content each year, across Science, Natural History, History, Religion and Ethics, Arts and Contemporary. I also have responsibility for internal teams at Radio National, Catalyst, Compass, and Artworks.’
Why are documentaries important? What can they do that other genres can’t?
‘Documentaries are our stories. As the biggest commissioner of documentaries in Australia, ABC documentaries give a voice to those who may not otherwise be heard. Documentaries can ignite national conversations, foster understanding, and create real and meaningful change. They feature Australian voices, places, and stories. Most importantly they not only reflect our lives, they can educate, shape, and enrich our lives.
‘From documentaries like Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra, to The School That Tried To End Racism, Love on the Spectrum to Australia’sOcean Odyssey they are entertaining, diverse, and intelligent and they bring in large audiences to the ABC. What they can do, that other genres can’t, is provide a depth to a topic. Documentaries can explore an issue in a deeper way, analysing, reflecting, and often triggering change.’
Can you tell us about any upcoming productions on your slate that you’re excited about?
‘What I love about our slate for 2022 is the diversity of the content. But what they all have in common is real public value. It’s not solely entertainment – it’s public broadcasting at its best. We’ve got new spin-offs to much loved formats such as Old People’s Home for Teenagers and Back in Time for the Corner Shop. We have really innovative original formats like Tiny Oz, which marries arts and history. Tiny Oz celebrates the extraordinary miniature art movement where artists lovingly obsess over teensy details, as they re-create remarkable moments in our nation’s history. It’s original, innovative and the visual effects are extraordinary.
‘We have Space 22, hosted by Natalie Bassingthwaite – a brand-new social experiment where we see whether the power of art can make a difference to one’s mental well-being. And spoiler alert – of course it does … Many Australians are struggling with their mental health following the pandemic and this program provides positivity and hope. It’s got genuine warmth and heart.
‘And then we have high end Science documentaries like Carbon: The Unauthorised Biography, narrated by Sarah Snook and again incredible visual effects as well as event TV with Southern Ocean Live, hosted by Hamish McDonald and Dr Ann Jones from the largest Little Penguin colony in the world at Phillip Island.’
What are the pressures on filmmakers to capture an audience in this age of information overload?
‘Producers have definitely become more innovative in the way they tell their stories. The subjects and themes are equally important, but now it needs to be more than just a fascinating topic. If it isn’t served up in an accessible and interesting way commissioners won’t get hooked and nor will audiences. There are less thesis led documentaries, but having said that, the depth is still there, it’s just presented in new ways.
‘Most definitely, and thankfully, we’re seeing more diversity both on and off screen. We’re seeing big budget high production values in the science programming in particular, which is really bringing those stories to life for a broader audience.’
What do you predict some major documentary themes will be, say, five years from now?
‘One of the first things we ask of filmmakers when pitched documentaries is Why Now?, why is it important for this story to be told at this point in time. I don’t think anyone knows what the burning issues will be in five years but what I do hope is that in five years we’re seeing more ideas come in with other public broadcasters on board tackling big issues together – whether that’s climate change documentaries, natural history stories or other contemporary issues.’
Paul Dalgarno is a journalist and author of the novel Poly (2020), memoir And You May Find Yourself (2015) and forthcoming creative non-fiction Prudish Nation (2023). He joined ScreenHub as Managing Editor in 2022. Twitter: @pauldalgarno. Insta: @narrativefriction
When Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen set out to make animated documentary Flee, the story of an old school friend Amin Nawabi, he envisioned it as a small project – perhaps a 20-30 minute short.
However, as soon as Amin (a pseudonym) started to tell his story – of leaving Afghanistan as a young refugee in the late ’80s and then making a long and arduous journey to Western Europe – it became clear that the film needed a longer format.
As the project grew in scale, it was still unimaginable to the filmmaker and his subject that it might end up where it is today.
In addition to winning more than 65 awards, including the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary, Flee recently made history as the first film to ever be nominated simultaneously for the Oscar for Best Feature Documentary, Best International Feature Film, and Best Animated Feature.
“It feels totally surreal,” Rasmussen tells IF of the nominations over Zoom.
“This film really started out as a conversation between two friends.”
The director will explain the process of making Flee at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) this Sunday, and in particular, the art of using animation in non-fiction storytelling.
Rasmussen first approached Amin to tell his story more than 15 years ago, initially as a radio documentary. At the time, Amin didn’t feel ready to speak publicly, but knew that he would at one point, and that he would do so with Rasmussen.
Keeping the idea in the back of his head, the director then participated in a Danish animated documentary workshop, AniDox. He realised the format could be the perfect way for Amin to tell his story on his own terms.
“He was very intrigued by the fact you could be anonymous behind animation,” Rasmussen says.
“What you hear in the film, or what you see, is the very first time he talks about these events he went through. It’s really not easy for him to talk about.
“The fact he didn’t have to be in the public eye, and could keep control over what he wanted to talk about… was really what enabled him to start opening up about his story.”
Rasmussen’s film work prior to Flee includes TV documentary SomethingAbout Halfda, hybrid doco Searching for Bill and feature doc What He Did. As both a filmmaker and radio documentarian, he has always been curious about playing with the format.
That said, animating a non-fiction story would prove an entirely different process and a “steep learning curve”. For one, the interviews needed to be done and the story edited before the ‘shoot’ could begin.
“Animation is so expensive; you can’t animate 40 hours of raw material and then start editing. You need to edit first, and close your edits with rough storyboards.”
‘Flee’.
To get Amin’s story, Rasmussen interviewed him over a number of years, using a technique he learned in his radio days: he asked him to lie on his back and close his eyes.
“When you deal with a story that takes place in the past, there’s always a concern of: how do you make it present again and how do you create a presence? This technique really helps with that.
“Every time we would start talking about a certain memory, I always would start out with asking him to describe the location we’re in and to do it in detail.
“For example, in the beginning of the film, he’s in his childhood home in the garden, and his siblings are there. Then I would ask him, “Okay, but what plants are there in the garden? What do you see? What does the house look like? What’s outside the walls? What do you smell?’
“It was material to put into the animation, but it would also bring him back to a specific memory and he would start to remember things he would have otherwise forgotten. It’s really a way of creating a presence in his way of talking; he relives things instead of just retelling them.”
Finding the right animation style to match Amin’s story was a process that took time, with Rasmussen working with the Copenhagen-based Sun Creature Studio and and animation producer Charlotte De La Gournerie. Some initial images proved too ‘cartoony’ – smooth in style and the characters had big eyes – and it became too detached from his testimony.
The team then turned to archival footage and as well as other references from live-action films, photographers, painters and visual artists to bring the film back to a place where it felt authentic.
Jonas Poher Rasmussen.
“We used archival footage a lot as references for the animation; we would take things directly… like props and buildings,” Rasmussen says.
While Flee offers insight into Amin’s life now, as an academic living with his partner Kasper in Copenhagen, much of the film is about the past. In this way, animation proves a vital tool to bring to life Amin’s story in a way that would otherwise have been impossible, except in perhaps dramatic reenactments.
When he goes through traumatic moments, the animation style changes – it gets blurrier around the edges and more abstract, reflecting the emotion of the moment.
“For some reason, it feels like the animation really helps this feeling of authenticity; that we could support this testimony that Amin gives me with the animation,” Rasmussen says.
To ground the audience further in the context of the story, Flee is also interspersed with real news clips and other archive.
“It was so important to me from the very beginning to remind people that this is a documentary story, and underneath the animation you have a real person, and a real voice. You should, if you scratch away the animation, find there is a real person underneath,” Rasmussen says.
“Also [I used archival footage] to show that he reason why he is forced on this flight is because of historical events that happen in the world we all belong to.”
Animation also offered Rasmussen other distinct advantages. In a normal documentary, if you were to miss certain shots in the field, then it’s often too bad. Animation, however, means you can always get the shot and tell the sequence how you want.
“If you need that close up shot, you just ask [the artists] to do it,” Rasmussen says.
“There’s a precision in storytelling that you can have in an animation that you can’t have in the same in normal documentary, which is amazing.”
Using animation laso transformed the often solitary pursuit of documentary filmmaking into a large-scale effort.
“I was lucky to work with some amazing artists; they just brought so many great ideas to the table. I’ve been used to working on my own a lot – sometimes I have a DOP or I have an editor – but a lot of the time I’m on my own. To have that shared experience of being creative was really amazing.”
With Flee having received the recognition that it has, Rasmussen says Amin is “overwhelmed, but in a good way”.
“He’s really happy that people relate to his story. When we started the project, he told me that growing he never really had any stories he could see or read where he felt he could relate to it. So the fact that now his story is out, for the millions and millions of people who have similar backgrounds, have similar experiences there’s a nuanced story out there and they can hopefully relate to it and see that they’re not alone.”
Flee is in cinemas now via Madman Entertainment. Jonas Poher Rasmussen will open AIDC Sunday March 6 at 11:00am in a session titled ‘The Art of Non-Fiction’.
Screen Australia head of documentary Alex West at AIDC.
In a climate of change, Screen Australia’s documentary department will attempt to provide stability for producers, announcing only a slight change to its funding programs at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) on Monday.
Head of documentary Alex West and CEO Graeme Mason took to the stage to outline the direction of the agency’s support, while also introducing department members Cieron Cody, Sally Chesher, Daniella Ortega, and Jeni McMahon.
There were also contributions from Lee Naimo and Elise Adams from the online department, and head of Indigenous Angela Bates.
West, who took over from Bernadime Lim in the middle of last year, told IF in January that any announced tweaks to the funding programs would be about providing simplicity for the sector following the disruption of COVID and the looming threat of changes to the Producer Offset.
On Monday, he signalled his intention to keep the development, producer, and commissioned programs mostly as they were, albeit with a streamlined one-stage application process for the producer program, which previously required a two-step submission.
“We’re still trying to understand the COVID-not-being-over environment and what that means, as well as the arrival of the SVODs with a new set of deal parameters and a new forms of marketing,” he said.
“It’s not my temperament to smash the system, particularly after two years of the most intense change in lived experience I think we’ve ever gone through collectively.
“My thought here, although not a spectacular announcement of new changes, is to provide stability and to look, see and observe, talk, and dialogue about what the current conditions are and where they are going, particularly because the legislative changes are now enacted and are imminent in terms of guidelines.”
Prior to the onset of COVID, there had been plans to revise the documentary funding programs, as well as a proposal to replace the Producer Equity Program (PEP), which provides a direct payment of funds to producers of eligible low-budget Australian documentaries, in favour of a creatively-assessed completion fund.
West said that while the department “loved PEP”, there were “relatively minor” issues with the program that the department had looked into.
“Daniella and I have done an analysis and we were a bit concerned about an issue the definition of documentary in the space and that we were seeing completed projects and brand-funded entertainment,” he said.
“We’ve closed whatever loops there were on that and we feel that right now, PEP is in working order.”
During his presentation, West also outlined the criteria Screen Australia used for funding, which include creative strength, cultural value, market viability of the project, team, pathway to audience, and diversity of slate.
He said the mix of the team involved was also important in identifying opportunities for emerging industry members.
“We are here to help have discussions about how that best work, but I believe we’re all in that together and that we keep our sector and industry healthy by finding ways to bring on the next generation of practitioners. I think its particularly important for those that are established to do that,” he said.
Both West and Mason used the session to emphasise the importance of factual storytelling in the current environment, while also paying tribute to the work that had been done in the past couple of years.
The former said there had never been a more vital time for the sector.
“Information used to be oil and gas and water, but information and facts are contested resources in this world, which is why it’s absolutely central that, together, we try to find pathways where information with veracity and engagement for audiences can actually do the work we do, which for me is change work, however and at what scale that means,” he said.
“This is why our screens evolve and as technology and form evolves, it’s really important for us to be in the space.”
In his introduction, Mason reminded producers that Screen Australia “had their best interests at heart” and said he wanted “to keep the team spirit going”.
“On our side, what we’re very keen to think about with you is the great stories you’ve got that you want to tell in factual and documentary, which are more important now than ever because news and journalism is under such threat,” he said.
“Particularly the ability to get stories that shape us and change us, inform us and educate us is moving more and more into your world, so we’ve got to really think about that.”
As part of its ongoing Gender Matters initiative, Screen Australia has launched a new program to see female directors, cinematographers and composers attain ‘career-defining’ credits.
Titled Credit Maker, the program will be delivered by the Australian Directors Guild (ADG), Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC).
Up to 12 female practitioners (four from each discipline) will be supported to shadow an established practitioner on a scripted project in production.
The initiative aims to to accelerate career pathways while also bringing about change in heads of department representation.
“We know that female heads of department are under-represented in roles in scripted projects due to credit requirements and career access and progression opportunities,” said Screen Australia head of development Louise Gough.
“Screen Australia is committed to helping increase the representation of women across all areas of our industry and fostering an equitable sector. We are proud to support the guilds to deliver the program and provide these opportunities within the production sector for women to gain credits at the calibre that will allow them to secure their next role.”
When Screen Australia launched its Gender Matters program back in 2015, the focus was on getting gender parity among key creatives – writers, directors and producers – and female protagonists on screen.
However, it has been long identified that gender parity issues also exist below-the-line, particularly in cinematography and composing.
For instance, just 18 of the 437 accredited members of the ACS are women. The ACS acknowledges the number of women in cinematography is low, and has worked hard over the last decade to boost the rates of women in the profession, including forming the ACS Women’s Advisory Panel.
Similarly, a 2017 RMIT research study commissioned by APRA AMCOS found only 13 per cent of working screen composers in Australia identify as women, something the AGSC has been working to rectify via its Gender Equity Committee.
Female composers and cinematographers have also pushed Screen Australia to consider these roles within their Gender Matter KPIs.
“There is still a long way to go for gender parity in heads of department roles,” said head of the Gender Matters taskforce, producer Joanna Werner.
“Credit Maker aims to improve this, building on the success of the ADG’s Shadow Directing program supported through Screen Australia’s Gender Matters: Brilliant Careers funding scheme which helped 12 women gain credits in directing.
“Credit Maker is an exciting beginning, and we hope that this initiative brings real impact and change. The Gender Matters Taskforce will continue to work strategically to plan for other under-served areas of female representation in the sector.”
In a statement, the ACS described the Credit Maker program was a “dream come true”, noting it would be career and life-changing for woman DOPs.
“Data has long shown the loss and attrition of talented female cinematographers who did not make it through to shoot high level productions was because they did not get the opportunity.
“The ACS recently commissioned a world-first survey specifically of the Australian camera workforce, which will soon be launched and the results continue to highlight the shocking paucity of women’s participation and engagement as cinematographers across the Australian film and television industry. The impact of the Credit Maker scheme on the careers of female cinematographers will last for generations to come.”
Similarly, the AGSC said the Credit Maker program marked the potential for a “fundamental shift” in the careers of mid-tier female composers.
“The Gender Equity Committee has done ground-breaking work in the analysis of and support for female screen composers and the Credit Maker program will provide a credit that will be recognised throughout the industry and will have ongoing significance,” it said.
In terms of directors, industry-wide research conducted by Screen Australia suggests improvements in women’s participation rates in recent years have been slow to change, despite significant push by the agency and other bodies.
From 2015-16 through 2018-19, only 18 per cent of all Australian features were directed by women. Television however, was a slightly brighter picture, with 33 per cent of directors female, and in documentary, the rate was 37 per cent.
For projects that received Screen Australia production funding over the same period, rates were much higher – 50 per cent of directors were women on features, 51 per cent on TV projects, and 37 per cent in documentary.
ADG senior development manager Belinda Button said: “Having seen first-hand the career-changing opportunities provided to 12 female directors participating in the predecessor program DirectOne, the ADG are now thrilled to be involved in Credit Makeralso.
“We commend Screen Australia on this critical Gender Matters initiative. With our guild colleagues, we look forward to helping more women realise success in HOD roles across the screen industry.”
To apply for Credit Maker, register your interest with the relevant guild via their website.
General manager and head of post production at The Post Lounge, Bronwyn Ketels.
A newly launched independent feature film pitching competition is offering funds and a way forward to its winner, with $30,000 and a series of mentoring sessions included in the first prize package.
Established by Brisbane independent production company Progression 7, Feature30 is designed to give applicants a chance to experience the filmmaking process from conception to sale for their feature or documentary ideas.
The nine judges for the competition will act as mentors once their evaluations are complete, guiding the winners towards distributing their product via theatrical release, SVOD, or both.
Assessing the applicants will be actress Brooke Lee, The Steve Jaggi Company founder and chief creative officer Steve Jaggi, SBS commissioning editor of scripted Loani Arman, Flickchicks director Mandy Lake, The Post Lounge general manager Bronwyn Ketels, Umbrella Entertainment head of sales and acquisition Ari Harrison, and E! Entertainment TV founder Larry Namer, as well as Progression 7 competition directors Russell Leadbeater and Lizan Yee.
Ketels told IF competitions like Feature30 provided opportunity, connection, and practical support to filmmakers.
“As a post-production producer, I rely on concepts going from script to screen, which is why I think initiatives like Feature30 are so important.
“I’m excited by proposals that would benefit from my experience in post-production and I also value diversity of both story and storyteller.
“I will help by not only answering questions but by using my experience to flag potential hurdles applicants could face down the line. Preparation is key, and I aim to have the successful applicants prepared for the joyous and stressful journey that is filmmaking.”
In order to apply, applicants must submit a pitch deck, one-page synopsis, no more than 10 pages of script, the project’s pre/prod-post budget, and marketing plan/collateral.
Filmmakers also have the option of including a proof-of-concept no longer than five minutes.
Yee said all genres would be accepted.
“This is open to everyone,” she said.
“If you’ve had a film idea and haven’t done anything about it why not just try?
“There is no right or wrong in terms of ideas and people have certainly broadened their taste in terms of which movies they watch”
Applications for Feature30 are now open, with an early bird deadline of March 31.
Ashley Zukerman has returned to Australia to star in sci-fi In Vitro, directed by Will Howarth and Tom McKeith.
Cast opposite the Succession and The Lost Symbol star is Talia Zucker, who co-wrote the script with the directors.
Set in regional Australia of the near feature, on a remote cattle farm, In Vitro sees Zukerman and Zucker play a husband and wife who have been experimenting with biotechnology and developing new farming methods.
The couple live a mostly isolated existence, but when a series of unsettling occurrences take place, they soon discover a disturbing presence on the farm that threatens to upend their lives.
Howarth also stars in the project, which has just wrapped production in regional NSW across Cooma and Goulburn. Post will take place in Orange, where it is expected to create 127 local jobs.
McKeith and Howarth wrote the 2015 Philippines-set boxing drama Beast together, which McKeith directed with his brother, Sam. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it was nominated for Best First Feature.
In Vitro was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2016. Zucker and Howarth met in Los Angeles where they both moved after being nominated for the Heath Ledger Scholarship.
The film is produced by Arcadia, who boarded the project after last year’s MIFF 37ºSouth Market and Fictious, Howarth’s production and talent management outfit with partner Matilda Comers.
Arcadia’s Lisa Shaunessy and Bec Janek produce alongside Howarth for Fictious and Rachael Fung.
Comers, Zukerman, Alexandra Burke, Anna Dadic, Michael Agar and Clement Dunn serve as executive producers. Screen Australia has provided major production funding, with support from Screen NSW, Mind the Gap, Fictious, and Arcadia.
“Our goal with In Vitro is to create a bold sci-fi with compelling characters that expresses something important about the times we live in,” said Howarth and McKeith in a joint statement.
“We’re so excited to be working on this project with such a great team and are thrilled to be supported by Screen Australia, Screen NSW, and the Sundance Institute.”
Arcadia’s Shaunessy said: “In Vitro is a dark love story that sent chills down my spine the first time I read it. Teaming with Will and Matilda at Fictious; and with Tom, Talia and Ashley rounding out the dynamic creative team alongside Arcadia – it’s exciting to be collaborating with such experienced and talented storytellers. Combined with the incredible locations like the majestic Snowy-Monaro and our super talented heads of department, we really look forward to bringing In Vitro to the screen.”
Netflix has ordered Brouhaha Entertainment’s adaptation of Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe, more than two years after publisher HarperCollins announced it had sold the screen rights to the author’s debut novel.
Happy Feet scribe John Collee will write an eight-part series based on the semi-autobiographical book, which has gone on to sell more than 500,000 copies since its release in 2018.
The story centres on Eli Bell, a young boy growing up in Brisbane during the 1980s that is forced to navigate a lost father, a mute brother, a junkie mum, a heroin dealer for a stepfather, and a notorious crim for a babysitter.
Executive producing are Troy Lum and Andrew Mason of Brouhaha, alongside Blue-Tongue Films’ Joel Edgerton, Chapter One’s Sophie Gardiner, and Anonymous Content’s Kerry Roberts.
In a statement, Dalton said he had always dreamed about what it would be like to see stories on his television screen from the world he knew.
“When I was a boy, television was an escape,” he said.
“You can’t see the holes in the fibro walls when all you see is Winnie Cooper’s face on The Wonder Years.
“I never saw the world I knew in books, in movies, in television. That often brutal suburban Australian world that was just outside my window and the magical world secretly growing inside my head.
“Boy Swallows Universe is every aspect of that world. And people across this wild earth are about to step inside that world with their ears and eyes and hearts wide open.”
Netflix director of originals in Australia Que Minh Luu said the commission was a coup for the streamer’s ANZ branch.
“Boy Swallows Universe is truly something special, and it’s an enormous privilege to partner with Trent Dalton, Joel Edgerton, and Brouhaha Entertainment in bringing this genuinely iconic Australian story to Netflix,” she said.
“As Australians, we know how much investing in local content matters. Boy Swallows Universe is a major milestone in our mission to unearth uniquely local stories that bring joy and connection in unexpected ways to our audiences here at home, and throughout the world.”
Casting for the series is expected to start next week.
Claudia Jessie, Rachel Griffiths, and Richard Roxburgh.
Nine and Stan have co-commissioned a new four-part series based on the 2002 Bali bombings.
Production has begun in Western Sydney on the Screentime and Endemol Shine Australia drama, which is being developed in consultation with those directly impacted by the tragedy.
It’s been nearly 20 years since the terrorist attack on two of Kuta Beach’s busiest nightclubs killed 202 people, which saw local Balinese and Australian and British tourists scramble to rescue the injured and comfort the dying.
Bali 2002 is set to explore how everyday heroes from Bali, Australia, and beyond defied the odds to bring order from chaos and hope from despair.
Leading the cast are Rachel Griffiths and Richard Roxburgh, alongside Claudia Jessie (Bridgerton), Sean Keenan, Ewen Leslieand Arka Das.
There will also be appearances from a range of Australian and Balinese actors, including Anthony Wong, Paul Ayre, Maleeka Gasbari, Gerwin Widjaja, and Sri Ayu Jati Kartika.
Kerrie Mainwaring is producing for Screentime, with Tim Pye executive producer alongside Sara Richardson for Endemol Shine Australia, Michael Healy and Andy Ryan for the 9Network, and Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie for Stan.
Mainwaring said it was an important story for all Australians.
“We have worked hard to bring together this terrific cast and team of creatives to honour the story of all those Australians, Indonesians and others who experienced the terrible tragedy in Bali in 2002,” she said.
The series, which has major production investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screen NSW, marks the first original drama series co-commission between 9Network and Stan.
Healy, Nine director of television, said it would not be the last.
“It is a privilege for the 9Network and Stan to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings with this landmark drama,” he said.
“The Bali bombings were a turning point in Australian and Indonesian history and we are proud to have such an outstanding multinational cast and creative team on this project.
“Bali 2002 is first of many co-commissions between 9Network and Stan, and we look forward to making more announcements on these collaborations in the coming months.”
Scobie, Stan chief content officer, said the streamer was looking forward to continuing its close collaboration with the teams at the 9Network, Screentime and Endemol Shine Australia on the project.
“Developed in collaboration with world-class creatives from Australia and Indonesia, and in consultation with those directly impacted, Bali 2002 promises to be a powerful, inspiring, and sensitively told drama series that pays respect to everyday heroes from Australia, Bali, and beyond,” she said.
Endemol Shine Australia CEO Peter Newman said the company was “genuinely delighted to be on board for the project.
“ESA is incredibly proud to produce a series that means so much to so many. Triggered by an event that shocked the world, Bali 2002 is a story of resilience and heroism born from the darkest tragedy,” he said.
“This is a gripping four-part series that is evocative, sensitive and reflective of the stories that have been told directly from those impacted by this event.”
Bali 2002 will premiere later this year. Banijay Rights is responsible for international distribution.
