Screen Australia today announced almost $700,000 in development support for 23 feature projects, enabling filmmakers to take their feature film script to the next level towards production readiness. Fifteen new projects have been added to Screen Australia’s development slate, while eight teams will receive continued support to develop their projects.
Two Australian filmmakers will also be supported to undertake overseas internships. Producer Ma’ara Bobby Romia will work for six months with Screentime Group in New Zealand and director Ariel Martin–Merrells will work under the mentorship of director James Foley in Los Angeles for five months.
Screen Australia’s Head of Development Martha Coleman said, “Following a now well-established tradition, the development slate announced today includes a diverse range of compelling stories from both established and emerging filmmakers. The high calibre of screenplays coming through our door backs up positive feedback we are getting from the domestic and international marketplace and I’m looking forward to seeing the best of these projects make their journey through to production over the next few years.”
The new projects to receive development support include a thriller script, Los Alamos, from writer Luke Davies (Candy) and Oscar®-winning producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech). Berlin Syndrome is a new psychological thriller in development from writer Shaun Grant (Snowtown) with producer Polly Staniford and executive producer Angie Fielder. Shaun Grant will also be supported to develop Jasper Jones, a coming-of-age story based on the award- winning Australian novel by Craig Silvey with producers Vincent Sheehan and David Jowsey.
Writer Joan Sauers will be supported to develop the biopic Enemy Alien about mercurial classical violist, Richard Goldner, with producers Brian Rosen and Su Armstrong. The Canary Cottage is a black comedy script being developed by writer/director Heath Davis, producer Luke Graham and executive producer Jonathan Page and The Stockpicker is a romantic comedy script in development from writer Dave Warner and producer Phillip Bowman.
Writer Peter Ivan will be supported to develop his drama script, An Oddball Solution, with producers Steve Kearney and Richard Keddie, and writers Stephen Ramsey and Bob Ellis will be supported to develop their biopic script The News of the World.Emma Jensen will develop the biopic Mary Shelley about the life of the novelist who wrote Frankenstein. Matthew Dabner is on board as an executive producer.
Marauder is a true-crime story being supported for development by writer Lee Sellars and producer/director Marion Pilowsky about a rookie detective, a killer on the loose and a mother who never gave up hope.
David Williamson and Craig Monahan will be supported to develop crime drama The Removalists, a reimagining of David Williamson’s iconic play of the same name. Tait Brady and Craig Monahan are attached to the project as producers.
The Riders is a drama in development from Susie Brooks-Smith who is adapting for the screen the acclaimed novel of the same name by Tim Winton. Director Robert Connolly and producer Timothy White are attached to the project.
Writer/producer Trish Graham will receive development support for her new family/fantasy script Little Fur: The Legend Begins with executive producer Matt Carroll.
New projects to receive matched feature development funding include the drama script The Devil’s Staircase from writer Sergio Casci with director Ben C Lucas (Wasted on the Young), producer Marian Macgowan and UK producer Claire Mundell. Training Grounds is an action feature project in development from writers Oscar Redding and Jonathan auf der Heide with director Jeremy Sims, producer Ranko Markovic and executive producer Piers Morgan.
Writer/directors Patrick Sarell and Alister Lockhart will also receive financial support from the Director’s Acclaim Fund to strategically assist them towards the next stage in their career path.
Projects to receive continued feature development support are included in the project details listed below.
SINGLE-PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: FEATURE DEVELOPMENT THE ACTRESSES
Genre Comedy Producer Michael McMahon Writer Katherine Thomson Director Tony Ayres Synopsis Five actresses compete for the role of a lifetime – an ensemble comedy about women, friendship and competition.
BERLIN SYNDROME
Genre Psychological Thriller Producer Polly Staniford Executive Producer Angie Fielder Writer Shaun Grant
Synopsis A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship when an Australian photojournalist wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.
THE CANARY COTTAGE
Genre Black Comedy Producer Luke Graham Executive Producer Jonathan Page Writer/Director Heath Davis Synopsis A broken young man learns to live and love again when he moves into his mother’s nursing home.
CARTAGENA
Genre Drama Producers Naomi Wenck, Kristina Ceyton Writer Nam Le Synopsis A teenage assassin living in the slums of Columbia finds himself ordered to do a hit on his best friend. Choosing between loyalty to his friend, and the loyalty required of him by a merciless drug lord, Juan Pablo is a normal boy caught up in a ruthless world. Based on the best-selling novel by Nam Le.
DEFIANT
Genre Thriller Producers Bill Bennett, Anupam Sharma Writer/Director Bill Bennett Synopsis Two young lovers from different castes in India are marked for honour killings. Based on true events.
ENEMY ALIEN Genre Biopic Producers Brian Rosen, Su Armstrong Writer Joan Sauers Synopsis The true story of mercurial classical violist, Richard Goldner, who escapes Nazi-occupied Austria to settle in Australia where he’s faced with a different kind of tyranny before discovering his true calling and forming Musica Viva. Based on the book by Suzanne Baker.
GIN & TONIC
Genre Comedy Drama Producers Leah Churchill-Brown, Amanda Higgs Writer Alice Bell Director Hattie Dalton Synopsis A baby is abandoned on 14-year-old Ashlee’s doorstep, shining light on her broken family and her secret teenage life.
JASPER JONES
Genre Coming of Age Producers Vincent Sheehan, David Jowsey Writer Shaun Grant Synopsis Based on the award-winning Australian novel by Craig Silvey.
LITTLE FUR: THE LEGEND BEGINS
Genre Family/Fantasy Writer/Producer Trish Graham Executive Producer Matt Carroll Synopsis Little Fur is the story of how even a small creature – an elf-troll, no larger than a 4-year-old child – is able to find the courage to overcome her fears, to understand that there is good and bad in all of us, and decides to become a hero.
LOS ALAMOS
Genre Thriller Producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman Writer Luke Davies Synopsis Spring, 1945. Michael Connolly, a disgraced intelligence operative, enters a labyrinth of secrets and espionage when he arrives at the high-security military base of Los Alamos. Sent to investigate a seemingly open-and-shut murder case, Connolly is thrown into the heart of the Manhattan Project and must navigate a path through military protocol, political intrigue and personal agendas in order to uncover the truth in the most secretive place in the world.
MARAUDER
Genre True Crime Director/Producer Marion Pilowsky Writer Lee Sellars Synopsis A rookie detective, a killer on the loose and a mother who never gave up hope. Based on a true story.
MARY SHELLEY
Genre Biopic Executive Producer Matthew Dabner Writer Emma Jensen Synopsis A young woman with a family legacy and a passion for writing goes on a quest to find a story which results in the groundbreaking novel Frankenstein. However, Mary learns that creativity and love can come at a high price when she embarks on a passionate and tumultuous love affair with the poet Percy Shelley.
MICHAEL H
Genre Biopic Producers Sue Murray, Richard Lowenstein
Executive Producer Domenico Procacci Writer/Director Richard Lowenstein Synopsis At the height of his internationally renowned career, a sudden blow to the head robs the famously sensual rock star of two of his most cherished senses. A series of personal battles follows ending tragically with his death at the age of 37, the night before embarking on a world tour.
THE NEWS OF THE WORLD
Genre Biopic Writers Stephen Ramsey, Bob Ellis
AN ODDBALL SOLUTION
Genre Drama Producers Steve Kearney, Richard Keddie Writer Peter Ivan
REMARKABLE CREATURES
Genre Drama Producers Heather Ogilvie, Mark Gooder Writer Jan Sardi Synopsis Together, one woman’s gift and another’s determination result in one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 19th century. A revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship, based on the acclaimed novel by Tracey Chevalier.
THE REMOVALISTS
Genre Crime Drama Producers Tait Brady, Craig Monahan Writers David Williamson, Craig Monahan Director Craig Monahan Synopsis A blackly comic exposé of unequal social relationships and abuse of authority – now and then. A reimagining of the iconic Australian play by David Williamson.
THE RIDERS
Genre Drama Producer Timothy White Writer Susie Brooks-Smith Director Robert Connolly Synopsis Scully takes his young daughter, Billie, across Europe on a search for his missing wife. Based on the acclaimed novel by Tim Winton.
SILENT DISCO Genre Coming of Age
Producer Tom M Jeffrey Writer Lachlan Philpott Synopsis Teens Tamara and Squid are in love, but their fragile relationship is broken by a betrayal of trust that puts their futures at risk.
SON OF A GUN
Genre Crime Producer Timothy White Writer/Director Julius Avery Script Editor John Collee Synopsis A young man is sent to prison where he becomes the perfect apprentice to ‘public enemy number one’, beating him at his own game.
THE STOCKPICKER
Genre Romantic Comedy Producer Phillip Bowman Writer Dave Warner Synopsis Dylan Gilbert, a back room guy dreaming of becoming a glamorous stock picker realises that one of his firm’s small-time clients has an amazing success rate and by copying their picks he can achieve his dream, but when Client 68745, Holly York, falls in love her picks begin to tank! Dylan decides he must break up the love match if he is to achieve his goal.
SINGLE-PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: FEATURE MATCHED FUNDING THE DEVIL’S STAIRCASE
Genre Drama Producer Marian Macgowan UK Producer Claire Mundell Writer Sergio Casci Director Ben C Lucas Synopsis An 18-year-old girl runs away from small-town Australia to London, hoping to overcome her justifiable yet incapacitating fear of death by moving into an abandoned London townhouse with several young travellers, but she discovers before long that death seems to have followed her.
TRAINING GROUNDS
Genre Action Producer Ranko Markovic Executive Producer Piers Morgan Writers Oscar Redding, Jonathan auf der Heide Director Jeremy Sims Synopsis A group of young Western travellers are traversing the Silk Road when a land slide leaves them stranded without their vehicles. As they search for the destroyed 4x4s they discover a cave that’s being used as an Al-Qaeda training
ground. The soldiers aren’t there, but plans for a new international terrorist plot and a dirty bomb are.
TALENT ESCLATOR PROGRAMS: INDUSTRY INTERNSHIPS MA’ARA BOBBY ROMIA INTERNSHIP
Producer Ma’ara Bobby Romia Synopsis Ma’ara will work with Screentime Group in New Zealand for six months across all facets of television concept development, writing and producing, production, post-production and marketing/distribution strategies.
ARIEL MARTIN-MERRELLS INTERNSHIP
Director Ariel Martin-Merrells Synopsis Ariel will work under the mentorship of director James Foley (Glengarry Glen Ross, Fear, Perfect Stranger) in Los Angeles for five months during post- production on House of Cards and collaborate in the development of two upcoming feature films projects Winter Hill Gang and Recoil.
TALENT ESCLATOR PROGRAMS: SHORTS PROGRAMS: DIRECTOR’S ACCLAIM FUND
PATRICK SARELL & ALISTER LOCKHART ACCLAIM FUND Writer/Directors Patrick Sarell, Alister Lockhart
Screen Australia Media Release – Tuesday 28 August 2012