10 Western Australian projects receive Screenwest development funding
Screenwest has announced the 10 successful recipients of the latest Documentary Development Investment and Diversity and Inclusion funding rounds.
Ten projects have received development support through Screenwest’s first rounds of Documentary Development Investment Funding and Diversity and Inclusion – General Funding for the 2021-22 financial year.
The five successful Documentary Development Investment recipients include factual stories about an acclaimed Australian artist, determined meteor-hunting teams, pet detectives, a world-renowned hypnotist and underground drillers working in WA mines.
“This was a competitive funding round with high-quality applications received across the board. We’re pleased to be supporting the development of these five documentary projects and look forward to following their progress.” said Paul Williams, Screenwest Documentary Manager.
Screenwest’s Documentary Development Investment Fund invests in the development of documentary and factual programming in order to support and grow a sustainable Western Australian screen industry. The fund provides support to Western Australian producers for production finance for feature length documentary films and factual series with significant marketplace attachments from traditional and new online platforms and distributors.
The five successful Diversity and Inclusion – General funding recipients are all project development based, and include a rom-com series with an Australian-Indian lawyer protagonist, a web series set in a virtual world, a short film about a pop superstar, an adaptation of a stage play and a feature about a woman’s attempt to become a witch.
“The submissions we received encompassed a wide range of formats and genres, and the practitioners behind these successful projects are all passionately committed to telling compelling and dynamic stories about their communities.” said Dr. Jonathan Messer, Screenwest Diversity and Inclusion Manager.
Screenwest’s Diversity and Inclusion Fund – General is a special fund to support the creation and growth of diverse representation on and/or behind the camera from targeted underrepresented groups of Western Australian screen industry practitioners. It has a particular focus on practitioners from CaLD backgrounds, living with disability, LGBTQIA+ and intersectionalities of these practitioners. These funds may be used for either projects or activities.
Documentary Development Investment Funding Recipients
Letters of Offer have been issued to the following projects.
An Ode to Olsen
- Format: Feature documentary
- Production Company: Artemis Media Pty Ltd
- Key Creatives:
- Executive Producer: Celia Tait
- Producer/Co-Writer: Adam Grossetti
- Development Producer/Co-Writer: Nia Pericles
Logline: An Ode to Olsen is an exquisite and rare opportunity to celebrate John Olsen – a giant of Australian culture, reflecting upon an international career, life, art, and friendship.
Aussie Meteor Hunters
- Format: 6 x 1 hour documentary series
- Production Company: Joined Up Films Pty Ltd
- Key Creatives:
- Executive Producers: Jacqueline Willinge, Dan Brown & Steve Bibb
Logline: The Earth is under constant bombardment… by rocks from space!
Pet Detectives Australia
- Format: 8 x 1 hour documentary series
- Production Company: Ghostrider Films Pty Ltd
- Key Creatives:
- Producer/Series Producer: David Holroyd
- Executive Producer: Steve Bibb (Barking Mad Productions)
Logline: Australia’s top pet detective and her family tackle a pet-knapping crimewave currently sweeping the country, reuniting stolen animals with their desperate owners in this heart-breaking and heart-warming series.
Hypnostar
- Format: Feature documentary
- Production Company: Aquarius Productions Pty Ltd
- Key Creatives:
- Producer/Director: Richard Todd
- Editor: Lawrie Silvestrin
Logline: The untold story of father of 20, and one of the World’s Greatest Stage Hypnotists, WA’s Martin St. James, as he attempts to make the world quit smoking.
Aussie Drillers
- Format: 10 x 1 hour documentary series
- Production Company: Keys Pillinger Films Pty Ltd
- Key Creatives:
- Executive Producers: Jonathan Keys & Damien Blythe
Logline: Aussie underground drillers dream of making their fortunes while fighting to drill through enough metres of hard rock to keep their jobs in claustrophobic and deadly mine shafts 2km underneath outback Western Australia. The real gold rush is in their pay packet, but the pressure of drilling only matches the pressure of their home life above ground.
Diversity and Inclusion – General Funding Recipients
Letters of Offer have been issued to the following projects.
One of the Good Ones
- Format: TV series development
- Key Creatives:
- Co-Producer/Writer: Sukhjit Khalsa
- Co-Producer/Director/Writer: Perun Bonser
- Co-Producers: Jodie Bell & Ana Tiwary
Logline: A romantic comedy series that follows a recently engaged Australian-Indian lawyer who has it all: perfect hair, successful career, and a sexy white fiancé. When she chooses to defend a hunky Aboriginal football star (with abs for days) her little Aussie dream is turned upside down.
Flawless
- Format: Web series development
- Production Company: Donut Mafia
- Key Creatives:
- Writer: Selena Sulak
- Producer: Matt Hodgkinson
Logline: Blue has the perfect girlfriend and the perfect life. But when she’s pulled away from everything (and everyone) she knows and loves, realising that she’s been kept prisoner in a virtual world, will she face reality or return to her faux life of blissful ignorance?
Rhapsody Blue (is Dead)
- Format: Short film development
- Production Company: Donut Mafia
- Key Creatives:
- Writer/Director: Jordan Azor
- Producer: Matt Hodgkinson
Logline: Pop superstar Rhapsody Blue is forced to choose between Michael, her autistic best friend & musical soulmate – or Ana, the woman she loves.
Curiosity
- Format: Feature film development – stage to screen adaptation
- Key Creatives:
- Writer: Daley Rangi
- Mentor: Miley Tunnecliffe
- Producer: Matt Hodgkinson
Logline: Curiosity is an evocative voyage of human connection through the eyes of Damien, and relief teacher Phoebe, as they bond over a deep fascination with Mars. Curiosity tears apart preconceptions of disability, as the characters rocket through a galaxy of grief to find their place in the universe.
SALINA
- Format: Feature film development
- Production Company: No Labels Media
- Key Creatives:
- Producer/Co-Writer/Director: Jessica Parker
- Co-Writer: David Vincent Smith
- Script Editor: Lynne Vincent McCarthy
Logline: Desperate to flee an oppressive island, a young woman attempts to become a flying witch to escape, but with her mental state deteriorating and the village on a witch hunt we are left to question, is it possible or is she insane.
Recipients of Screenwest’s latest round of Scripted Development Funding will be announced shortly.
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E: info@screenwest.com.au
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