Screenwest Announces Successful Projects from Latest Scripted Development Round
Screenwest is pleased to announce 11 projects will receive funding through the latest...
Screenwest is pleased to announce 11 projects will receive funding through the latest Scripted Development Funding round.
In what was a hugely competitive round with some unique and engaging project concepts and scripts, the panel, including independent industry assessors, identified the projects most likely to achieve success, market interest and tell unique stories from diverse, Western Australian perspectives.
From animated web-series for pre-schoolers about determined animals overcoming prejudices in society, to a series exploring teen homosexuality and even a dystopian thriller, the projects showcase the breadth and depth of Western Australia’s writing talent.
Screenwest Drama Development Manager Barbara Connell said, “We’re incredibly pleased to be able to fund these projects, which will give writers an opportunity to develop their concepts and scripts. The new staged process is working as designed with a previously funded stage one projects now moving on to stage two.”
Screenwest Development and Production Executive Franziska Wagenfeld explained, “It is hoped these projects will develop to their full potential to be viable for market and production opportunities. Developing these stories and ultimately intellectual property for Western Australia is incredibly important as it contributes to the growth of a vibrant and sustainable Western Australian drama sector into the future.”
In 2020, Screenwest streamlined its Feature Track and Small Screen Scripted Development initiatives into one initiative, the Scripted Development Fund, to accommodate the changing global distribution landscape. A podcast outlining the changes and the program is available here.
For more information regarding the recently funded projects through Screenwest’s Scripted Development Fund, read on.
Scripted Development Funding Recipients
Letters of Offer have been issued to the following projects.
Stage One
Wild Ambitions
- Format: 6 x 7 minute Web Series
- Production Company: Donut Mafia
- Key Creatives: Producer/Creator Matt Hodgkinson and Creator Paul Komadina
Synopsis: Wild Ambitions is an animated series for pre-schoolers about determined animals who overcome society’s prejudices to reach their dreams.
Wirnitj
- Format: 10 x 30 minute series.
- Production Company: Komixx Entertainment
- Key Creatives: Producer Amanda Morrison, Writer/Director Karla Hart, Associate Producer Lucy Verity and Cultural Consultant Aden Eades.
Synopsis: When stones start falling, Aden and his friends must confront terrifying supernatural forces to figure out what is upsetting the spirits so that their worlds can return to normal.
Gateways
- Format: 8 x 60 minute TV Series
- Production Company: Filmscope Entertainment Pty Ltd.
- Key Creative: Producer/Writer John V. Soto
Synopsis: A particle physicist has discovered a way to travel to parallel worlds, but she triggers a series of events that have dire consequences for her family and our world.
The Water Boys
- Format:4 x 60 minute mini-series
- Key Creatives:Writer Peter Docker and Producer/Writer/Director Tony Briggs
Synopsis: The future is here. The past is yet to come. The Waterboys are gonna go over the edge again. A dystopian thriller set in a water-starved, and a climate-ravaged world.
Karma Chameleon
- Format: Feature Film
- Production Company: Goalpost Pictures
- Key Creatives: Writer Chum Ehelepola and Producer Kylie du Fresne
Synopsis: Jazzy, the lost ugly duckling of a successful Sri Lankan family, finally finds his calling as a fake guru in rural WA. But when his guru persona starts gaining notoriety and a devoted following, Jazzy struggles to keep up the charade and is forced to go on his own journey of self-discovery.
Unqualified
- Format: 6 x 30 minute TV series
- Key Creatives: Co-producers/Writers Catherine Moore and Genevieve Hegney and Director Matthew Moore.
Synopsis: Unqualified: The story of two women who are not just living a lie but lying for a living.
Stage Two
Invisible Boys
- Format: 10 x 30 minute series
- Production Company: Feisty Dame Productionsin association with Asphodel Films
- Key Creatives: Producer Tania Chambers and Director/Co-Producer Nicholas Verso. Writers Nicholas Verso and Holden Sheppard. Adapted fromthe novel by Holden Sheppar
Synopsis: Charlie is a teen punk rocker living in the remote coastal town of Geraldton, Western Australia – a world where homosexuality is invisible, and so is he. But when a one-off encounter with a married man is exposed, Charlie is outed and suddenly everyone in his conservative town knows his secret. And then Charlie discovers he’s not alone…
Westopia
- Format: Animated TV Series
- Production Company: Galactic Baby
- Key Creatives: Producer Lauren Elliott, Producer Dave McDonnell and Writer/Director Henry Inglis
Synopsis: When a modern day Australian policewoman is brought back to life in the year 2121, she finds herself roped into enforcing the draconian laws of Westopia alongside a squad of misfits, while also getting to the bottom of her own century-old murder.
Ivy Manor
- Format: Feature Film
- Production Company: See Pictures
- Key Creatives: Producer Jamie Hilton, Writer Ben Young
Synopsis: When 22 year-old Emma’s grandmother moves into retirement home Ivy Manor, a ghost attaches to her, driving her to uncover a sinister crime.
What Would Suki Do?
- Format: 6 x 30 minute series
- Key Creatives: Writer/Producer Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa, Producer Ana Tiwary and Executive Producer Tania Chambers
Synopsis: Two worlds collide when an awkward teenager creates a too-cool-for-school alter ego to survive the struggles of high school and her Sikh way of life.
The Golden Age
- Format: 4K Feature Film.
- Production Company: Bremer Films
- Key Creatives: Producers Chris Veerhuis and Tristram Miall, Executive Producer Geoffrey London. Written by Cathy Strickland and Sue Smith.
Synopsis: In 1953 two thirteen-year-olds, confined to wheelchairs in a polio ward, form a forbidden and passionate bond. Aided by an unconventional ward Sister, they mount their own revolution against fear, discrimination, and the sacrificing of their dreams.
About the Scripted Development Fund
The Scripted Development Fund provides Concept Development (Stage One) and Project Development (Stage Two) funding to new, emerging and experienced Western Australian practitioners creating scripted content for all delivery platforms (including theatrical).
Successful applicants will work toward delivering quality, distinctive projects that can reach their target audience and attract further investment and/or market interest.
More information on this fund is available on the Development page of the Screenwest website.
Contact Screenwest
T: +61 8 6169 2100
E: info@screenwest.com.au
www.screenwest.com.au
www.filminwesternaustralia.com.au
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