Three Successful Projects Announced for Stage One of West Coast Re-Visioned!
Image caption: Girl and Whale Shark. Photo by Rick Rifici.
Three Successful...
Image caption: Girl and Whale Shark. Photo by Rick Rifici.
Three Successful Projects Announced for Stage One of West Coast Re-Visioned!
Three amazing projects have been selected to receive $20,000 and embark on the development phase of the upgraded 2020 West Coast Visions program.
The competitive application round recognised three amazing projects, largely dominated by some exceptional, female key creatives. The three projects shortlisted included Whale Shark Jack produced by Cottesloe Films, Fads & Miracles produced by Rush Films, and Burden produced by No Labels Media.
To fast track emerging talent and to ensure the final successful West Coast Visions project is production-ready, Screenwest re-visioned the 2020 funding program by introducing a two-staged funding model. The three successful, shortlisted projects will now enter the first stage, which provides them a six-month development period, each supported with a $20,000 Screenwest grant.
After development, one of the three shortlisted projects will be selected to receive West Coast Visions production funding of $750,000, one of the most coveted production funding grants in Australia.
Screenwest’s highly acclaimed West Coast Visions initiative is a long-running screen industry talent development and production program that provides funding for low budget features to be produced in Western Australia. It gives one successful first-time feature film director their first theatrical feature film credit and is a career launching pad. The addition of the development stage of the program enables Screenwest to support the development of multiple projects, fostering the growth of early career feature film practitioners.
Head of Scripted (Acting) at SBS Amanda Duthie and Strategic Consultant James Hewison from Kinetic were engaged as industry assessors for the 2020 West Coast Visions program.
Duthie explained, “The three projects selected were stand-outs for future market potential. I will look forward to seeing how the projects, which capture uniquely Western Australian stories, develop over the next six months.”
Hewison said “I was delighted to be an assessor of the West Coast Visions program, vitally important for first-time feature filmmakers. Moreover, the submitted projects were at once thrillingly singular, clear-eyed and bold as they were diverse, seeking to challenge audiences as they were to entertain. The next generation of WA filmmakers is a truly exciting prospect.”
Screenwest Drama Development Manager Barbara Connell said, “It was wonderful to undertake the assessment process with James and Amanda, who provided some fantastic market-based insight. We are exceptionally pleased to see the three projects selected move into the development stage.”
CEO of Screenwest Willie Rowe explained, “The re-design of the program this year was done in response to industry need and a rapidly changing global landscape for feature films. Screenwest are pleased that the re-visioned West Coast Visions enables development for more practitioners, giving them time and guidance to develop their projects to be production-ready.”
For more information regarding the successful projects and creative teams, read on. For more information regarding the West Coast Visions initiative visit the Development Funding page on the Screenwest website.
Shortlisted West Coast Visions Projects – Stage One
Whale Shark Jack
- Format: Feature Film
- Production Company: Cottesloe Films
- Key Creatives: Producer/Director Miranda Edmonds, Director Khrob Edmonds, Writer Kathryn Lefroy
- Synopsis: When Sarah’s best friend, a whale shark named Jack, fails to return to Ningaloo reef for the summer, Sarah must do everything in her power to find him.
Earlier this year, Whale Shark Jack also received matched support from Screenwest and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group (UPHE Content Group) through the Fast Pitch Initiative, to develop the script for this live-action family film, centred around our relationship with the natural world. UPHE Content Group has been working with Cottesloe Films to provide market-based development on the script.
Writer Kathryn Lefroy and Directors Miranda Edmonds and Khrob Edmonds on board Ningaloo Discovery.
Fads & Miracles
- Format: Feature Film
- Production Company: Rush Films
- Key Creatives: Executive Producer John Maynard, Producer Cody Greenwood, Writer/Director Zoe Pepper, Writer Adriane Daff
- Synopsis: A determined single mother seeks the help of a charismatic high school teacher to help her chronically shy teenage daughter to speak, but the harrowing side effects of the mysterious treatment have devastating consequences.
Fads & Miracles ©️ Rush Films
Burden
- Format: Feature Film
- Production Company: No Labels Media
- Key Creatives: Producer Jessica Parker, Producer Lauren Brunswick and Writer/Director David Vincent Smith.
- Synopsis: A desperate woman kidnaps and enforces rehab on her dangerous, meth-addicted brother in a last-ditch effort to save their lives.
Still from proof of concept short featuring Alexandra Nell and Noah Skape. Photo by Matsu Photography ©️ No Labels Media.
Media Contact
For high-resolution images and interviews please contact:
Alexandra Biddle
Head of Communications, Screenwest
T: + 61 8 6169 2106
E: alexandra.biddle@screenwest.com.au
Contact Screenwest
T: +61 8 6169 2100
E: info@screenwest.com.au
www.screenwest.com.au
www.filminwesternaustralia.com.au
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