Screen Australia is to allocate more than AUD$10m ($6.4m) of production funding to a raft of upcoming film and TV projects.
The national screen body will support six features including Sophie Hyde’s An Ideal Wife, starring Emilia Clarke; Dario Russo’s The Fox, starring Jai Courtney and from the producers of horror hit Talk to Me; and Charles Williams’ Inside, starring Guy Pearce. Further films to receive a share of the funding include David Vincent Smith drama He Ain’t Heavy, John Sheedy’s family feature Runt and anthology feature My Melbourne.
Three TV series receiving funding include Ladies In Black, directed by Gracie Otto and adapted from Madeleine St John novel The Women In Black; a third season of 1980s-set drama The Newsreader; and season three of animated children’s series Ginger And The Vegesaurs.
“This funding underscores Screen Australia’s commitment to nurturing local talent, showcasing their creativity with audiences worldwide, and supporting innovative stories that resonate,” said Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason.
In 2022/23FY, Screen Australia supplied more than $25.7m (AUD$40m) of production funding for film and TV projects.
Embankment Films handles international sales of An Ideal Wife, in which Game Of Thrones star Clarke plays Oscar Wilde’s wife Constance Lloyd, leader of the dress reform movement that led to women’s widespread rejection of corsets. Australian filmmaker Hyde is known for 2018 comedy-drama Animals and the Bafta-nominated Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. It is produced by Wheelhouse Productions, Curiosa Films and Zephyr Films.
Protagonist Pictures is managing sales of The Fox, in which Suicide Squad star Courtney plays the heir to a vineyard dynasty takes who discovers his fiance is cheating on him and a magical fox who offers him a twisted solution. It marks Russo’s debut feature and is produced by Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings for Australia’s Causeway Films, whose previous credits include The Babadook and Talk To Me. Madman Entertainment will distribute locally.
Studiocanal is on board Runt, which follows a 10-year-old girl and her adopted stray dog as they try to save the family farm by winning a dog show in London. It marks Sheedy’s second feature after H Is For Happiness, which won the Generation prize at the 2020 Berlinale. It is written by Craig Silvey and produced by Jamie Hilton and Jessy Rolleston Palmer.
Goodfellas launched prison drama Inside at this year’s Cannes market. Pearce stars in the story about a soon-to-be-paroled prisoner forced to murder Australia’s most despised criminal to pay his debts, sparking a paternal love triangle with a juvenile prison inmate that will be their undoing. Williams won the short-film Palme d’Or for All These Creatures in 2018. Bonsai is on board as Australian distributor.
Bonsai is also set to distribute He Ain’t Heavy, which follows a woman who kidnaps her brother to save him from addiction. The cast includes Greta Scacchi, daughter Leila George and Sam Corlett. Produced by No Labels, it is the feature debut of Smith and began with his proof of concept short I’m Not Hurting You, which premiered at Sydney Film Festival in 2019.
The awarded films are rounded out by My Melbourne, a collection of diverse stories told by upcoming writers and actors. The comedy-drama anthology comprises four stories addressing race, gender, sexuality and disability. Directors include Kabir Khan, Rima Das, Imtiaz Ali, Onir, Puneet Gulati, Samira Cox, Tammy Yang and William Duan. It is financed in association with VicScreen with support from Soundfirm and is developed with assistance of Mind Blowing Films, which will distribute locally.
No comments yet