MRC director Gail Kovatseff at the 2018 Screenmakers Conference.
Launching its 2019 program today, Adelaide’s Media Resource Centre (MRC) announced it will be running a partnership initiative with Screentime to give practitioners opportunity to develop factual TV ideas across all unscripted genres.
Up to six teams will receive hands-on mentoring from the production company’s executives over a period of four months next year, culminating in market ready project pitches for the Screenmakers Conference in July. Screentime launched a Adelaide office earlier this year, headed by Colin Thrupp, kicking off with the production of RBT. Previously the company has also produced Pine Gap, Wolf Creek and ANZAC Girls in SA. Further information about the initiative will be released soon on the MRC website.
The MRC’s Screenmakers Conference, which has continued to grow in scale since its inception five years ago, will expand up to three days next year. The conference is primarily aimed at accelerating the careers of emerging and regional content creators. Speakers last year included Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason, Australian Directors’ Guild CEO Kingston Anderson, Madman co-founder Paul Wiegard, a range of executives from broadcasters Nine, 10, SBS and the ABC, directors such as Sophie Hyde and Scott Hicks and producers like Fiona Eagger, Pam Barnes and Kate Croser.
The MRC also announced today a new focus on the video games industry. In the new year it will host a series of networking events and case studies targeted at the sector, themed around development and design, interactive storytelling and pathways to industry.
MRC director Gail Kovatseff said: “There is an ethos of ‘doing things differently’ that underpins the Screenmakers Conference that makes it unique in the Australian screen industry landscape and we will continue to offer bold and out of the box content and sessions that you can’t get anywhere else.
“The quality and standard of our development programs and mentoring provided by the MRC production team is reflected in the successful work that is being produced and is only getting stronger with each funding round”.
“The quality and standard of our development programs and mentoring provided by the MRC production team is reflected in the successful work that is being produced and is only getting stronger with each funding round”.
The MRC will also host the 21st South Australian Screen Awards in April. The $40,000 prize pool will this year include two new awards, Best Costume and Best Hair and Makeup. Submissions will open in mid December with a closing date of February 12, 2019.
Production grants for short films and web series will also continue in the new year, with the MRC to once again partner with NITV to deliver three short documentaries with emerging Indigenous talent for broadcast on NITV.