Matchbox Pictures/SBS’s ‘Hungry Ghosts’.
Female-led TV drama projects from Good Thing Productions, Matchbox Pictures and Porchlight Films are among the four selected to be developed through Film Victoria and SBS’s Pitch to Pilot initiative, aimed at bringing compelling stories from diverse voices to screen.
Each of the four teams receive $20,000 for further development before they pitch the projects to SBS, with the successful team to receive an additional $20,000 to write a pilot script.
Producer Paula Salini (Wentworth) has teamed up with Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias at Good Thing Productions to bring Victorian writer Enza Gandolfo’s novel ‘The Bridge’ to the screen. Nicky Arnall (Playing for Keeps) is writing the series, titled West Gate, with Beck Cole (Mustangs FC) to direct.
Writer/director Fatima Mawas and writer Angela Dix have come together on The Backroom. Mawas’ short film Amar was developed through the SBS/Film Victoria Scripted Shorts initiative and premiered as part of the SBS Short Film Festival last September.
Amanda Higgs and Matchbox Pictures have teamed up with writer Pip Karmel (Total Control) and director Corrie Chen (Five Bedrooms) on Bad Behaviour, based on Rebecca Starford’s memoir of the same name.
On the heels of her debut feature Undertow, writer/director Miranda Nation is working alongside Porchlight Films’ producer Liz Watts (Stateless) on Aleph, an original sci-fi drama series that marks her first foray into writing for television.
SBS director of TV and online content Marshall Heald said: “SBS is committed to providing opportunities for emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds to bring their distinctive stories to our screens. We were hugely impressed with the applications received for this joint development initiative with Film Victoria, and are excited to be moving forward with four incredible Australian stories, and look forward to seeing the result of their work over the coming months.”