Jonathon Saunders and Nathin Art Butler were scouting locations for a project near Croydon in Far North Queensland when they came across an Indigenous child walking back to town, immersed in his phone.
It would prove to be the inspiration for Boomerang, the winner of this AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes program.
A contemporary twist on the survival genre that intersects culture and country, the story centres on a screen-addicted Indigenous Australian boy who must survive the brutal desert after a plane crash.
Speaking at Wednesday’s winner’s announcement at the Regional to Global Summit, Butler said the encounter with the youth proved to be an “a-ha moment” for the pair.
“Jonathon and I started talking about the concept,” he said.
“I was raised in the bush and he was raised in the city and we were like, ‘What if we create this story that flips that construct and stereotype?.”
Saunders and Butler will now receive $5,000 prize money, and a range of professional development opportunities delivered through AACTA and program partner Screenworks, including a supported live script reading at the 2026 AACTA Festival and access to the AWG Pathways Program and ongoing mentorship from industry leaders.
Boomerang was among five finalists for the program, now in its sixth year, competing against Paul Liddle’s Bury Your Dead, Tim Walker’s Caught in the Act, Isabelle Lewis’ Grannie Girls, and Christopher Nelius and Grace Malouf’s Minors.
Saunders described the win as a surprise but a welcome one.
“It confirmed that we’re on the right path and this story has legs,” he said.
“Boomerang offers a great twist on the classic Australian survival film and something new audiences haven’t seen before while showcasing Australia’s beautiful, wild landscape. This win shows that the tyranny of distance is no obstacle when it comes to great stories.”
Bonsai Pictures owner/operator Jonathan Page, who was on the judging panel with Nicole Dade and Deb Cox, said he was pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed assessing the projects and liaising with the teams.
“I was very impressed at the high level of work across all the submissions, and we had very positive things to say about all the projects,” he said.
“It was very close but I wanted to say special congratulations to the winning team behind Boomerang.”
AACTA Awards and Industry development manager Ivan Vukusic said all five projects demonstrated “a very confident understanding of their audience”.
“Boomerang has real potential to cut through to family audiences in a big way, and I commend Jono and Nathin on the impressive way they finessed and improved this project throughout the process,” he said.
Screenworks CEO Lisa O’Meara was impressed the finalists were able to cover “so many rich and diverse stories across a broad range of genres which were all set in regional landscapes”.
“Congratulations to all the finalists who benefited from the development opportunity this program offers. A special congratulations to the team who won with Boomerang,” she said.
“I look forward to seeing how they leverage their win to work towards bringing their story to fruition.”