SBS, NITV, and Screen Australia have revealed the shortlist for this year’s Digital Originals initiative, designed to develop short-form drama from screen creatives historically under-represented in the sector.
The 10 selected teams are undergoing an exclusive workshop in Sydney, featuring industry guest presenters Dylan River, Corrie Chen, Julie Kalceff, Clare Atkins, Mohini Herse, Taofia Pelesasa, and Nicole Coventry.
After providing creatives with the opportunity to expand their narrative-writing skillset and develop their projects in line with the SBS Charter, SBS Commissioning Equity and Inclusion Guidelines, the workshop will culminate in teams pitching to SBS, NITV and Screen Australia, with up to five projects selected to receive further development funding. Of these, up to three will be chosen for production funding and commissioning with SBS, NITV and Screen Australia.
The ten selected projects are as follows:
Banana Milkshake!: When budding high school filmmaker Oliver Zhang and his older cousin Alan “Juicy” Yan discover their teacher’s affair, they hatch a plan to blackmail them for ransom using their filmmaking know-how, only to find themselves entangled in a web of deceit and danger that puts their futures at risk.
Team: David Ma, Johnathan Lo, Georgia Noe.
Front of House: A young Tunisian man immigrates to Australia and finds himself enticed by the underworld of the Melbourne hospitality industry.
Team: Sarah Ben-m’rad, Kay Lawrence.
Hardly a Wallflower: When a totally-blind romance novelist with writer’s block is forced to run her best friend’s flower shop in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, she learns the only way to get her writing back on track is to open herself up to love.
Team: Jessica Smith, Olivia Muscat, Scarlett Koehne.
In Her Body: Two unfulfilled immigrant women – corporate lawyer Vanessa Li and her house cleaner Thelma Alfonso – switch bodies and are forced to work together to figure out how to change back.
Team: Rae Choi, Rachel Maxine Anderson.
Mangrove Mansion: When her estranged activist dad refuses urgent medical care, legal-aid lawyer Sunny and fiancé Alex commandeer his houseboat to get him to the mainland. Crashing into a stinking mess of mud and mangroves, they must figure out how to survive and get unstuck.
Team: Rhianna Malezer, Mary Duong.
Nailing It!: When a culturally estranged Aboriginal woman’s new nail salon becomes a gateway for ancient spirits, she must master the art of spiritual cleansing alongside cuticle care – or risk unleashing supernatural chaos on her unsuspecting clients while confronting her own cultural identity.
Team: Takani Clark, Kartanya Maynard.
Rejecting Elle: When chronically ill people pleaser Elle Cotton is faced with the agonising choice of whether to live or die, the real question is whether the life she has is one that’s worth fighting for.
Team: Lauren Rowe, Steve Anthopoulos, Mansoor Noor, Belinda Dean.
Staying Late: It’s a Melbourne heatwave but Kira and Lane’s love life is on the fritz (like their aircon). So when Lane succumbs to temptation and Kira’s new job takes a sinister turn, their crumbling rental becomes a pressure cooker of secrets.
Team: Isaac Elliot, Reilly Archer-Whelan, Chanel Bowen.
Tantrum: Varsha told best friend Jeev her gig was career-defining. Jeev brought their toddler anyway. When the kid’s meltdown ruins the show, Varsha loses it in a public outburst that goes viral. Soon the two friends are locked in a life-changing feud that has them questioning whether found family really is forever.
Team: Vidya Rajan, Jemma Cotter, Sunanda Sachatrakul.
Thirdwheel: A professional and perfectionist’s first date goes hilariously off-script when an unexpected guest forces her to embrace the chaos and discover that sometimes when things go wrong, they end up right.
Team: Douglas Watkin, Shontell Leah Ketchell.