Press release from The Lantern Group
“We are thrilled to support these 22 talented filmmakers to produce short films which will act as their calling cards,” said Martha Coleman, Screen Australia’s Head of Development. “A team’s short films are of vital importance in raising their profile in the industry and provide an essential stepping-stone in a professional filmmaking career path. Our Springboard, Short Animation Production and Shorts Completion Fund programs are about career building for the long term.”
The four teams selected for the Springboard program will commence production following a unique development process. The creative teams devised and developed their short film over the course of two workshops, hosted in December 2009 and February 2010. The short film complements their existing feature proposal and provides a strategic tool in getting their first feature off the ground. The four selected projects are:
• sci-fi thriller Cyro (in support of the feature film Cargo) from w: Matthew Dabner, d: Luke Doolan and p: Drew Bailey
• apocalyptic drama Transmission (in support of the feature film These Final Hours) from w/d: Zak Hilditch and p: Liz Kearney
• conspiracy thriller Mercury (in support of feature film Hound) from w/d: Paul Oliver and p: Phillipa Campey
• sci-fi thriller Rarer Monsters (in support of the feature film Tremula) from w/d: Shayne Armstrong, w: Shane Krause and p: Charles Mitchell
Screen Australia’s Short Animation Production will support three new short animations. Animal Logic’s Zareh Nalbandian (Co-Founder & CEO) and Bruce Carter (Creative Director) worked with Screen Australia to select the successful teams.
• The Orchestra from w/d: Michael Hill and p: Melanie Brunt
• Butterflies from w/d: Isabel Peppard and p: Warwick Burton
• Grace Under Water from d/p: Anthony Lawrence and w: Chrissie McMahon
Four films have been supported through the Short Film Completion Fund which provides finance for distinctive shorts that show outstanding potential but lack the funds to finish. These are:
• Voyeurnet from w/d/p: Stuart Parkyn and p: Jana Jones
• Eli the Avenger from w/d: Miranda Nation and p: Dominic Allen
• Huge from w/d: Shane Krause, w: Shayne Armstrong and p: Charles Mitchell
• Punch Drunk from w/d: Sam Wark and p: Leah Hallis
Screen Australia’s support of the Raw Nerve initiative provides opportunities to new filmmakers to create short films in collaboration with the Screen Development Australia (SDA) network.
Springboard 2010/11 is now open for applications with a closing deadline of Monday 2 August. Springboard is targeted at filmmaking teams who have a final draft script ready for the marketplace and are one step away from making their first professional feature film. The Springboard workshops will again be run by Simon van der Borgh and Jonathan Rawlinson, screenwriting teachers and script consultants with extensive international experience. Further information and application forms are available from www.screenaustralia.gov.au/springboard. The Short Animation Production Program and the Short Film Completion Fund will run again in the 2010/11 financial year.