Screen Canberra has announced it put $498,832 towards 10 different projects across the 2022-23 financial year via the CBR Screen Investment Fund, including the third season of ABC/Blackfella Films’ Total Control, a variety of docs from WildBear Entertainment, and comedy series Paranormal Blacktivity from First Nations company Yoowarni Productions.
Established in 2018 in partnership with the ACT Government, CBR Screen Investment Fund, aims to nurture local talent, champion diversity, and elevate the profile of the ACT region.
“The CBR Screen Investment Fund has served as a catalyst for the growth and success of the ACT’s screen industry. Since the fund started, we’ve been really building up local capacity, and it’s fantastic to see this develop as it is paving the way for larger productions to come to the ACT, which will have a significant impact on the economy,” said outgoing Screen Canberra CEO Monica Penders.
“By assisting projects across key stages, such as development, production and enterprise, we can ensure the continuation of outstanding work being created by the talented and skilled professionals based here in the region. This year, in particular, we are proud to be championing Indigenous stories by supporting the third series of Blackfella Films’ Total Control and local First Nations company Yoowarni Productions’ upcoming television series Paranormal Blacktivity.“
The projects include:
Evan & Hell – Feature (Factual)
Evan Buckley has been to hell and back. Home schooled in a Christian Cult in Canberra; the school curriculum was replaced with a punishing quest for moral purity in preparation for God’s reckoning. Evan and his peers in the cult community were confined and silenced as children… now they are ready to tell their story. Theirs is a journey of religious rehab, healing, and discovery of a life lived today with unbound authenticity and self-expression.
Production company: Film Night Productions
Producers: Alice Taylor, Simon Cunich
Writers: Alice Taylor, Simon Cunich
Director: Alice Taylor
DOP: Adam Lynch
Editor: James Lane
Paranormal Blacktivity – Television Series (Comedy)
When bloody murders, unexplained disappearances, and strange phenomena increase in number in remote Ngunnawal Country, long-estranged siblings reluctantly team up to investigate who and what is behind this mysterious unrest. Is it a series of explicable coincidences, or ancient Aboriginal monsters that have been awakened by an imbalance in the natural world (or something even worse)?
Production company: Yoowarni Productions
Creator: Benny Eggmolesse
Executive producers: Benny Eggmolesse, Catherine Nebauer
Script producer: Fin Edquist
Writers: Benny Eggmolesse, Jacob Keeb, Scott Wilson, Amy Stewart
Development executive: Darren Ashton
Runn: The Nedd Brockmann Story– Feature (Documentary)
RUNN follows Nedd Brockmann, an electrician turned national hero, as he embarks on a 4000km run across Australia to raise money for the homeless. This film captures the triumphs and struggles of Nedd’s journey while exploring themes of the human spirit, endurance, and social issues. With never-before-seen footage and a unique blend of humour and beauty, Runn is a heart-pumping and emotional journey that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.
Production company: WildBear Entertainment
Producer: William Ward
Executive producer: Michael Tear
Director: Serge Ou
History & Science Package: Rush, Shape It Ship It, Rise Of The Dictators, WW2 War Machine – Television Series (Documentary)
Explore the pivotal moments in history and science with Shape It, Ship It, Rush, WWII: War Machine, and Rise of the Dictators; a dynamic package of television shows that delve into the fascinating stories of human innovation, conflict, and power, illuminating the past and present using archive footage, graphics, specialist interviews and engaging narration to help tell these stories with gripping narratives and cutting-edge research.
Production company: WildBear Entertainment
Executive producers: Alan Erson, Serge Ou, Mike Keneally, Harriet Pike, Michael Tear
Producers: Edmund Duff, William Ward
Directors: Jim Wilks, Nik Wansbrough, Robert Perry
With My Little Eye – Television Series (Drama)
On a quest to heal herself and her family of former ASIO spies, Sue-Ellen must open the box of secrets they have all kept shut for decades and, after a lifetime of silence, reclaim her voice.
Production company: Birds of Prey Entertainment
Executive producers: Georgina Jenkins, Felicity Packard
Writers: Jonathan Gavin, Clare Young, Paige Peek (Notetaker)
Bramble – Television Series (Drama)
Midway through a joyless life in a country town, pharmacy sales assistant Ginny finally gets a chance at love, but when Ginny is wrongfully arrested for murdering her father, her hope dies… or… maybe not.
Script producer: Jonathan Gavin
Writers: Jada Alberts, Felicity Packard, Georgina Jenkins
Poly – Television Series (Dramedy)
A woman in a polyamorous marriage lives two completely different lives between her Navy husband and wild artist boyfriend – but when both relationships are put to the test, she discovers how to define herself on her own terms.
Production company: Superlative Pictures
Producers: Shannon Wilson-McClinton, Naomi Telushkin
Writers: Naomi Telushkin, Lally Katz,Chris Squadrito
Day Boi – Feature (Fantasy)
In the post-apocalyptic town of Midfield, the human population is protected from outside threats by the vampiric Revered, in exchange for blood feeds.
Production company: Enjoy Entertainment
Executive producer: Phillip Bowman
Writers: Shane Walsh-Smith, Laurie Stiller
The Stoning – Television Series (Drama)
Detective Sergeant George Manolis is despatched to the small outback town of Cobb to investigate the death of school teacher Molly Abbott by stoning.
Production company: Panagiotis Papathanasiou
Producers: Ana Kokkinos, Elisa Argenzio
Writers: Peter Papathanasiou, Chris Anastassiades
Director: Ana Kokkinos
Total Control (S3)– Television Series (Drama)
Outsider turned kingmaker, Alex Irving, is at the centre of power in the nation’s capital but what she’s about to discover will test her like never before. Can Alex achieve the change she’s been fighting for, or will it cost her everything?
Production company: Blackfella Films
Producers: Darren Dale, Erin Bretherton
Executive producers: Rachel Griffiths, Stuart Page
Writers: Stuart Page, Pip Karmel, Julia Moriarty, Meyne Wyatt, Debra Oswald
Directors: Wayne Blair, Jub Clerc
Applications for the CBR Screen Investment Fund Production Round 22 and Development Round 22 open on July 21 and close October 19.