(L-R): Yingna Lu, Hyun Lee, Natalie van den Dungen and Nicole Coventry.
Screen NSW has announced grant funding for three new short films as part of its Generator: Emerging Filmmakers Fund.
This year’s applications required the inclusion of a female director and priority was given to teams including people from under-represented groups. Each funding grant of $30,000 covers the shoot and/or post-production.
Aquarius Films’ Cecilia Ritchie and Polly Staniford will executive produce all three titles. Aquarius' slate includes the upcoming Lion, directed by Garth Davis, and Berlin Syndrome, directed by Cate Shortland – recently selected for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
The filmmaking teams will also be supported by Screen NSW development and production exec Andrea Ulbrick.
Screen NSW CEO Courtney Gibson said the three projects were "bursting with fresh ideas and creativity".
“It’s particularly exciting that the films will be directed by women and that the key creative roles are also being performed by people from other under-represented groups in our industry, including those with a disability, from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, from the LGBTQI community and from western Sydney.”
The following three films and teams have been selected:
- Asian Girls
Writer/director: Hyun Lee
Producer: Hannah-Florence Macgregor
Confirmed cast includes Hong Kong-Australian pop musician Rainbow Chan.
Synopsis: A Chinese girl lives alone in her apartment but every night she is visited by a horrific ghost who has an uncanny resemblance to her foreign neighbour.
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Sherbet Rozencranz, You're Beautiful
Writer/director: Natalie van den Dungen
Producer: Nicole Coventry
Synopsis: Milly's world revolves around her pet guinea pig. When her mother attempts to engineer for her a 'real' friend, it results in ridicule and forces Milly to question her sense of self.
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Bodies
Director: Laura Nagy
Writers: Laura Nagy and Daniel Monks (Daniel Monks is also an intern in the Screenability NSW program);
Director mentor: Rachel Ward
Producer: Yingna Lu
Confirmed cast includes Bridie McKim.
Synopsis: A toxic friendship between two teenage girls is brought to breaking point as they compete for the attention of their gym class teacher.