Screen NSW has awarded four filmmaking teams with $75,000 each to develop a short or proof of concept production, as well as develop their first low-budget feature, through its Short to Feature Fast Track program.
It marks the second group of new filmmakers to be funded under the program, which aims to accelerate their project towards financing and production. Each team will work with an experienced executive producer (Kath Shelper, Marian Macgowan, Kristina Ceyton, and Kristian Moliere), who will provide guidance and networking opportunities.
The applications were assessed by Screen NSW Screen investment managers and Maslow Entertainment founder Marc Wooldridge.
Maslow is about to distribute local horror film The Moogai, which locked in financing after writer-director Jon Bell created a proof of concept short film. The short film sector has also helped other filmmakers kickstart their feature film careers including Mirrah Foulkes, Warwick Thornton, and David Michôd.
“This is such an exciting and valuable initiative for NSW’s aspiring feature filmmakers, and just like last year, the quality of the submissions was both very high and extremely competitive,” Wooldridge said in a statement. “I now can’t wait to see how their projects progress from here and wish them all the very best.”
Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth said the program will elevate new voices and provide them with an opportunity to develop their films while also building their networks with experienced industry professionals and market partners.
Short To Feature Fast Track Recipients
Short film: Echoes In Time
Synopsis: A couple investigate a strange phenomena in their home, where the past crosses over into the present.
Feature film: The Junction
Synopsis: A couple relocates to the country, looking for a fresh start after a torrid battle with cancer, only to discover that their new home is the focal point for mysterious phenomena, causing the past and present to collide.
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Romance
Team Members: Gemma Lee (Director), Charlie Clausen (Writer/Producer)
Executive Producer: Kath Shelper
Short film: Worms
Synopsis: After his father commits suicide, a depressed young man fears he will follow in his footsteps unless he undertakes a radical new therapy involving an earthworm with telepathic powers.
Feature film: The Answerers
Synopsis: Surreal mystery-thriller The Answerers charts the descent into madness of three rudderless misfits who become obsessed with a mysterious phone call said to change the life of anyone who answers it.
Genre: Surreal, Mystery, Thriller, Comedy
Team Members: Will Goodfellow (Writer), Tom Noakes (Director), Lucy Gaffy (Producer), Adrian Pinto (Producer)
Executive Producer: Marian Macgowan
Short film: Incorruptible
Synopsis: Sexually frustrated teen sisters Valentine and Ophelia live on an isolated orchard, whiling away their days co-authoring smutty romance novels, when two handsome young Mormon missionaries knock on their door.
Feature film: The Wanting
Synopsis: Single mother Nisa moves into a ramshackle rental in the remote Australian Snowy Mountains with her two daughters, teenaged Cathy and six-year-old Rain, to care for her ailing mother Farah. Upon meeting their handsome new neighbour Chris, all four generations of women fall in love with him in their own ways, upending their fragile peace and triggering the unravelling of a dangerous family secret with potentially disastrous consequences.
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Team Members: Vanessa Gazy (Writer/Director), Cyna Strachan (Producer) and Liam Heyen (Producer)
Executive Producer: Kristina Ceyton
Short film: The Audition
Synopsis: During an intense audition, a determined actress finds herself losing her grip on reality as repressed trauma and disturbing visions creep into the audition process, blurring the lines between performance and psychological unravelling.
Feature film: Method to Madness
Synopsis: Anna wins the acting role of a lifetime, but her director’s intentions may not be entirely artistic.
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Team Members: Rachele Wiggins (Writer/Director), Sandy Stevens (Producer), Enzo Tedeschi (Producer – Short)
Executive Producer: Kristian Moliere