Screenwest’s capability development programs, Elevate and Elevate+, are set to support five new short films.
They include an animated tale of seagull looking for love; an exploration of human/android intimacy; the journey of a young woman seeking to balance, aspiration and obligation; an exploration of Noongar spirituality; and a meditation on the complexities of raising an infant storm cloud.
The Elevate initiative is designed to support early mid-career Western Australian practitioners to create ‘calling-card’ in short film.
The multi-phased program involves high-level script and project development prior to the projects moving into production, with successful teams gaining access to specialised workshops as part of the process.
The new stream Elevate+ also sees teams receive development funding for an attached long-form project.
Screenwest interim talent development mnager Chantal Chateauneuf said: “We are incredibly excited to announce the recipients of this enhanced funding program. The teams will uncover and present unique and powerful stories and will have a great opportunity to hone their skills and learn from industry professionals along the way.”
Supported projects:
Elevate:
I’m Not a Nurse
Format: Short Film
Production Company: SONA Images
Key Creatives: writer/director Jessica Bailey, producer Brooke Batka
Synopsis: A young African immigrant, Oma, is torn between her dreams of becoming a filmmaker, and the financial pressures to provide for her family back home.
Touch
Format: Short Film
Production Company: Screen Queen Productions
Key Creatives: producer Danielle Reston and writer/director Jennie Feyen
Synopsis: Esme struggles with a fear of intimacy and feels cut off from the world. To learn how to trust again, she enters into a treatment program involving an android.
Elevate+:
Raising Thunder
Format: Short Film
Production Company: Sandbox Productions
Key Creatives: producer Jasmine Leivers, writer Jesse Laurie, director Kaleb McKenna and producer mentor Tenille Kennedy
Synopsis: A young farm girl must raise an infant storm cloud to catch its lightning in a bottle.
Wirnitj
Format: Short Film
Production Company: Komixx Entertainment
Key Creatives: writer/director Karla Hart
Synopsis: Aden knows that somehow, he’s the reason the stones are falling… and that he’ll need to master this dark power to save Joyce and right the spiritual wrongs that started with his mother’s death.
Bird Drone
Format: Animated Short Film
Key Creatives: producer Hannah Ngo, director Radheya Jegatheva, writer Clare Toonen
Synopsis: A lonely seagull looking for love struggles to accept that his newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with a limited battery life.