Female-led TV drama projects from Good Thing Productions, Matchbox Pictures and Porchlight Films are among the four selected to be developed through Film Victoria and SBS's Pitch to Pilot initiative, aimed at bringing compelling stories from diverse voices to screen.
A spin-off of 'High Maintenance', starring Yael Stone, and a comedic crime series from Jungle Entertainment are among the 21 projects that will share in more than $600,000 in story development funding from Screen Australia.
Five films supported by the MIFF Premiere Fund including Thomas M. Wright’s directorial debut 'Acute Misfortune' and Sue Thomson’s 'The Coming Back Out Ball Movie' will have their world premieres at the 67th Melbourne International Film Festival.
The thriller will see writer-director Miranda Nation reunite with producer Lyn Norfor, of Emerald Productions, and DP Bonnie Elliott ('Spear').
It’s an all too familiar story: Australian films open in a handful of cinemas with minimal marketing and publicity and audiences don’t go because they don’t know where or when these films are playing.
Screenwriting is often such a lonely pursuit that Tamara Asmar really relishes her time brainstorming in writers' rooms, likening the experience to being in a confessional.
"A big theme in this is the body, and our relationships to our bodies - the characters are grappling in different ways with their bodies betraying them."
After devoting herself to teaching at the Australian Film Television and Radio School and serving as president of the Australian Directors' Guild, Samantha Lang is looking forward to getting back to her first love: making screen stories.