Two feature films, one from Robert Connolly and the other a Kiwi-Aussie co-pro penned by 'The Breaker Upperers'' Jackie van Beek; a ABC TV comedy from Closer Productions; and two online projects are the latest recipients of $3.5 million worth of production funding from Screen Australia.
Rob Collins, Sam Reid and Jessica de Gouw have joined the cast of 'Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife the Legend of Molly Johnson', which is now shooting in NSW.
Comedy feature 'The Chain Breakers', to star Jacki Weaver, Jack Thompson, James Cromwell, Denis Waterman and Shane Jacobson, is one of seven projects to have recently received production funding from Screen Australia.
A three-parter exploring the forces behind and the cover-up of child abuse inside the Catholic Church; a feature doco co-written and co-directed by Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair that looks at the work of Indigenous performing arts company Bangarra; and two projects from Mint Pictures for SBS are among the 14 most recent docos to have received production funding from Screen Australia.
Screen Australia’s record spend on adult TV drama in 2017-18 has not come at the expense of support for feature films.
Screen Australia counts commercial elements/market-driven appeal among the eight criteria for its feature film funding decisions but its track record has not been stellar recently, according to data released this week.
With production funding from Screen Australia and Create NSW, comedian Damian Callinan will adapt his live act into a feature, 'The Merger'.