Funding Approvals
IN THE ARCHIVE
2020-2021 development funding

PREMIUM

SALVATION CREEK
Galvanized Film Group
Genre Drama
Director Tori Garrett
Writers Heather Ogilvie, Megan Simpson-Huberman
Producer Heather Ogilvie
Co-Producer Michael Selwyn
Synopsis Salvation Creek is based on the true story of a woman whose husband and brother die within days of each other. Derailed by grief but determine to rebuild her life, she quits her job, sells her house and buys a waterside rundown shack. In this tight knit, boat-only-access community, she discovers the simple joy of friendship and a man who will love her no matter how hard she tries to push him away.

STAYCATION
Ludo Studio
Genre Comedy, Family
Director Daley Pearson
Writers Kim Huffman Cary, Donick Cary, Daley Pearson
Producer Charlie Aspinwall
Synopsis After their dream holiday is cancelled a battling, highly strung and dysfunctional family try to survive their summer break stuck at home together on their first... “Family Staycation”. Tempted by the luxuries of the rich-house across the street the family begin living at their neighbours where they are soon mistaken as the family who they discover are under witness protection.

STOLEN
Causeway Films
Genre Drama
Director Catriona McKenzie
Writer Catriona McKenzie, Patricia Cornelius
Producers Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton, Catriona McKenzie
Synopsis A white baby girl is carried by a dingo into a remote Aboriginal community where she is raised, at the ongoing peril of her mob. But when questions of belonging set her on a reckless path of self-discovery, the community is forced to confront the burning grief of past wrongs.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
Faraway Films Entertainment Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Director Lynda Heys
Writers Steve Turnbull, Lynda Heys 
Producers Steve Turnbull, Lynda Heys, Paul Ranford
Executive Producer Mark Montgomery
Synopsis One road. Two journeys. A lifetime apart. Inspired by the true-life adventure(s) of Sydneysiders, Beth and Ivan Hodge, The Road Less Travelled tells the tale of a retired ‘ordinary’ couple who, on the eve of their 50th wedding anniversary, cancel a 5-star luxury cruise to instead re-live their original 1969 honeymoon.  So - driving the very same Volkswagen Beetle - they again set off on a ten-thousand-kilometre trek from London to Kolkata.   Through this story of indelible love spanning decades and crossing continents, Ivan finally discovers that life’s a journey that doesn’t always come with a map.

1989
Sewing Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama, Family
Writer/Director Khoa Do
Producer Khoa Do
Script Editor Roger Monk
Synopsis When a hard working Vietnamese refugee family lose everything in Australia’s last major recession in 1989, 10-year-old Tram, her brother Anh and mother Hien seek refuge on her family’s struggling duck farm where they discover friendship, hope…and one giant turtle.

A FRIEND IN THE DARK
Di Bonaventura Pictures Australia
Genre Horror, Thriller
Writer/Director Drew Macdonald
Producers Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Erik Howsam, Mario Andreacchio
Synopsis High school kids engage in cyberbullying, unaware of the real monster that they are unleashing lying deep in social media.

DEAD CERTAIN
New Town Films Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Writer Joanna Murray-Smith
Producer Bryan Brown
Synopsis Harry King, 60, successful crime writer, gives up on life after his adored wife, Georgia, is killed in an accident. When he unexpectedly falls for Maya, a self-help writer, the ghost of Georgia is a constant companion and Harry knows he must confront his own demons — and ghosts — to embrace a new chance at life.

KANGAROO (WORKING TITLE)
Film Depot Pty Limited
Genre Comedy, Drama, Family
Writer Harry Cripps
Producers Louise Smith, Marian Macgowan
Synopsis Inspired by a true story, Kangaroo is a heart-warming family comedy about a disgraced TV host, Chris, and a young Indigenous girl, Charlie, who work together to rescue and rehabilitate a group of orphaned joeys in a remote Outback community.

THE SECRET LIVES OF DRESSES
Sense & Cents-Ability Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Romantic comedy
Directors Mairi Cameron, Stephen Lance
Writers Megan Simpson Huberman, Stephen Lance
Producer Leanne Tonkes
Synopsis An ambitious young businesswoman is forced to return to her hometown to save her dying grandmother's vintage dress shop, and must confront old wounds and the man she left behind. Can the advice of six couture dresses help her choose between her plans for success, and the inconvenient call of her heart?

APARNA
Felix Media Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Musical
Director S. Shakthidharan
Writers S. Shakthidharan, Jeyasingham Jeyamohan (Tamil dialogue)
Producer John Maynard
Executive Producer Bridget Ikin
Synopsis Separated during Sri Lanka’s civil war, a mother and son are re-united in modern day Sri Lanka.

DRUM WAVE
Carver Films Pty Ltd
Genre Folk Horror 
Director Natalie Erika James
Writers Natalie Erika James, Christian White
Producers Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw, Natalie Erika James
Synopsis A young pianist, Yumi, is forced to confront her fear of motherhood when she marries her fiancé, Hiroshi, on the remote island he grew up on: a community with bizarre fertility rituals.

FINNEGAN’S FIELD
Sweetpotato Films Pty Ltd
Genre Horror
Director Sian Davies
Writer Victoria Madden
Producers Victoria Madden, John Molloy
Synopsis Finnegan’s Field is a dark fairytale about a twelve-year-old girl, Madrigal Barker, who mysteriously disappears for three years, only to return home just as mysteriously - but not quite the same…

THE CONCERT
Matchbox Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Writer Penelope Chai
Producer Sheila Jayadev
Executive Producers Sophie Raymond, Bob Connolly, Helen Panckhurst
Synopsis A gifted violinist is forced to confront deep family wounds in her journey to perfect the solo at the school’s annual music concert, spearheaded by the formidable head of music. Inspired by the acclaimed documentary Mrs Carey’s Concert.

TOGETHER
Princess Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Horror
Writer/Director Michael Shanks
Producers Laura Waters, Mike Cowap
Executive Producer Emma Fitzsimons
Synopsis After trading their social lives for a mortgage, a not-so-young-anymore couple move to the country to begin the next step of their strained relationship. Whilst settling into their new home, they contract an unexplainable illness - an infection that causes intense physical horrors the further apart they are. Now to survive they must separate before they become a single, new being - unable to determine where one of their bodies ends and the other's begins.

GENERATE

AUDREY
Invisible Republic Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Director Natalie Bailey
Writer Louise Woodruff Sanz
Producer Michael Wrenn
Synopsis Ronnie is a frustrated mother who lives vicariously through the dreams she seeks to install in her two daughters so when Audrey ends up in a coma Ronnie believes she has no choice but to become her daughter.

THE WHITE GIRL
Typecast Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Writer Dallas Winmar
Script Editor Tony Briggs
Director Tony Briggs
Producers Damienne Pradier, Jenni Tosi
Synopsis Odette Brown conceals a life-threatening illness, as she utilises all of her cunning nous and courage to save her 13-year-old granddaughter, Sissy, from being taken by the ‘welfare’ authorities. While searching for her missing daughter Lila, Odette is forced to play a dangerous cat and mouse game with the ruthless Sergeant Lowe, who is determined to have Sissy removed from her care. Odette must make an impossible choice to protect her family at all costs.

10 MOMENTS
Big and Little Films
Genre Drama
Writers/Directors Neil Triffett, Roger Monk, Adrian Chiarella, Brendon McDonall
Producers Michael McMahon, Mat Govoni
Executive Producer Tony Ayres
Synopsis 10 Moments tells the story of a gay male relationship from the moment a couple first meet through to their decision to continue or separate 10 years later, using 10 key moments told by 10 gay male writers/directors working in a multiplicity of genres.

CARMEN & BOLUDE
Draw Your Own Box Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Buddy comedy, Adventure
Director Penelope Berkemeier
Writers Michela Carattini, Bolude Watson
Producers Yolandi Franken, Michela Carattini
Synopsis Best friends Carmen and Bolude must travel from Spanish-Harlem, NYC to Sydney, Australia, where they have ten days to collect 100 ‘welcomes’ so that Bolude’s traditional Nigerian father will agree to let her marry an Australian. Based on true events.

FADS & MIRACLES
Rush Films Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Thriller 
Director Zoe Pepper 
Writers Zoe Pepper, Adriane Daff 
Producer Cody Greenwood
Script Editor Brita McVeigh 
Executive Producer John Maynard 
Synopsis A down-and-out single mother believes the new school principal when he promises to transform her average teenager into a star pupil. But his mysterious quick fix has increasingly bizarre and inexplicable side effects that cast a dark shadow over the transformation. 

MOTHERLESS
Isabel Joan Peppard
Genre Horror, Fantasy
Writer/Director Isabel Peppard
Script Editor Lynne Vincent Mccarthy
Synopsis Grace (30s) is a joyless husk of a person, defined by her job at her father’s art gallery and unable to connect with those around her. When a chaotic young artist, Kate, is granted a residency, Grace’s ordered facade begins to crumble and she is plagued by visions of a nightmarish clay world. As fantasy and reality collide Grace is forced to reckon with the monstrous truth of her own identity and the mysterious presence that haunts the gallery. 

SMALL SPACES
Triptych Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Thriller
Writer/Director Shelly Lauman
Producers Kristian Moliere, Rebecca Green
Synopsis When Tash Carmody was eight, she thought she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away at a carnival, but no one believed her and she’s been traumatised ever since. Now seventeen, Tash starts to see Sparrow again, as disturbing memories of her childhood resurface. Determined to find out what happened the night of the carnival, Tash befriends Mallory to try to piece together a nightmare that won’t go away.

TAKE ME HOME
Sweetshop & Green
Genre Drama, Comedy
Director Sameh Zoabi
Writers Sarah Bassiuoni, Sameh Zoabi
Producers Gal Greenspan, Amir Harel
Synopsis When Sara Mustafa (20s) is contacted by her estranged father, she reluctantly agrees to fulfil his dying wish – repatriate his remains to his birthplace of East Jerusalem, for burial. Travelling from Sydney, to Amman, to Jerusalem and into her grandmother’s house that is partially occupied by settlers, Sara discovers the family she’s never known, and understands the bitter legacy of a childish decision that kept her Palestinian father from his homeland until his death.

TAKE MY HAND
Invisible Republic Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Director Jack Dowdell
Writers Dean Nash, Jack Dowdell
Producer Michael Wrenn
Synopsis Noah is a successful young man who has always dismissed his disability, working hard to master short term goals. Now, just when he should be celebrating, his lucrative job might not be the right fit; and his girlfriend Libby, is unexpectedly pregnant, throwing him into an unknown future he feels he won’t be able to control. Into this existential crisis steps Toby, the role model with disability he never had who sees Noah as someone he can influence.

THE SOUND OF LIGHT
Photoplay Films Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Writer/Director Julietta Boscolo
Producer Linda Micsko
Synopsis A gifted teen singer/songwriter - too ashamed of her poor background to sing in public - masquerades as middle class in order to win a music competition and escape to a joyful new life.

WENT UP THE HILL
Causeway Films
Genre Psychological thriller
Director Samuel Van Grinsven
Writers Samuel Van Grinsven, Jory Anast
Producers Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton, Vicky Pope
Synopsis Jack ventures to remote New Zealand to attend the funeral of his estranged birth mother and meets her grieving widow. But his search for answers becomes dangerous when his mother’s ghost returns to inhabit both her son and widow, instigating a life-threatening nocturnal dance between the three of them.

SHAYDA
Origma Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Writer/Director Noora Niasari
Producer Vincent Sheehan
Synopsis A young Iranian mother finds refuge in a women’s shelter where her search for freedom brings her face to face with the violence from which she has fled.

ONE MORE SHOT
Truce Films
Genre Comedy Drama
Director Nicholas Clifford
Writers Alice Foulcher, Gregory Erdstein
Producers Virginia Kay, Jim Wright, Elise Trenorden, Emma Roberts
Executive Producer Virginia Whitwell
Synopsis NYE 1999. Minnie discovers a bottle of time-travelling tequila that takes her back to the start of the night, giving her a bottle’s worth of shots to change the course of her millennium.

SMALL SPACES
Triptych Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Thriller
Writer/Director Shelly Lauman
Producers Kristian Moliere, Rebecca Green
Synopsis When Tash Carmody was eight, she thought she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away at a carnival, but no one believed her and she’s been traumatised ever since. Now seventeen, Tash starts to see Sparrow again, as disturbing memories of her childhood resurface. Determined to find out what happened the night of the carnival, Tash befriends Mallory to try to piece together a nightmare that won’t go away.

WENT UP THE HILL
Causeway Films HQ Pty Ltd & Pop Film Ltd
Genre Psychological thriller
Director Samuel Van Grinsven
Writers Samuel Van Grinsven, Jory Anast
Producers Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton, Vicky Pope
Synopsis Jack ventures to remote New Zealand to attend the funeral of his estranged birth mother and meets her grieving widow. But his search for answers becomes dangerous when his mother’s ghost returns to inhabit both her son and widow, instigating a life-threatening nocturnal dance between the three of them.

PREMIUM PLUS