Funding Approvals
in the archive
2013–2014 production funding

BACKTRACK
See Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers Jamie Hilton, Antonia Barnard
Writer/Director Michael Petroni
Australian Distributor Madman Entertainment
International Sales Bankside
Synopsis Psychologist Peter Bowers’ life is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that his patients are the ghosts of people who all died in an accident 20 years previously. Afraid of losing his mind, Peter returns to his home town where he uncovers a terrifying truth which only he can put right. Backtrack is a spine-chilling supernatural thriller in the vein of The Sixth Sense and What Lies Beneath.

BACKYARD ASHES
Crow Crow Productions
Producer Anne Robinson
Writer/director Mark Grentnell
Australian Distributor Umbrella International
International Sales Level K
Synopsis Aussie versus Pom rivalry peaks when Dougie and Edward fight it out in the cricketing challenge of the century... the 'Backyard Ashes'.

BLUE DOG
Woss Group Film Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Nelson Woss
Executive Producers Su Armstrong, Joel Pearlman, Graham Burke
Director Kriv Stenders
Writer Daniel Taplitz
Domestic and International Sales Roadshow Films/Good Dog Enterprises
Synopsis The early events leading up to Red Dog’s discovery on the road to Dampier and his ultimate rise from ordinary dog to Australian legend.

CUT SNAKE
Matchbox Pictures
Producers Michael McMahon, Trevor Blainey
Writer Blake Ayshford
Director Tony Ayres
International Sales eOne Entertainment
Australian Distributor Hopscotch eOne Films
Synopsis ‘Sparra’ Farrell has left his secret prison past behind, with a new fiancée and a new life. But he finds it’s a door that is never closed when his newly released cell mate turns up with other ideas.

DOWNRIVER
Happening Films Pty Ltd
Producer Jannine Barnes
Executive Producers Kristian Moliere, Anthony Nagle, Shaun Miller
Director/Writer Grant Scicluna
Cast Kerry Fox, Reef Ireland
Domestic Sales Rialto
International Sales Level K
Synopsis The chilling story about a teenager, James who serves time for drowning a little boy when he was a child, although the body was never found.  In an attempt to right all wrongs and uncover the truth, James takes dangerous risks to find redemption and return the missing body to the grieving mother.

THE DRESSMAKER
Film Art Media Pty Ltd
Producer Sue Maslin
Writer/Director Jocelyn Moorhouse
Australian Distributor Universal
International Sales Embankment Films
Cast Kate Winslet, Judy Davis
Synopsis A gothic tale of love, revenge and haute couture.

EARLY WINTER (formerly REST HOME)
Freshwater Pictures
Producers Trish Lake, Serge Noël
Co-producer Dan Lake
Executive Producer Richard Cohen
Writer/Director Michael Rowe
Australian Distributor Rialto
International Sales Pyramide
Synopsis David and Mandy's marriage crosses cultures and generations but can it survive Mandy crossing the line of infidelity?

FORCE OF DESTINY
Paul's Next Feature Pty Ltd
Producers Mark Patterson, Maggie Miles
Writer/director Paul Cox
Australian Distributor CinemaPlus
International Sales Arrow Entertainment
Synopsis A journey through the adversity of our bodies to find what really matters in life.

HEALING
Pointblank Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers Craig Monahan, Tait Brady
Writers Craig Monahan, Alison Nisselle
Director Craig Monahan
International Sales Lightning/Richard Guardian
Australian Distributor Pinnacle
Synopsis Healing is a moving story of redemption, the discovery of hope and its healing of the spirit – in the most unlikely place, for the most unique men, through the most unusual catalyst.

HOLDING THE MAN
Goalpost Pictures & HTM Productions
Producer Kylie du Fresne
Executive Producers Rosemary Blight, Ben Grant, Cameron Huang, Tristan Whalley
Writer Tommy Murphy
Director Neil Armfield
Australian Distributor Transmission Films
International Sales Goalpost Film UK
Synopsis There was Romeo and Juliet and then there was Tim and John. The course of teenage love rarely runs smooth, but if you find yourself gay in an Aussie all-male school in the 1970s and you're entranced by the captain of the football team, life’s a thrill ride. Based on Timothy Conigrave’s memoir, and the inspiration for the award winning stage play, Holding the Man is the remarkable true-life love story of Tim Conigrave and John Caleo.

INFINI
Infini Movie Pty Ltd
Producers Mat Graham, Shane Abbess, Brett Thornquest, Sidonie Abbene
Executive Producers Steven Matusko, Brian Cachia
Writer/Director Shane Abbess
Australian Distributor Entertainment One Films Australia Pty Ltd
International Sales Kathy Morgan International
Synopsis A futuristic ‘search and rescue’ team transport onto mining station INFINI to save Whit Carmichael – lone survivor of a freak accident – before quarantining a lethal biological weapon set to arrive back on earth within the hour.

KILL ME THREE TIMES
KM3T Pty Ltd
Producers Tania Chambers, Laurence Malkin, Share Stallings
Executive Producer Jack Drewe
Writer James McFarland
Director Kriv Stenders
International Sales Cargo Entertainment Ltd, William Morris Endeavor (WME)
Australian Distributor Hopscotch eOne Films
Synopsis In a sun-drenched Australian surfing town, a young woman is the thread that binds three tales of murder, blackmail and revenge.

LAST CAB TO DARWIN
Hydra Hamlet Pty Limited, Last Cab Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Greg Duffy, Lisa Duff, Jeremy Sims
Director Jeremy Sims
Writer Reg Cribb
Australian Distributor Icon Film Distribution
Synopsis Rex is a loner, but when he's told he doesn't have long to live, he embarks on an epic drive from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms; but his journey reveals to him that before you can end your life you have to live it first, and to live it, you've gotta  learn to share it.

THE LAST IMPRESARIO
Wildflower Films Pty Ltd & Ralf Films
Producer Nicole O’Donohue
Executive Producers Julia Overton, Mel Flanagan, Thomas Mai
Director Gracie Otto
Australian Distributor Umbrella Entertainment
International Sales Dogwoof
Cast Yoko Ono, John Cleese, Kate Moss, Naomi Watts, Anna Wintour, Barry Humphries, Greta Scacchi, Brian Thompson, Jim Sharman
Synopsis Michael White might just be the most famous person you’ve never heard of. A notorious London theatre and film impresario, playboy, gambler, bon vivant and friend of the rich and famous, he is now in his eighties and still enjoys partying like there’s no tomorrow. In this intimate documentary, filmmaker Gracie Otto introduces us to this larger-than-life phenomenon. Featuring interviews with many of his closest friends, including Anna Wintour, Kate Moss, John Waters, Barry Humphries and, of course, the man himself, the film is a vibrant tribute to a fascinating entertainer.

LIFE
See-Saw (Life) Holdings Pty Ltd
Producers Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Christina Piovesan, Benito Mueller, Wolfgang Mueller
Writer Luke Davies
Director Anton Corbijn
International Sales FilmNation
Australian Distributor Transmission Films
Cast Dane DeHaan, Robert Pattinson
Synopsis A freelance photographer hustling for the next job and a little-known but soon-to-be-immortal actor strike up an improbable friendship in the course of the cat-and-mouse game that is a photo assignment for Life Magazine.

LION (formerly A LONG WAY HOME)
See-Saw Films Pty Ltd and Sunstar Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Angie Fielder
Executive Producers Andrew Fraser, Shahen Mekertichian, Andrew Mackie, Richard Payten
Writer Luke Davies
Director Garth Davis
Australian Distributor Transmission Films
International Sales Cross City Sales Pty Ltd
Synopsis After a wrong train takes a five-year-old Indian boy thousands of kilometres from home and family, he survives many challenges before being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only the scantest of clues, he learns of a new technology called Google Earth, and sets out to find his lost family.

MAYA THE BEE MOVIE
Buzz Studios Pty Ltd
Producer Jim Ballantine
Director Alexs Stadermann
Writer Fin Edquist
Australian Distributor Universal Pictures
International Sales Wavery Productions BV
Synopsis Curious little bee Maya and her friend Willy save their hive from the greedy queen's advisor and end the long-term hostility between bees and wasps.

MY MISTRESS
Mini Studios
Producer Leanne Tonkes
Executive Producer Robyn Kershaw
Writer Gerard Lee
Director Stephen Lance
Australian Distributor Transmission Films with RKPix
International Sales LevelK
Synopsis What starts as a beautiful and strangely innocent affair between a vulnerable teenage romantic and a French S&M mistress, soon becomes more dangerous in My Mistress, an unconventional and provocative love story.

ODDBALL
WTFN/The Film Company in association with Kmunications
Producers Richard Keddie, Steve Kearney, Sheila Hanahan Taylor
Writer Peter Ivan
Director Clayton Jacobson
International Sales Global Screen
Australian Distributor Roadshow Films
Cast Shane Jacobson
Synopsis The story of an eccentric chicken farmer who saves a colony of penguins by putting his sheepdog on their island

ONLY THE DEAD
Wolfhound Pictures Pty Ltd & Penance Films Pty Ltd
Producer Patrick McDonald
Writers Michael Ware, Patrick McDonald
Directors Bill Guttentag, Michael Ware
International Sales Cinetic Media LLC (representing North American rights)
Australian Distributor Transmission Films
Cast Michael Ware (reporter/cinematographer)
Synopsis Theatrical feature documentary Only the Dead is the story of what happens when one ordinary man, Michael Ware, an Australian journalist for CNN and Time Magazine, is transplanted into the Middle East by the reverberations of 9/11 and butts into history. It is a journey that courses through the deepest recesses of the Iraq War and reveals a darkness lurking in Ware’s own heart – a darkness he never knew was there.

PAPER PLANES
Arenamedia Pty Ltd
Producers Robert Connolly, Maggie Miles, Liz Kearney
Writers Robert Connolly, Steve Worland
Director Robert Connolly
International Sales Arclight Films
Australian Distributor Footprint Films
Synopsis Young Dylan, from a small outback town, dreams of competing in the World Paper Plane Championships in Japan.

PARTISAN
Warp Films Australia Pty Ltd
Producers Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw
Director Ariel Kleiman
Writers Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler
Australian Distributor Madman Entertainment
International Sales Protagonist Pictures
Synopsis A confronting tale about Alexander who, raised to see the world through Gregori’s eyes, is starting to think for himself.

PREDESTINATION
Wolfhound Pictures/Blacklab Entertainment
Producers Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan
Writer/Directors Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
International Sales Arclight Films
Australian Distributor Pinnacle Films
Synopsis Chronicles the life of a temporal agent who on his final assignment must recruit his younger self, while pursuing the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.

SHERPA: IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAIN
Felix Media Pty Ltd
Producers Bridget Ikin, John Smithson, John Maynard
Writer/Director Jennifer Peedom
Australian Distributor Footprint Films
Synopsis In 1953 Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world in an act that symbolised everything good about human cooperation and courage. Sixty years later, an ugly confrontation high up the mountain between Western climbers and a mob of angry Sherpas makes global news. What’s going on up there?

STRANGERLAND
Dragonfly Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers Naomi Wenck, Macdara Kelleher
Executive producers Andrew Mackie, Richard Payton
Director Kim Farrant
Writers Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons
Australian Distributor Transmission Films
International Sales Wildbunch
Synopsis Strangerland is an unnerving mystery drama about a couple whose lives unravel after their two teenagers go missing in the harsh Australian desert.

SUCKER
Robyn Kershaw Productions & Jason Byrne Productions
Producers Robyn Kershaw, Jason Byrne
Co-producer Jocelyn Quioc
Executive Producer Joan Peters
Writers Ben Chessell, Lawrence Leung
Director Ben Chessell
Australian Distributor Madman Entertainment
International Sales Level K
Synopsis An 18-year-old Chinese Australian on the cusp of adulthood learns about life and lies from an ageing conman, and about love from his daughter.

THAT SUGAR FILM
Madman Production Company Pty Ltd
Producers Nick Batzias, Rory Williamson
Executive Producer Paul Wiegard
Director Damon Gameau
Australian Distributor Madman Entertainment
International Sales Metro International Entertainment
Synopsis An engaging and saccharine ride exploring what really happens when a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

WOMEN HE'S UNDRESSED
Damien Parer Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Damien Parer
Director Gillian Armstrong
Writer Katherine Thomson
Australian Distributor Umbrella Entertainment
International Sales Hollywood Classics
Synopsis The feature length documentary celebrates the colourful life of Australia’s greatest Oscar winner played out during the golden years of Hollywood.