Funding approvals
2022-2023 Development Funding

FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

LANGUAGE OF BIRDS
Seymour Films
Genre Drama
Writer/Director Erica Glynn
Producers Charlotte Seymour, Erica Glynn
Executive Producer Sue Maslin
Synopsis A spirited young woman, May (28) lands unannounced in a remote Aboriginal community and onto her birth mother Nita’s (60’s) front doorstep.

GINDERELLA
Bunya Productions
Genre Drama, Musical
Director Adrian Wills
Producers Jodie Bell, David Jowsey, Angela Littlejohn, Greer Simpkin
Executive Producer Gillian Moody
Synopsis When Ruby is forced to flee her hometown she suddenly finds herself all alone in the world. In order to survive she must learn to fight, to forgive and most of all to love...

MOODJA TREE
Rush Films Pty Ltd
Genre Mystery
Writer/Director Karla Hart
Producer Cody Greenwood
Executive Producer Amanda Morrison
Synopsis After bringing home a branch of the Moodja Tree, a young Noongar girl connects with the spirits of the dead and unveils the truth behind her sister's disappearance.

OBELIA
Darlene Johnson
Genre Drama, Magical realism
Writer/Director Darlene Johnson
Producers Darlene Johnson, Timothy White
Co-Producer Georgia White
Script Editor Claire Dobbin
Synopsis In 1959, a rebellious teenager escapes an Aboriginal Government Station to join a travelling sideshow, where she passes for white… until she falls for a charismatic boxer, bringing her identity and survival into question.

RUBY MOONLIGHT
No Coincidence Media and Arenamedia
Genre Drama
Writer/Director Beck Cole
Producer Mitchell Stanley
Executive Producers Robert Connolly, Robert Patterson
Development Consultant Ali Cobby Eckermann
Synopsis Ruby Moonlight is a searing, lyrical, and almost silent low-budget feature film that upends the dominant narrative of white colonial invasion. On its place it offers a personal, spiritual and immense narrative from an Indigenous female point of view, asserting survival and connection to Country.

ADORKABLE
Pandamonium Films Australia Pty Ltd
Genre Romantic comedy
Director Deborah Brown
Writer Shontell Leah Ketchell
Producers Shontell Leah Ketchell, Stephen Davis, Jonathan Page
Co-Producer Jill Robinson
Synopsis Adorkable follows the romantic life of a socially inept, awkward, slightly immature, uncoordinated, accident-prone 33-year-old virgin who is determined to lose her virginity and get a man.

GHOST BIRD
1 x 90 mins
Burnett River Media
Genre Action adventure, Horror, Mystery
Director Chantelle Murray
Writers Lisa Fuller, Chantelle Murray
Producer EJ Garrett
Synopsis A First Nations teenager living in rural Qld in the 80’s must face her deepest fears to save her twin sister from ancient beings that have haunted her nightmares.

SWEET COUNTRY 2 (WORKING TITLE)
1 x 100 mins
Retroflex Lateral Pty Ltd
Genre Western
Writers Steven McGregor, David Tranter
Producers David Jowsey, Cecilia Ritchie, David Tranter, Greer Simpkin
Synopsis In 1930s Australia, three estranged Aboriginal kids escape their masters and journey across the sweet country of Central Australia to reunite with their families.

TV DEVELOPMENT

THE BOY FROM THE MISH
Lingo Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Romantic comedy, Young Adult
Director Adrian Russell Wills
Writers Adrian Russell Wills, Tommy Murphy
Producer Helen Bowden
Executive Producers Adrian Russell Wills, Jason Stephens
Script Editor Rebecca Cubitt
Story Consultant Gary (Dixon) Lonesborough
Synopsis A funny and heart-warming queer Indigenous love story, set in a rural Australian community, about seventeen-year-old Jackson finding the courage to explore who he is, even if it scares him.

I AM MOLLY
8 x 60 mins
Oombarra Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Creator/Showrunner/Lead Writer Leah Purcell
Writer/Script Producer Nicole Dade
Producer Bain Stewart
Story Consultant Sarah Walker
Synopsis A guilt-ridden Molly Snow-O’Neil fulfils her mother's dying wish and, in doing so, opens a Pandora's box of lost history, broken family ties and new acquaintances that encourage Molly to reconnect with eight generations’ past of powerful First Nation women to find herself.

AFTER STORY
6 x 45 mins
Jungle Entertainment
Genre Drama
Director Larissa Behrendt
Writers Larissa Behrendt, Shari Sebbens, Skye Leon
Executive Producers Larissa Behrendt, Chloe Rickard, Shay Spencer
Synopsis Jasmine is an inner-city lawyer in the midst of a career crisis; Della is a small-town widow who’s never read a book. Will a UK literary tour with a busload of bibliophiles bring this mother and daughter closer together – or will their unreconciled family secrets tear them apart?

Documentary Development

DEAR SON
Tamarind Tree Pictures
Director Steven McGregor
Writers Steven McGregor, Thomas Mayo
Producers Danielle MacLean, Anna Grieve, Thomas Mayo
Synopsis Against the tide of ignorance, First Nations men show defiance towards racism, to love and care for themselves and their families.

ON HEALING COUNTRY
Perpetual Media
Writer/Director Larissa Behrendt
Producer Cian McCue
Executive Producer David Alrich
Synopsis Three intertwining narratives piece together the stories of the Stolen Generation and the impact, hurt, and trauma down through generations.