Funding approvals
IN THE ARCHIVE
2018-19 Development funding

FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

BARBARA AND THE CAMP DOGS
Bunya Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Musical, Drama
Producer Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey, Vicki Gordon
Executive Producer TBA
Director TBA
Writer Ursula Yovich, Alana Valentine  
Synopsis Wild, unpredictable, and deeply vulnerable, Barbara and her sister René are singing for their lives. Barbara's been trying to make it in Sydney, but, when their mother's health deteriorates, the sisters embark on a pilgrimage back home to country.

THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS
Seymour Films
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer Charlotte Seymour
Executive Producer Sue Maslin
Writers Erica Glynn, Marie Munkara
Director Erica Glynn
Synopsis A young woman must unlearn her white upbringing and learn to be black.

SWEET COUNTRY 2 (Working Title) 
Retroflex Lateral Pty Ltd
Genre Western, Drama, Action adventure, Period
Producers David Jowsey, David Tranter, Greer Simpkin
Writer Steven McGregor
Director TBA
Synopsis A sequel to the award-winning Indigenous feature Sweet Country.

BLOOD
Brown Cabs
Genre Drama
Producer John Harvey
Writer/Director Larissa Behrendt
Synopsis Fourteen year old Jessie and his younger sister Rachel live a transient life following their mother, Gwen. But when she meets the charismatic Ray Crow, they are exposed to a world of drugs and crime. They run away to escape the escalating violence but Jessie decision to steal Ray’s drug money puts them in even greater danger. Adapted from the novel by Tony Birch.

GINDERELLA
Kalori Productions
Genre Drama
Producers Gillian Moody, David Jowsey
Writer/Director Adrian Russell Wills
Synopsis Ginderella - A dangerous love story. Promiscuous Aboriginal transsexual, Ruby Rose is forced to leave her hometown in fear of her own safety after she is betrayed by her first love.

OUTBACK CRACKS
Noble Savage Pictures
Genre Comedy
Producers Majhid Heath, Hayley Johnson
Writer Steven Oliver
Director TBA
Synopsis Three dusty and rusty outback small-town cracks decide it’s time to finally show their true rainbow colours by building a float for Mardi Gras.

RUMURRA
Arenamedia
Genre Drama
Producer Liz Kearney
Writers Jub Clerc, Steve Rodgers
Director Jub Clerc
Synopsis Set in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, Indigenous teenager, Murra, is sent on a photographic safari for ‘at risk’ kids. Along the way she not only discovers love and friendship, she discovers herself, in the most unexpected way.

COOK 2020: OUR RIGHT OF REPLY
Co-producers - Australia: Mitchell Stanley, Toni Stowers
Co-producer - New Zealand Mia Henry-Teirney
Filmmakers - Australia: Beck Cole, Samuel Paynter, Dena Curtis, Anna Grieve, Danielle MacLean, Tracey Rigney
Filmmakers – New Zealand: Richard Curtis, Tim Worrall, Mario Gaoa, Miki Magasiva, Renae Maihi, Elise Francis, Tiraroa Debra Reweti, Chantelle Burgoyne.

SPECIAL INITIATIVE - SHORT BLACKS

SHED
Chantelle Murray 
Genre Drama
Producer Dena Curtis
Director / Writer Chantelle Murray
Synopsis A historical outback drama about a forgotten soul, Mary, a young Aboriginal girl who is enslaved on a cattle station in western Queensland and used by the stock men for their pleasure.

CLOSED DOORS 
Djalihouse Pty Ltd
Genre Drama
Producer / Director / Writer Hunter Page-Lochard, Carter Simpkin
Synopsis A modern couple carelessly drive down a dirt road in the middle of the bush, their paranoia force the car to peel off the road. They decide to ditch the car and keep on moving, leading them into the surrounding bush. Tracking through the darkness of the bush, they must overcome the natural obstacles nature presents in order to break through. Once through and onto a clearing they arrive at an eerie old Federation home with two home owners that give off a threatening vibe. Once inside they reach for their goal and are given a final challenge before they can make their decision. 

ALL THAT GLITTERS 
Brindle Films PTY LTD
Genre Drama, Coming of Age
Producer Brindle Films Pty Ltd
Director / Writer Viviana Petyarre
Synopsis Another pay has been humbugged out of him, leaving Wenye, a young council worker on a remote Central Australian community, only a chunk of stale damper for supper. Inspired by a dream, he leaves for the city in search of material comforts only to find that perhaps his home country had more to offer than previously realised.

FATHER JERICHO
Noble Savage Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Thriller
Executive Producers Majhid Heath, Ross Grayson-Bell
Producer Hayley Johnson
Director / Writer Shane Salvador
Synopsis Father Jericho is a 10-minute revenge thriller about an Aboriginal man of god with a heart breaking past.

ELDERS
Typecast Pty Ltd
Genre Family, Drama
Producer Damienne Pradier
Director Tony Briggs
Writer Tracey Rigney
Synopsis Two Elders feel that their grandson is old enough to start learning vitally important lessons that will equip him with the necessary tools to maintain the future survival of his culture. His classroom is the expansive country of his ancestors. But is he ready for the challenge that is placed before him, and will he know what to do when the time comes?

BETWEEN TWO LINES
No Coincidence Media
Genre Drama
Producer Mitchell Stanley 
Director / Writer Jack Steele
Synopsis When two First World War enemy soldiers become stranded in No Man’s land, an unlikely bond is formed. Will they still be able to pull the trigger if the time came? Or will their bond be the very thing to save their lives?

TIES THAT BIND 
Third Impact Films 
Genre Drama, Family, Thriller
Director / Writer Michael Hudson
Synopsis Ties That Bind opens with Thomas, a sensitive mixed-race Indigenous teen, who is being escorted home by police after an altercation which left him visibly injured. When he arrives, Thomas is confronted by his abusive and domineering mother Marlene, who discovers that he didn't fight back. As a form of punishment and a means to “man him up” she forces him to chop down a dead tree in the backyard. Punishment turns into reflection as Thomas questions his life and confronts his past which leads him to make a life changing decision.

DOUG THE HUMAN 
Ramu Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Comedy
Producer Jodie Bell
Director / Writer Gary Hamaguchi
Synopsis A man wakes up on an isolated beach; he doesn’t know how he got there. On the beach is a Black female mannequin. The mannequin is an avatar used by an alien to communicate with the man.

TV DEVELOPMENT

MYSTERY ROAD SERIES 2
6 x 57mins
Mystery Road Media Pty Ltd
Genre Mystery, Drama
Producer David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin
Executive Producer TBA
Director TBA
Writer Steven McGregor, Kodie Bedford, Tim Lee
Synopsis The further crime solving adventures of outback Indigenous Detective Jay Swan.

PREPPERS
6 x 30 mins
Porchlight Films Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy
Executive Producer Liz Watts
Producer Sylvia Warmer
Director TBA
Writers Nakkiah Lui, Gabriel Dowrick
Synopsis Preppers is a narrative comedy series about group of mismatched 'preppers' planning for the apocalypse.

BLACK COMEDY 4 Workshop
Scarlett Pictures Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy
Producer Kath Shelper
Workshop Convenor Mark O'Toole
Synopsis Black Comedy continues an acerbic, witty and altogether unapologetic comedic exploration of what it means to be black in contemporary Australia as it heads into a potential fourth season. The workshop is designed to uncover and develop new Indigenous writing talent to take in to the new series.

SILT
10 x 60mins
Inkey Media Pty Ltd
Genre Drama, Crime
Producer Dena Curtis, Lois Randall 
Executive Producer TBA
Director TBA
Writers Dena Curtis, Tony Cavanaugh
Synopsis When a murder victim provides the missing link in Detective Sergeant Grace Gordon’s search for her own family she jumps on the lead, never imagining the web of crime in which she is about to become entangled.

ME, ANTMAN AND FLEABAG
10 x 24mins
Bunya Productions Pty Ltd
Genre Comedy, Drama
Producer David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin
Executive Producer TBA
Director TBA
Writers Kodie Bedford, Gayle Kennedy, Christopher Lee, Tim Lee
Synopsis Take one thirty-something woman, her partner Antman and their dog Fleabag, pack up the car, turn up the country music and you’ve got one spirited road trip makin room for all the good things in life – like family, laughin, travellin and best of all, love. Based on the book by Gayle Kennedy.

COPPING IT BLACK (Working Title)
4 x 60 mins
Bunya Productions & CAAMA Productions
Genre Crime, Mystery
Producers David Jowsey, Greer Simpkin, Nick Lee
Writers Steven McGregor, Erica Glynn, Danielle MacLean
Directors Erica Glynn, Steven McGregor
Synopsis A four-part murder mystery set in the Aboriginal art world in Central Australia.

WUTHOONG
10 x 60 mins
Wuthoong Holdings Pty Ltd
Genre Action adventure, Horror, Science fiction
Producers Andrew Dillon, Aaron Fa’Aoso, Mike Jones
Writers Jon Bell, Caden Pearson, Mike Jones, Naomi Janzen
Synopsis After the collapse of civilization in a zombie apocalypse, an armored robot is programmed to be the Guardian of a young Indigenous boy destined to become the messiah of a dangerous new world.

Documentary Development

THE QUARTERBLOOD PRINCE
1 x 70mins
Craig Quartermaine
Producer Mitchell Stanley  
Executive Producer TBA
Director TBA
Writer Craig Quartermaine
Synopsis Follow the first Indigenous Comedian to headline at the biggest comedy festival in the world as he and his total opposite form the most unlikely double act in Australian comedy history.

THE FINKE GALLERY
3 x 54mins
No Coincidence Media 
Producer Mitchell Stanley, Michaela Perske 
Executive Producer TBA
Director Dylan River
Writer Hetti Perkins
Synopsis In this stunning three part series, Indigenous Arts Curator Hetti Perkins embarks on a journey through the Finke Gorge discovering some of the world’s most significant and ancient art works with local Aboriginal artists.

FORGOTTEN FORTUNES
6 x 30 mins
Ardiol Media
Producer Luke Riches
Executive Producer Ray Pedretti
Writers Luke Riches, Daniel Riches,
Director Daniel Riches
Synopsis Adventure man, Phil Breslin, journeys through remote Australian landscapes to uncover Australia's forgotten fortunes, where the only hope for success lies in Indigenous storytelling. 

KINDRED
1 x 90 mins
Kalori Productions
Producer Gillian Moody
Writer Adrian Russell Wills
Directors Gillian Moody, Adrian Russell Wills
Synopsis Adoption can come with many conflicted feelings especially when you are Aboriginal growing up in a white affluent world.