Welcome to Deadline’s London TV Screenings list, our definitive look at next week’s buzzy event taking Soho by storm. If you’re wondering who’s exhibiting, what’s on offer and want to dive deeper into the distribs’ strategy, we’ve done the hard work for you, presenting profiles from nearly 30 exhibiting sales houses. Below, check out profiles for the companies headed over from the States and other nations around the globe. Read on, and find all our London TV Screenings content throughout the week here.
The North Americans
Disney
Key shows
Renegade Nell
Renegade Nell – Sally Wainwright-penned historical drama about a woman framed for murder who becomes a highwayman in eighteenth-century England.
Kaiser Karl (working title) – Gaumont show about the enigmatic and larger-than-life fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
The Long Shadows (working title) – Spanish story of a group of women whose stable, successful lives are suddenly shaken...
The North Americans
Disney
Key shows
Renegade Nell
Renegade Nell – Sally Wainwright-penned historical drama about a woman framed for murder who becomes a highwayman in eighteenth-century England.
Kaiser Karl (working title) – Gaumont show about the enigmatic and larger-than-life fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
The Long Shadows (working title) – Spanish story of a group of women whose stable, successful lives are suddenly shaken...
- 2/23/2024
- by Max Goldbart, Jesse Whittock and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Top actor Asher Keddie will co-produce and star opposite David Wenham in Paramount+ Australia’s freshly-commissioned “Fake” drama-thriller series.
Keddie has a long TV career with recent credits including “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart,” “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Stateless.” Her movie credits include smaller roles in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and eccentric comedy “Rams.” Wenham’s filmography includes “SeaChange,” “Elvis,” “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers & The Return of the King.”
“Fake” follows Keddie’s character, a smart and brilliant writer who thinks she has found her ideal match when she meets a successful rancher, portrayed by Wenham, on a dating app. But after she commits, she discovers that her boyfriend isn’t all he has led her to believe.
The show is inspired by the book “Fake” by Stephanie Wood and was created for television by renown screenwriter, Anya Beyersdorf with award-winner director, Emma Freeman.
The eight- part...
Keddie has a long TV career with recent credits including “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart,” “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Stateless.” Her movie credits include smaller roles in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and eccentric comedy “Rams.” Wenham’s filmography includes “SeaChange,” “Elvis,” “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers & The Return of the King.”
“Fake” follows Keddie’s character, a smart and brilliant writer who thinks she has found her ideal match when she meets a successful rancher, portrayed by Wenham, on a dating app. But after she commits, she discovers that her boyfriend isn’t all he has led her to believe.
The show is inspired by the book “Fake” by Stephanie Wood and was created for television by renown screenwriter, Anya Beyersdorf with award-winner director, Emma Freeman.
The eight- part...
- 9/14/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“The Twelve,” an award-winning Australian crime drama series, has been greenlighted for a second season. It is backed by the Foxtel group and its streaming brand Binge.
The show follows a controversial murder trial seen through the lens of the jurors, twelve ordinary Australians who are facing their own realities and struggles.
The first season received ten nominations, and won three Aacta Awards in 2022 including best miniseries. In recent days, it became the most nominated drama series at the 63rd TV Week Logie Awards.
Season two of “The Twelve” will be eight 1-hour episodes written by Sarah Walker, Anchuli Felicia King, Anya Beyersdorf and Anna Barnes. Local authorities in Western Australia described it as the state’s “biggest-ever screen production,” but divulged no specifics on budget. Filming will take place in the Wheatbelt and Metropolitan regions and create over 100 local jobs, the state government said.
The series will be setup...
The show follows a controversial murder trial seen through the lens of the jurors, twelve ordinary Australians who are facing their own realities and struggles.
The first season received ten nominations, and won three Aacta Awards in 2022 including best miniseries. In recent days, it became the most nominated drama series at the 63rd TV Week Logie Awards.
Season two of “The Twelve” will be eight 1-hour episodes written by Sarah Walker, Anchuli Felicia King, Anya Beyersdorf and Anna Barnes. Local authorities in Western Australia described it as the state’s “biggest-ever screen production,” but divulged no specifics on budget. Filming will take place in the Wheatbelt and Metropolitan regions and create over 100 local jobs, the state government said.
The series will be setup...
- 6/22/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Distribution
Anthony Lapaglia‘s upcoming factual series “The Black Hand” is set to be distributed internationally by eOne.
The three-part series will explore Australia’s Italian community, looking at the difficulties they face, their politics, the threat of war and the mafia. According to the series synopsis, The Black Hand is the name for a gang of Italian criminals in Australia.
Alan Erson, Lapaglia, Michael Tear exec produce. Adam Grossetti and Kate Pappas produce. “The Black Hand” is directed by Kriv Stenders and written by Grossetti, Stenders and Anya Beyersdorf.
The series was produced by Wildbear Entertainment for ABC in Australia. The deal with eOne excludes Australia and Scandinavia.
“The Black Hand is truly the definition of premium factual,” said Kate Cundall, eOne’s VP for acquisitions. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to take to market a hugely popular genre like true crime with some amazing auspicious.”
***
Meanwhile,...
Anthony Lapaglia‘s upcoming factual series “The Black Hand” is set to be distributed internationally by eOne.
The three-part series will explore Australia’s Italian community, looking at the difficulties they face, their politics, the threat of war and the mafia. According to the series synopsis, The Black Hand is the name for a gang of Italian criminals in Australia.
Alan Erson, Lapaglia, Michael Tear exec produce. Adam Grossetti and Kate Pappas produce. “The Black Hand” is directed by Kriv Stenders and written by Grossetti, Stenders and Anya Beyersdorf.
The series was produced by Wildbear Entertainment for ABC in Australia. The deal with eOne excludes Australia and Scandinavia.
“The Black Hand is truly the definition of premium factual,” said Kate Cundall, eOne’s VP for acquisitions. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to take to market a hugely popular genre like true crime with some amazing auspicious.”
***
Meanwhile,...
- 5/31/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Six-part anthology series Fires, about the experiences of everyday people at the frontline of the 2019-2020 bushfires, will premiere on Sunday, 26 September, 8.40pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Filmed in Melbourne and regional Victoria earlier this year, the Tony Ayres Productions drama goes behind the images and the headlines to touch on the stories of people directly affected by the fires.
The series begins in Queensland in September 2019, at the start of the fire season, and continues as the fires make their deadly march south, burning out of control through Nsw and Victoria until February 2020. Each episode is set in a different location as the fires spread and build to a terrifying onslaught across the country through Christmas and New Year.
As the fires grow in intensity and ferocity and threaten different communities, new characters appear, whose stories reflect the breadth of experience during Australia’s black summer.
Bringing...
Filmed in Melbourne and regional Victoria earlier this year, the Tony Ayres Productions drama goes behind the images and the headlines to touch on the stories of people directly affected by the fires.
The series begins in Queensland in September 2019, at the start of the fire season, and continues as the fires make their deadly march south, burning out of control through Nsw and Victoria until February 2020. Each episode is set in a different location as the fires spread and build to a terrifying onslaught across the country through Christmas and New Year.
As the fires grow in intensity and ferocity and threaten different communities, new characters appear, whose stories reflect the breadth of experience during Australia’s black summer.
Bringing...
- 8/30/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Marvel projects may be drawing a slew of high-profile actors to Australia, but it seems there are also local productions inversely capable of attracting MCU talent.
Christopher James Baker has been back in his native country for the past year following more than a decade in New York, during which he starred in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and also shot the upcoming DC Universe Series, Stargirl.
He has been able to hit the ground running following his return, with roles in Stan’s eight-part mystery drama Eden, as well as Goalpost’s gold rush drama New Gold Mountain.
Baker will first be seen in the former, which is set to premiere on the streaming platform on June 11.
The Every Cloud Productions/Balloon Entertainment series centres on the disappearance of a young woman and a subsequent chain of events that serves to lay bare dark and hidden secrets within the titular coastal town.
Christopher James Baker has been back in his native country for the past year following more than a decade in New York, during which he starred in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and also shot the upcoming DC Universe Series, Stargirl.
He has been able to hit the ground running following his return, with roles in Stan’s eight-part mystery drama Eden, as well as Goalpost’s gold rush drama New Gold Mountain.
Baker will first be seen in the former, which is set to premiere on the streaming platform on June 11.
The Every Cloud Productions/Balloon Entertainment series centres on the disappearance of a young woman and a subsequent chain of events that serves to lay bare dark and hidden secrets within the titular coastal town.
- 5/26/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
In an idyllic coastal town, the disappearance of a young woman triggers a devastating chain of events which lay bare dark and hidden secrets.
Stan’s eight-part mystery drama Eden will premiere on the service June 11, with all episodes dropping at once.
The Every Cloud Productions/Balloon Entertainment series boasts a cast that includes BeBe Bettencourt, Sophie Wilde, Keiynan Lonsdale, Cody Fern, Christopher James Baker, Samuel Johnson, Rachael Blake, Leeanna Walsman, Simon Lyndon and Maggie Kirkpatrick.
Created by Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox together with Skins creator Bryan Elsley, Eden is produced by Fiona McConaghy and directed by John Curran, Mirrah Foulkes and Peter Andrikidis. All eight episodes of the series are shot by award-winning cinematographer Geoffrey Hall.
Eden also boasts an all female writing team, led by head writer Vanessa Gazy, alongside Jess Brittain, Anya Beyersdorf, Clare Sladden and Penelope Chai.
Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen Nsw.
Stan’s eight-part mystery drama Eden will premiere on the service June 11, with all episodes dropping at once.
The Every Cloud Productions/Balloon Entertainment series boasts a cast that includes BeBe Bettencourt, Sophie Wilde, Keiynan Lonsdale, Cody Fern, Christopher James Baker, Samuel Johnson, Rachael Blake, Leeanna Walsman, Simon Lyndon and Maggie Kirkpatrick.
Created by Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox together with Skins creator Bryan Elsley, Eden is produced by Fiona McConaghy and directed by John Curran, Mirrah Foulkes and Peter Andrikidis. All eight episodes of the series are shot by award-winning cinematographer Geoffrey Hall.
Eden also boasts an all female writing team, led by head writer Vanessa Gazy, alongside Jess Brittain, Anya Beyersdorf, Clare Sladden and Penelope Chai.
Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen Nsw.
- 5/13/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Leading producers Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko have assembled an extraordinary Australian cast for Fires, a drama series that presents personal tales from the front lines of the country’s recent catastrophic fire season.
The series, which is now shooting in Victoria state is produced by NBCUniversal -backed Tony Ayres Productions and Matchbox Pictures. Australian Broadcasting Corporation is on board as local broadcaster. International rights are handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
The project is helmed by three leading film directors: Michael Rymer, Ana Kokkinos and Kim Mordaunt.
The ensemble cast includes: Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto (“Homeland”), Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall and Noni Hazlehurst.
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires” is structured as an anthology that weaves character studies inspired by true stories into a narrative about the Australian bushfires of 2019-...
The series, which is now shooting in Victoria state is produced by NBCUniversal -backed Tony Ayres Productions and Matchbox Pictures. Australian Broadcasting Corporation is on board as local broadcaster. International rights are handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
The project is helmed by three leading film directors: Michael Rymer, Ana Kokkinos and Kim Mordaunt.
The ensemble cast includes: Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto (“Homeland”), Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall and Noni Hazlehurst.
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires” is structured as an anthology that weaves character studies inspired by true stories into a narrative about the Australian bushfires of 2019-...
- 4/9/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The ABC and Tony Ayres Productions’ (Tap) anthology drama Fires is underway in Victoria, with a stellar cast that boasts Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto, Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall, and Noni Hazlehurst.
Joining the ensemble are also newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires, co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, is inspired by accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season of late 2019 and early 2020.
Each episode is based around a different community, drawn from reports of ordinary people and the impossible choices they were forced to make.
Chayko, who is the showrunner and lead writer, said: “So many people were affected by the fires of 2019/2020 and we wanted to honour their experiences and the losses they suffered – to ensure that their stories were not forgotten. Fires is a series about ordinary people, caught in the unimaginable,...
Joining the ensemble are also newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
Fires, co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, is inspired by accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season of late 2019 and early 2020.
Each episode is based around a different community, drawn from reports of ordinary people and the impossible choices they were forced to make.
Chayko, who is the showrunner and lead writer, said: “So many people were affected by the fires of 2019/2020 and we wanted to honour their experiences and the losses they suffered – to ensure that their stories were not forgotten. Fires is a series about ordinary people, caught in the unimaginable,...
- 4/9/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: Australian drama series Fires has put together its cast.
The series, created by Stateless creator Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, has put together an ensemble cast featuring Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Richard Roxburgh (The Crown), Sullivan Stapleton (Blindspot), Miranda Otto (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Hunter Page-Lochard (Harrow), Anna Torv (Mindhunter), Kate Box (Stateless), Helana Sawires (Stateless), Daniel Henshall (Defending Jacob) and Noni Hazlehurst (A Place to Call Home).
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
The six-part series, which is inspired by extraordinary accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season in Australia of late 2019 and early 2020, will air on ABC in Australia and NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international sales.
It is produced by NBCU-backed Tony Ayres Productions and written by showrunner Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Executive Producers include Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts.
The series, created by Stateless creator Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, has put together an ensemble cast featuring Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Richard Roxburgh (The Crown), Sullivan Stapleton (Blindspot), Miranda Otto (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Hunter Page-Lochard (Harrow), Anna Torv (Mindhunter), Kate Box (Stateless), Helana Sawires (Stateless), Daniel Henshall (Defending Jacob) and Noni Hazlehurst (A Place to Call Home).
They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.
The six-part series, which is inspired by extraordinary accounts from people who survived the catastrophic fire season in Australia of late 2019 and early 2020, will air on ABC in Australia and NBCUniversal Global Distribution is handling international sales.
It is produced by NBCU-backed Tony Ayres Productions and written by showrunner Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Executive Producers include Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts.
- 4/9/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Following on from their collaboration on Stateless and the upcoming ABC drama Fires, Liz Watts has signed an overall television deal with Matchbox Pictures.
The deal will see the NBC Universal-owned company work with Watts to develop and produce high-end television projects for the Australian and global market.
Watts was an executive producer on Matchbox’s Stateless for the ABC/Netflix, and is also serving as executive producer on Fires, a six-part anthology co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, drawing on the experiences of those who had their lives devastated by last summer’s bushfires. The series is expected to into production later this year, from scripts penned by Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Matchbox MD Alastair McKinnon said: “Liz’s incredible skill set and wealth of experience across film and TV make her the perfect addition to the exceptional talent we have at Matchbox.
The deal will see the NBC Universal-owned company work with Watts to develop and produce high-end television projects for the Australian and global market.
Watts was an executive producer on Matchbox’s Stateless for the ABC/Netflix, and is also serving as executive producer on Fires, a six-part anthology co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko, drawing on the experiences of those who had their lives devastated by last summer’s bushfires. The series is expected to into production later this year, from scripts penned by Chayko, Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
Matchbox MD Alastair McKinnon said: “Liz’s incredible skill set and wealth of experience across film and TV make her the perfect addition to the exceptional talent we have at Matchbox.
- 3/31/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Two feature films, three TV dramas, one children’s series, and one online project will share in $5.9 million of production funding from Screen Australia.
The projects include feature How To Please A Woman about a woman’s choice to take her all-male housecleaning business to a more intimate level; the previously announced ABC anthology drama series Fires, set during last summer’s devastating bushfires; Stan feature Gold, and a comedy about a single woman and her database of potential sexual partners in Spreadsheet for Viacom CBS.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said it was a testament to the resilience of the screen industry to have so many projects move into production during such a challenging period.
“It’s fantastic to kick off 2021 with such a great sample of the premium dramas that have been greenlit across the country,” she said.
“We’re so pleased to have supported...
The projects include feature How To Please A Woman about a woman’s choice to take her all-male housecleaning business to a more intimate level; the previously announced ABC anthology drama series Fires, set during last summer’s devastating bushfires; Stan feature Gold, and a comedy about a single woman and her database of potential sexual partners in Spreadsheet for Viacom CBS.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said it was a testament to the resilience of the screen industry to have so many projects move into production during such a challenging period.
“It’s fantastic to kick off 2021 with such a great sample of the premium dramas that have been greenlit across the country,” she said.
“We’re so pleased to have supported...
- 2/3/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
So hefty is the ABC’s slate in 2021, director entertainment and specialist Michael Carrington is confident audiences won’t even realise that many of the broadcaster’s productions faced shutdowns and delays during the pandemic.
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
- 11/25/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Fiona Eagger.
The biggest challenge facing TV producers next year is figuring out ways to keep Australian dramas screening on the free-to-air broadcasters, according to Fiona Eagger.
Eagger, who co-founded Every Cloud Productions with Deb Cox, welcomes the raising of the TV Producer Offset to 30 per cent but laments the abolition of the local content sub-quotas for Fta networks.
“For Australian producers our greatest challenge is keeping Australian drama alive on our free-to-airs,” she tells If. “All the networks want to keep making Australian drama because when it hits the sweet spot, it creates great audience loyalty to a brand.
“But they’re worried about their revenues and livelihoods so, hand-in-glove with Screen Australia and the state agencies, we have to be really clever in how we put deals together.
“We are resilient and inventive but it’s not easy when the government gives on one hand but takes away on the other hand.
The biggest challenge facing TV producers next year is figuring out ways to keep Australian dramas screening on the free-to-air broadcasters, according to Fiona Eagger.
Eagger, who co-founded Every Cloud Productions with Deb Cox, welcomes the raising of the TV Producer Offset to 30 per cent but laments the abolition of the local content sub-quotas for Fta networks.
“For Australian producers our greatest challenge is keeping Australian drama alive on our free-to-airs,” she tells If. “All the networks want to keep making Australian drama because when it hits the sweet spot, it creates great audience loyalty to a brand.
“But they’re worried about their revenues and livelihoods so, hand-in-glove with Screen Australia and the state agencies, we have to be really clever in how we put deals together.
“We are resilient and inventive but it’s not easy when the government gives on one hand but takes away on the other hand.
- 10/19/2020
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
‘Bump.’
Stan today unveiled five Stan Original productions – two drama series, a true crime docuseries, a film and a comedy special – as part of an ambitious plan to ramp up local commissions.
The Nine-owned streamer said it plans to invest in more than 30 productions per year within five years, drawing on Nine’s production facilities and via co-productions with international partners including Hollywood studios and international networks.
It will continue to build on relationships with state and national screen agencies including initiatives such as the Stan and Film Victoria Development Fund and the Screen Queensland and Stan Premium Drama Development Fund.
The slate announced today includes Every Cloud Productions and Balloon Entertainment’s eight-part murder mystery Eden; Claudia Karvan, Kelsey Munro and Roadshow Rough Diamond’s 10-part half-hour drama Bump; and After the Night, a four-part true crime docuseries from Eq Media Group and Salon Pictures, created and directed by Thomas Meadmore.
Stan today unveiled five Stan Original productions – two drama series, a true crime docuseries, a film and a comedy special – as part of an ambitious plan to ramp up local commissions.
The Nine-owned streamer said it plans to invest in more than 30 productions per year within five years, drawing on Nine’s production facilities and via co-productions with international partners including Hollywood studios and international networks.
It will continue to build on relationships with state and national screen agencies including initiatives such as the Stan and Film Victoria Development Fund and the Screen Queensland and Stan Premium Drama Development Fund.
The slate announced today includes Every Cloud Productions and Balloon Entertainment’s eight-part murder mystery Eden; Claudia Karvan, Kelsey Munro and Roadshow Rough Diamond’s 10-part half-hour drama Bump; and After the Night, a four-part true crime docuseries from Eq Media Group and Salon Pictures, created and directed by Thomas Meadmore.
- 8/23/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Tony Ayres.
The impact of the devastating bushfires of last summer will be explored in six-part drama The Fires, currently in development at the ABC.
The Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) series is planned as a serialised anthology, inspired by the stories of the people who survived the catastrophe and continue to endure its aftermath.
Each episode will be based around character studies of ordinary people caught in the unimaginable and the impossible choices they were forced to make. These will include volunteer firefighters; families who lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones; people who had to make agonising decisions about whether to stay or flee; and others who found themselves responsible for the lives of friends and strangers.
Working with Ayres in the creative team is Tap head of development Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team is led by Belinda Chayko, working with Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
The impact of the devastating bushfires of last summer will be explored in six-part drama The Fires, currently in development at the ABC.
The Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) series is planned as a serialised anthology, inspired by the stories of the people who survived the catastrophe and continue to endure its aftermath.
Each episode will be based around character studies of ordinary people caught in the unimaginable and the impossible choices they were forced to make. These will include volunteer firefighters; families who lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones; people who had to make agonising decisions about whether to stay or flee; and others who found themselves responsible for the lives of friends and strangers.
Working with Ayres in the creative team is Tap head of development Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team is led by Belinda Chayko, working with Jacquelin Perske, Mirrah Foulkes, Steven McGregor and Anya Beyersdorf.
- 8/13/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Tony Ayres Productions (Tap) is developing The Fires, a six-part anthology series drawing on the experiences of those directly affected by the Australian megafires of last summer.
The company, which has an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, has ABC already on board with the series in Australia.
The creative team includes Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team, led by International Emmy Award-winning showrunner/writer Belinda Chayko includes Jacquelin Perske (The Cry), Mirrah Foulkes (Judy and Punch), Steven McGregor (Mystery Road) and Anya Beyersdorf.
The Fires is a serialized anthology inspired by the stories of the people who survived last summer’s catastrophic fire season and continue to endure the aftermath. Each episode is based around character studies...
The company, which has an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, has ABC already on board with the series in Australia.
The creative team includes Tony Ayres, Andrea Denholm and Liz Watts. The writing team, led by International Emmy Award-winning showrunner/writer Belinda Chayko includes Jacquelin Perske (The Cry), Mirrah Foulkes (Judy and Punch), Steven McGregor (Mystery Road) and Anya Beyersdorf.
The Fires is a serialized anthology inspired by the stories of the people who survived last summer’s catastrophic fire season and continue to endure the aftermath. Each episode is based around character studies...
- 8/13/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Anya Beyersdorf.
Prolific screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf says her excitement level has gone through the roof as she collaborates with director Rachel Ward on one of the segments of the ABC’s female-driven Shakespeare Now anthology.
Enjoying a career high, Beyersdorf is also working on an Every Cloud Productions’ drama and developing multiple projects with writer-director Miranda Nation, Aquarius Films, Truant Pictures and US director Alexis Ostrander.
“I have had a privileged, lucky lockdown,” she tells If. “I think I would have gone mad if I didn’t have all these scripts and virtual writers’ rooms. It’s kept me connected and doing meaningful things.”
Hoodlum Entertainment and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment are developing Shakespeare Now, consisting of fresh re-interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night.
“Rachel is such a generous, clever, cool woman,...
Prolific screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf says her excitement level has gone through the roof as she collaborates with director Rachel Ward on one of the segments of the ABC’s female-driven Shakespeare Now anthology.
Enjoying a career high, Beyersdorf is also working on an Every Cloud Productions’ drama and developing multiple projects with writer-director Miranda Nation, Aquarius Films, Truant Pictures and US director Alexis Ostrander.
“I have had a privileged, lucky lockdown,” she tells If. “I think I would have gone mad if I didn’t have all these scripts and virtual writers’ rooms. It’s kept me connected and doing meaningful things.”
Hoodlum Entertainment and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment are developing Shakespeare Now, consisting of fresh re-interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night.
“Rachel is such a generous, clever, cool woman,...
- 8/12/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Rachel Okine.
Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford’s Aquarius Films has stepped up its feature film and TV drama development slate, collaborating with such creatives as Justine Flynn, Del Kathryn Barton and Huna Amweero, Clementine Ford, Anya Beyersdorf, Roger Monk and Rhys Graham.
The production company gained momentum after hiring former eOne and Hopscotch Features executive Rachel Okine in the newly created role of managing director.
Okine joined in March, just as the pandemic struck. After a pause when, she says, Aquarius’ focus on growth switched to survival mode, the development pace picked up.
The Unusual Suspects, a four-part crime caper for Sbs co-funded by Screen Australia starts pre-production next week. A whodunit set in the Filipino domestic worker community in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, it’s scripted by Jessica Redenbach, Roger Monk (Nowhere Boys) and Vonne Patiag (Halal Gurls).
Parent Up, a Korean/Australian kids spy comedy, is in...
Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford’s Aquarius Films has stepped up its feature film and TV drama development slate, collaborating with such creatives as Justine Flynn, Del Kathryn Barton and Huna Amweero, Clementine Ford, Anya Beyersdorf, Roger Monk and Rhys Graham.
The production company gained momentum after hiring former eOne and Hopscotch Features executive Rachel Okine in the newly created role of managing director.
Okine joined in March, just as the pandemic struck. After a pause when, she says, Aquarius’ focus on growth switched to survival mode, the development pace picked up.
The Unusual Suspects, a four-part crime caper for Sbs co-funded by Screen Australia starts pre-production next week. A whodunit set in the Filipino domestic worker community in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, it’s scripted by Jessica Redenbach, Roger Monk (Nowhere Boys) and Vonne Patiag (Halal Gurls).
Parent Up, a Korean/Australian kids spy comedy, is in...
- 8/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Toni Collette.
Toni Collette’s directorial debut, an animated series based on The Sapphires and a Shakespeare-inspired anthology are among the 42 projects to recently share in $1.4 million of development funding from Screen Australia.
The slate, which includes 14 features, eight online projects and 20 TV dramas, marks the final development funding Screen Australia awarded in the 2019-20 financial year.
These projects come from both the existing Premium and Generate development funds. Generate Fund is for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks. The Premium Fund is for higher budget projects of ambition and scale from successful screen content makers.
The agency reports receiving over 534 applications across both funds, up 41 per cent on the 378 application received in 2018-19.
Screen Australia’s Head of Development Nerida Moore said, “While this has been a turbulent, challenging time for many in the industry, it hasn’t stopped the drive,...
Toni Collette’s directorial debut, an animated series based on The Sapphires and a Shakespeare-inspired anthology are among the 42 projects to recently share in $1.4 million of development funding from Screen Australia.
The slate, which includes 14 features, eight online projects and 20 TV dramas, marks the final development funding Screen Australia awarded in the 2019-20 financial year.
These projects come from both the existing Premium and Generate development funds. Generate Fund is for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks. The Premium Fund is for higher budget projects of ambition and scale from successful screen content makers.
The agency reports receiving over 534 applications across both funds, up 41 per cent on the 378 application received in 2018-19.
Screen Australia’s Head of Development Nerida Moore said, “While this has been a turbulent, challenging time for many in the industry, it hasn’t stopped the drive,...
- 8/5/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Baz Luhrmann.
A new feature film from Baz Luhrmann, set in a small Australian country town, is among the 18 projects to recently receive story development funding from Screen Australia.
The agency announced today it will share $620,000 between 11 films, five TV series and two online projects.
These projects come from both the existing Premium and Generate development funds. Generate Fund is for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks. The Premium Fund is for higher budget projects of ambition and scale from successful screen content makers.
Projects pitched for Premium Plus funds – the additional development funding the agency announced in response to Covid-19 – are still being assessed.
Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said: “With many productions temporarily halted it is more important than ever for us to support the development of Australian stories for all platforms. I...
A new feature film from Baz Luhrmann, set in a small Australian country town, is among the 18 projects to recently receive story development funding from Screen Australia.
The agency announced today it will share $620,000 between 11 films, five TV series and two online projects.
These projects come from both the existing Premium and Generate development funds. Generate Fund is for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks. The Premium Fund is for higher budget projects of ambition and scale from successful screen content makers.
Projects pitched for Premium Plus funds – the additional development funding the agency announced in response to Covid-19 – are still being assessed.
Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said: “With many productions temporarily halted it is more important than ever for us to support the development of Australian stories for all platforms. I...
- 5/12/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.
Financing feature films is going to be even harder after the pandemic, prompting Truant Pictures’ Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt to offer some practical advice to genre filmmakers.
In a nutshell: Come up with compelling ideas for contained films on low budgets without sacrificing quality. Try to stick to a budget of $3 million, which could be scaled up to $8 million if Netflix or other international players come on board.
The founders of Animal Logic’s genre film and TV production arm surveyed the state of the industry yesterday in an Australians in Film webinar moderated by Krista Carpenter.
The La-based firm is developing 10 features and two TV series and is in the process of financing four of those projects, Nalbandian tells If.
Schmidt, who learned his craft from horror-master Wes Craven and filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, offered this advice: “Make the most contained, low budget, compelling film you can,...
Financing feature films is going to be even harder after the pandemic, prompting Truant Pictures’ Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt to offer some practical advice to genre filmmakers.
In a nutshell: Come up with compelling ideas for contained films on low budgets without sacrificing quality. Try to stick to a budget of $3 million, which could be scaled up to $8 million if Netflix or other international players come on board.
The founders of Animal Logic’s genre film and TV production arm surveyed the state of the industry yesterday in an Australians in Film webinar moderated by Krista Carpenter.
The La-based firm is developing 10 features and two TV series and is in the process of financing four of those projects, Nalbandian tells If.
Schmidt, who learned his craft from horror-master Wes Craven and filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, offered this advice: “Make the most contained, low budget, compelling film you can,...
- 4/16/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Truant Pictures development and production executives Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.
Animal Logic Entertainment’s live-action genre arm Truant Pictures has selected three finalists for its screenplay competition, designed to uncover emerging writing talent in the realms of horror, sci-fi and thriller.
The finalists, chosen from hundreds of submissions, are reported by Truant to “exhibit a unique voice, strong craft and a compelling command of their genre.”
The finalists are:
David Willing & Beth King (Vic) – The Surrogate
When single mother Natalia gives birth despite not being pregnant, she discovers the ghost of a missing child is hell-bent on destroying her family.
Jonathon Green & Anthony O’Connor (Nsw) – Emma After
A ghost girl falls in love with the living boy she’s meant to haunt away.
D.J. McPherson (Vic) – His Name Is Jeremiah
A damaged teen girl from a remote Australian town struggles to adjust when her violent mother is released from jail.
Animal Logic Entertainment’s live-action genre arm Truant Pictures has selected three finalists for its screenplay competition, designed to uncover emerging writing talent in the realms of horror, sci-fi and thriller.
The finalists, chosen from hundreds of submissions, are reported by Truant to “exhibit a unique voice, strong craft and a compelling command of their genre.”
The finalists are:
David Willing & Beth King (Vic) – The Surrogate
When single mother Natalia gives birth despite not being pregnant, she discovers the ghost of a missing child is hell-bent on destroying her family.
Jonathon Green & Anthony O’Connor (Nsw) – Emma After
A ghost girl falls in love with the living boy she’s meant to haunt away.
D.J. McPherson (Vic) – His Name Is Jeremiah
A damaged teen girl from a remote Australian town struggles to adjust when her violent mother is released from jail.
- 11/17/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Tamara Asmar.
Screenwriting is often such a lonely pursuit that Tamara Asmar really relishes her time brainstorming in writers’ rooms, likening the experience to being in a confessional.
“These are places where people divulge the most personal, hilarious, moving and heartbreaking things about their lives,” says the prolific writer whose credits include Doctor Doctor, On the Ropes, Love Child and Beat Bugs.
“That feeds into stories, sparks ideas and takes you down different narrative pathways that you otherwise would not have. I have definitely contributed some stories, cleverly masked.”
Currently Asmar is juggling multiple projects in development including Aleph, an eight-part series created by Miranda Nation for Porchlight Films, a fantasy drama for Jungle Entertainment and a movie for Easy Tiger which she now thinks is better suited to TV.
Screen Australia is funding the story development of Aleph, which follows a woman who is faced with the choice between...
Screenwriting is often such a lonely pursuit that Tamara Asmar really relishes her time brainstorming in writers’ rooms, likening the experience to being in a confessional.
“These are places where people divulge the most personal, hilarious, moving and heartbreaking things about their lives,” says the prolific writer whose credits include Doctor Doctor, On the Ropes, Love Child and Beat Bugs.
“That feeds into stories, sparks ideas and takes you down different narrative pathways that you otherwise would not have. I have definitely contributed some stories, cleverly masked.”
Currently Asmar is juggling multiple projects in development including Aleph, an eight-part series created by Miranda Nation for Porchlight Films, a fantasy drama for Jungle Entertainment and a movie for Easy Tiger which she now thinks is better suited to TV.
Screen Australia is funding the story development of Aleph, which follows a woman who is faced with the choice between...
- 10/20/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) has announced the five finalists for Aacta Pitch: Elevate, a national pitching competition aimed at discovering high-concept scripted series.
The finalists, chosen from almost 100 submissions, are: Endgame, My Mother the Witch, The 8, The Department of Last Requests and The Replicas.
In a statement, Aacta said the five finalists have been selected for their “unique interpretations of an elevated concept; each beginning with a simple premise and an unusual set of circumstances, while holding the potential for mass audience appeal and endless possibilities within the world for their series.”
Each finalist will pitch their concept live at the upcoming Aacta Shorts + Web Fest, in front of a judging panel that includes:
Carly Heaton, executive producer at Foxtel; Stephen Corvini, drama development executive and producer at Matchbox Pictures; Tracey Robertson, CEO Hoodlum Entertainment; Billy Bowring, development manager at FremantleMedia Australia.
The competition will...
The finalists, chosen from almost 100 submissions, are: Endgame, My Mother the Witch, The 8, The Department of Last Requests and The Replicas.
In a statement, Aacta said the five finalists have been selected for their “unique interpretations of an elevated concept; each beginning with a simple premise and an unusual set of circumstances, while holding the potential for mass audience appeal and endless possibilities within the world for their series.”
Each finalist will pitch their concept live at the upcoming Aacta Shorts + Web Fest, in front of a judging panel that includes:
Carly Heaton, executive producer at Foxtel; Stephen Corvini, drama development executive and producer at Matchbox Pictures; Tracey Robertson, CEO Hoodlum Entertainment; Billy Bowring, development manager at FremantleMedia Australia.
The competition will...
- 8/13/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Short film ‘Oddlands’, which is being developed into a six-part series. (Photo: Georgina Savage)
Screen Australia has announced $300,000 of story development funding for six features, four TV dramas and two online series.
The slate includes feature film Memoir of a Snail from Oscar-winner Adam Elliot; Aleph, a science-fiction series from Porchlight Films about a mother who faces the unthinkable decision of saving her daughter or humanity; and online dark comedy Plushed, which explores mental illness through the eyes of a toy.
This is the the second round of funding announced since Screen Australia’s changes to development funding guidelines last July. Recently the agency has made further clarifications to the guidelines to improve the application process, which include increasing the pitch video length to up to four minutes, adding budget level limits to more clearly differentiate the Generate and Premium funds adding an opportunity to provide a paragraph synopsis to a proof of concept.
Screen Australia has announced $300,000 of story development funding for six features, four TV dramas and two online series.
The slate includes feature film Memoir of a Snail from Oscar-winner Adam Elliot; Aleph, a science-fiction series from Porchlight Films about a mother who faces the unthinkable decision of saving her daughter or humanity; and online dark comedy Plushed, which explores mental illness through the eyes of a toy.
This is the the second round of funding announced since Screen Australia’s changes to development funding guidelines last July. Recently the agency has made further clarifications to the guidelines to improve the application process, which include increasing the pitch video length to up to four minutes, adding budget level limits to more clearly differentiate the Generate and Premium funds adding an opportunity to provide a paragraph synopsis to a proof of concept.
- 2/4/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
The Black List founder and CEO Franklin Leonard.
The top 10 scripts from Warner Bros, The Black List and Veerhuis Pictures’ Australian Scriptwriting Opportunity have been unveiled, with the writers now in consideration for a two-step blind feature film deal with WB.
The scripts on the short list have been whittled down from a whopping 400 submissions. Emerging Aussie writers were invited to opt-in to the opportunity via The Black List’s website, and their screenplays were then evaluated via the site’s usual processes, with the 10 highest ranking scripts shortlisted.
Producer Chris Veerhuis of Wa-based Veerhuis Pictures will now work with WB to determine from the list the recipient(s), if any, of the script deal. That opportunity will commit a writer to write a new script (first draft and a rewrite) for WB at Writers Guild of America rates, with a minimum fee of $US100,000. The aim would eventually be...
The top 10 scripts from Warner Bros, The Black List and Veerhuis Pictures’ Australian Scriptwriting Opportunity have been unveiled, with the writers now in consideration for a two-step blind feature film deal with WB.
The scripts on the short list have been whittled down from a whopping 400 submissions. Emerging Aussie writers were invited to opt-in to the opportunity via The Black List’s website, and their screenplays were then evaluated via the site’s usual processes, with the 10 highest ranking scripts shortlisted.
Producer Chris Veerhuis of Wa-based Veerhuis Pictures will now work with WB to determine from the list the recipient(s), if any, of the script deal. That opportunity will commit a writer to write a new script (first draft and a rewrite) for WB at Writers Guild of America rates, with a minimum fee of $US100,000. The aim would eventually be...
- 10/5/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Australia's Anya Beyersdorf is a talent that we've been keeping a close eye on for some time in these pages. Her short film work has been acclaimed around the world and while she's got a few feature script projects in the works right now it's one of her shorts that brings Beyersdorf back into our pages. It was all the way back in 2015 when we first wrote about her short film Vampir, sharing the teaser for the film at the time. Well, following a lengthy festival run that film is now online in its entirety and we are pleased to share it with you here. When a strange loner comes in to town, a bloody encounter with the local youth will reveal the true...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/12/2018
- Screen Anarchy
2016 Short Film Fellowship recipients Brooke Goldfinch, Anya Beyersdorf, Alex Ryan and Alex Murawski..
Submissions are now open for the 2017 Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship, which gives four emerging filmmakers $50,000 each to produce a short to premiere at the 2018 Sydney Film Festival.
The $200,000 fellowship is the largest cash fellowship for short film in Australia.
Judy Davis, 2016 jury chair, said the fellowship offers investment in the next generation of Australian film industry achievers.
.It was an honour to be involved in selecting the four winners of the Fellowship last year: Anya Beyersdorf, Brook Goldfinch, Alex Murawski and Alex Ryan, who are in the process of creating four incredibly exciting films to premiere at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival,. said Davis.
–... Read If.s interview with Judy Davis about the process of selecting the 2016 Short Film Fellowship recipients
A panel will curate 20 finalists, who will then be whittled down to four winners by the Short Film Fellowship Jury.
Submissions are now open for the 2017 Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship, which gives four emerging filmmakers $50,000 each to produce a short to premiere at the 2018 Sydney Film Festival.
The $200,000 fellowship is the largest cash fellowship for short film in Australia.
Judy Davis, 2016 jury chair, said the fellowship offers investment in the next generation of Australian film industry achievers.
.It was an honour to be involved in selecting the four winners of the Fellowship last year: Anya Beyersdorf, Brook Goldfinch, Alex Murawski and Alex Ryan, who are in the process of creating four incredibly exciting films to premiere at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival,. said Davis.
–... Read If.s interview with Judy Davis about the process of selecting the 2016 Short Film Fellowship recipients
A panel will curate 20 finalists, who will then be whittled down to four winners by the Short Film Fellowship Jury.
- 10/18/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Judy Davis on the Sff red carpet with the winners of the Lexus Short Film Fellowship.
As the Lexus Short Film Fellowship jury chair, Judy Davis last week selected four young filmmakers - Alex Ryan, Anya Beyersdorf, Alex Murawski and Brooke Goldfinch - to receive $50,000 each to make a short that will premiere at next year's Sydney Film Festival.
The gender parity of the winners was a coincidence, Davis told If.
"On this jury, there was no quota, and I chose the films I liked. But as the afternoon wore on, it became clear it was looking like two and two. And one of the other members of the jury said, 'that's really good'."
Asked for her opinion on quotas, Davis said she wonders whether they might "breed resentment and mistrust", and argued instead for a shift in mindset: "that gradual but inevitable realisation that the female voice can be a profound voice,...
As the Lexus Short Film Fellowship jury chair, Judy Davis last week selected four young filmmakers - Alex Ryan, Anya Beyersdorf, Alex Murawski and Brooke Goldfinch - to receive $50,000 each to make a short that will premiere at next year's Sydney Film Festival.
The gender parity of the winners was a coincidence, Davis told If.
"On this jury, there was no quota, and I chose the films I liked. But as the afternoon wore on, it became clear it was looking like two and two. And one of the other members of the jury said, 'that's really good'."
Asked for her opinion on quotas, Davis said she wonders whether they might "breed resentment and mistrust", and argued instead for a shift in mindset: "that gradual but inevitable realisation that the female voice can be a profound voice,...
- 6/22/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
(l-r) Jurors Judy Davis, Lexus' Adrian Weimers and Sff director Nashen Moodley.
The winners of the inaugural Lexus Short Film Fellowship were announced last night at the Sydney Film Festival, with jury chair Judy Davis touting the promise of the next generation of Aussie filmmakers..
The four winners will receive $50,000 each to make a short..
They are Anya Beyersdorf, Alex Ryan, Brooke Goldfinch and Alex Murawski, who were chosen from a shortlist of 21 filmmakers, whittled down to four by Davis, Sff director Nashen Moodley, Lexus Australia's Adrian Weimers, Jan Chapman and Darren Dale.
"We spent the day in a big office in Sydney", Davis told If..
"I just found it very impressive that a writer can distill what they're saying, then communicate it effectively in ten or twelve minutes and, at times, achieve great complexity", Davis said.
"That really impressed me, and I felt very privileged to be able to read them, because normally I would never get to read a short film script. I've never been offered a short film."
The even gender split of the winners was an accident, Davis said.
"At the end of the process, one of the other jurors said, this is good because it's looking like two [men], two [women]. And I'll be honest, for me, it wouldn't make any difference.".
"I would just pick the four I thought were the best. If it had ended up being four men, I might have gone: oops. But still you've got to choose the four best. In this particular case, the two scripts that the women wrote are beautiful. It was not a painful decision.".
The four films tendered by the winners will premiere at next year's Sff, with a maximum length of fifteen minutes.
Uts and Aftrs grad Alex Ryan is making a short loosely inspired by the story of Brazilian student Roberto Curti, who was tasered by police and died in 2012, while Goldfinch's film is "a sci-fi thriller set in Woolongong with a female protagonist".
Aftrs grad Murawski aims to make a film "about a boy who leaves his friend behind after an accident and has to deal with the guilt of that situation"..
"It centers on grief and separation and the end of childhood", Murawski said. "It's called Snow."
Titled How the Light Gets In, Beyersdorf's short will reunite the team behind her previous film Vampir..
The idea for the film, "a meditation on terminal illness in a close-knit family", came to the director in the middle of the night.
"I woke up one night and thought, imagine if my fingers and hands were glowing. And I thought, what if there was a way you could represent an illness not as an illness but as this beautiful glow that's threatening to envelope you. So that's the crazy idea I had, and I wrote it for this very quickly."
Davis announced the four winners before a screening of Damian Walshe-Howling's MESSiAH, one of four winners of the International Lexus Short Films initiative.
The winners of the inaugural Lexus Short Film Fellowship were announced last night at the Sydney Film Festival, with jury chair Judy Davis touting the promise of the next generation of Aussie filmmakers..
The four winners will receive $50,000 each to make a short..
They are Anya Beyersdorf, Alex Ryan, Brooke Goldfinch and Alex Murawski, who were chosen from a shortlist of 21 filmmakers, whittled down to four by Davis, Sff director Nashen Moodley, Lexus Australia's Adrian Weimers, Jan Chapman and Darren Dale.
"We spent the day in a big office in Sydney", Davis told If..
"I just found it very impressive that a writer can distill what they're saying, then communicate it effectively in ten or twelve minutes and, at times, achieve great complexity", Davis said.
"That really impressed me, and I felt very privileged to be able to read them, because normally I would never get to read a short film script. I've never been offered a short film."
The even gender split of the winners was an accident, Davis said.
"At the end of the process, one of the other jurors said, this is good because it's looking like two [men], two [women]. And I'll be honest, for me, it wouldn't make any difference.".
"I would just pick the four I thought were the best. If it had ended up being four men, I might have gone: oops. But still you've got to choose the four best. In this particular case, the two scripts that the women wrote are beautiful. It was not a painful decision.".
The four films tendered by the winners will premiere at next year's Sff, with a maximum length of fifteen minutes.
Uts and Aftrs grad Alex Ryan is making a short loosely inspired by the story of Brazilian student Roberto Curti, who was tasered by police and died in 2012, while Goldfinch's film is "a sci-fi thriller set in Woolongong with a female protagonist".
Aftrs grad Murawski aims to make a film "about a boy who leaves his friend behind after an accident and has to deal with the guilt of that situation"..
"It centers on grief and separation and the end of childhood", Murawski said. "It's called Snow."
Titled How the Light Gets In, Beyersdorf's short will reunite the team behind her previous film Vampir..
The idea for the film, "a meditation on terminal illness in a close-knit family", came to the director in the middle of the night.
"I woke up one night and thought, imagine if my fingers and hands were glowing. And I thought, what if there was a way you could represent an illness not as an illness but as this beautiful glow that's threatening to envelope you. So that's the crazy idea I had, and I wrote it for this very quickly."
Davis announced the four winners before a screening of Damian Walshe-Howling's MESSiAH, one of four winners of the International Lexus Short Films initiative.
- 6/15/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Anya Beyersdorf is an actress (Blue Heelers, Crownies) turned director, whose 2014 short Gayby.was made as a Masters project at the Sydney College of the Arts before touring to festivals at home and abroad.
While studying she was taught screenwriting by Blue Murder's Ian David, and "fell hard" for it.
Her new film, Vampir, was produced by Nicole Coventry and will premiere at next month's St Kilda Film Festival..
Off the back of it, Beyersdorf was also shortlisted for Sydney Film Festival's Lexus Short Film Fellowship, presided over by Judy Davis.
Vampir came out of a single image, of "a guy walking across a field", said Beyersdorf.
"I started to think how easy it is to misunderstand people, and to judge people by the way that they look, and for the consequences to be quite full on."
To play the lead role, she enlisted Tony Rogers, a director best...
While studying she was taught screenwriting by Blue Murder's Ian David, and "fell hard" for it.
Her new film, Vampir, was produced by Nicole Coventry and will premiere at next month's St Kilda Film Festival..
Off the back of it, Beyersdorf was also shortlisted for Sydney Film Festival's Lexus Short Film Fellowship, presided over by Judy Davis.
Vampir came out of a single image, of "a guy walking across a field", said Beyersdorf.
"I started to think how easy it is to misunderstand people, and to judge people by the way that they look, and for the consequences to be quite full on."
To play the lead role, she enlisted Tony Rogers, a director best...
- 4/27/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
(L - R) Judy Davis, Adrian Weimers, Nashen Moodley.
The Weinstein Company has shortlisted 21 Australian filmmakers for the Lexus Australian Short Film Fellowship, the largest cash fellowship for short film in Australia.
Judy Davis is presiding over the selection process as jury chair alongside jury members Nashen Moodley (Sydney Film Festival Director) Lexus Australia.s Adrian Weimers, and Australian producers Jan Chapman and Darren Dale..
The jury will select select up to four filmmakers, each of whom will receive a $50,000 Fellowship grant..
The four successful candidates will be announced at the Sydney Film Festival (June 8-19 2016).
The shortlisted filmmakers are:
Alex Murawski (Nsw)
Alex Ryan (Nsw)
Anya Beyersdorf (Nsw)
Billie Pleffer (Nsw)
Brooke Goldfinch (Nsw)
Genevieve Clay-Smith (Nsw)
Hazel Annikki Savolainen (Nsw)
Gene Jacobie Gray (Nsw)
Lucy Gaffy (Nsw)
Tim Russell (Nsw)
Venetia Taylor (Nsw)
Dave Redman (Vic)
David Hansen (Vic)
James Vinson (Vic)
Victoria Thaine (Vic)
Mikey Hill (Vic...
The Weinstein Company has shortlisted 21 Australian filmmakers for the Lexus Australian Short Film Fellowship, the largest cash fellowship for short film in Australia.
Judy Davis is presiding over the selection process as jury chair alongside jury members Nashen Moodley (Sydney Film Festival Director) Lexus Australia.s Adrian Weimers, and Australian producers Jan Chapman and Darren Dale..
The jury will select select up to four filmmakers, each of whom will receive a $50,000 Fellowship grant..
The four successful candidates will be announced at the Sydney Film Festival (June 8-19 2016).
The shortlisted filmmakers are:
Alex Murawski (Nsw)
Alex Ryan (Nsw)
Anya Beyersdorf (Nsw)
Billie Pleffer (Nsw)
Brooke Goldfinch (Nsw)
Genevieve Clay-Smith (Nsw)
Hazel Annikki Savolainen (Nsw)
Gene Jacobie Gray (Nsw)
Lucy Gaffy (Nsw)
Tim Russell (Nsw)
Venetia Taylor (Nsw)
Dave Redman (Vic)
David Hansen (Vic)
James Vinson (Vic)
Victoria Thaine (Vic)
Mikey Hill (Vic...
- 3/23/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
When we last highlighted the work of talented Australian director Anya Beyersdorf in these pages it was with the teaser for her upcoming short film Vampir, and if that happened to whet the appetite for more of Beyersdorf's work then you're in luck. Because her previous short film, Gayby, was a finalist at Australia's prestigious Tropfest festival and that festival has just posted the complete film online. It's an atmospheric coming of age story with a healthy dose of whimsy and you can check the entire film below!...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 11/16/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Acclaimed Australian writer-director Anya Beyersdorf (Gayby) returns to screens with her new short, Vampir, which we last heard of back in March when she was running a crowd funding campaign to source the final bit of their budget for the project. That campaign since successful and the film now nearing completion, the first trailer has arrived online to give a taste.When a strange loner comes in to town, a bloody encounter with the local youth will reveal the true nature of what it means to be human.Take a look below!...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 8/13/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Get the wallets warmed up, kids, because acclaimed Australian writer-director Anya Beyersdorf is looking for a modest bit of support to bring her Vampir to life. Vampir is the story of Vladimir, a strange loner who lives in an old hut on the edge of town. One night he comes in from the fields for food. The frustrated, violent youth of the town haunt the shops, breaking things and tormenting a small kitten. Vladimir and Piotr are destined to meet, but their strengths and weaknesses will be found in unexpected places.Vampir is an Australian short film with an edge. Inspired by an Eastern Bloc aesthetic, that will be reflected in the shooting style (by award-winning cinematographer Warwick Field), production design (by Emmeline Dulhunty), and original score (by...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 3/4/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Political thriller The Code took the major Awgie award as well as the trophy for best original miniseries at the Australian Writers. Guild awards on Friday night.
The six-hour series, which premieres on ABC on September 21, is written by Blake Ayshford, Shelley Birse and Justin Monjo and produced by Playmaker Media. The major Awgie recognises the best of the night's winners across stage, screen, new media and radio.
The feature film award went to Adelaide writer Matthew Cormack for his first debut feature 52 Tuesdays, the gender-bending drama hailed as .bold and structurally adventurous..
Winner of the best documentary prize was Sally McKenzie for A Woman.s Journey Into Sex.
Andrew Knight was rewarded for his script for Essential Media and Entertainment.s telemovie The Broken Shore, adapted from the Peter Temple novel. Writer/director Peter Duncan won best TV series script for Essential.s Rake.
Niki Aken and Felicity Packard...
The six-hour series, which premieres on ABC on September 21, is written by Blake Ayshford, Shelley Birse and Justin Monjo and produced by Playmaker Media. The major Awgie recognises the best of the night's winners across stage, screen, new media and radio.
The feature film award went to Adelaide writer Matthew Cormack for his first debut feature 52 Tuesdays, the gender-bending drama hailed as .bold and structurally adventurous..
Winner of the best documentary prize was Sally McKenzie for A Woman.s Journey Into Sex.
Andrew Knight was rewarded for his script for Essential Media and Entertainment.s telemovie The Broken Shore, adapted from the Peter Temple novel. Writer/director Peter Duncan won best TV series script for Essential.s Rake.
Niki Aken and Felicity Packard...
- 9/5/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Australian film Black & White & Sex has been voted in the top three favourite films in its opening weekend at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam.
Producer John Winter (Rabbit-Proof Fence, Doing Time for Patsy Cline), in his directorial debut . a film-within-a-film about a sex worker who is determined to set the record straight about sex . secured an outstanding response from audience members for his provocative film which speaks honestly and openly about sex and sexuality.
The Upc Audience Award, which is voted by the public, saw Martin Scorsese's Hugo at number one and Les géants (translated as The Giants) at number two.
Written and directed by Winter and produced by Melissa Beauford, the Titan View-distributed film had a positive response last year when it screened at the Sydney Film Festival. In a forthright discussion between a documentary filmmaker (Matthew Holmes) and a sex worker, Angie, the different facets of...
Producer John Winter (Rabbit-Proof Fence, Doing Time for Patsy Cline), in his directorial debut . a film-within-a-film about a sex worker who is determined to set the record straight about sex . secured an outstanding response from audience members for his provocative film which speaks honestly and openly about sex and sexuality.
The Upc Audience Award, which is voted by the public, saw Martin Scorsese's Hugo at number one and Les géants (translated as The Giants) at number two.
Written and directed by Winter and produced by Melissa Beauford, the Titan View-distributed film had a positive response last year when it screened at the Sydney Film Festival. In a forthright discussion between a documentary filmmaker (Matthew Holmes) and a sex worker, Angie, the different facets of...
- 1/30/2012
- by Aleksandra Popovic
- IF.com.au
Every so often an Australian actor makes the leap into directing (with various degrees of success) by joining the overpopulated Australian short film circuit. Some recent examples that spring to mind are Damien Walshe-Howling, Damon Gameau, Angus Sampson and Matilda Brown. Now we have the awesome short film debut of Anya Beyersdorf, who has previously been on screen in lots of shorts and a couple of features, including the just-selected-for-Rotterdam art film Black & White & Sex and another ampersand gem, Rats & Cats - playing opposite the guy who dresses in a dog suit on FX series Wilfred. For whatever reason Anya decided to eschew the festival route, instead sending it around to a few acquaintances -- including me -- to premiere it online. I'm totally biased but it's excellent. The short, Headroom, is part...
- 1/24/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Three Australian feature films and one short have been selected to screen at the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam, 25 january – 5 February.
Two films, writer/director John Winter’s Black & White & Sex and writer/director Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Hail will feature in the Bright Future section of the festival which presents debut or second feature films.
Black & White & Sex stars Katherine Hicks, Anya Beyersdorf, Dina Panozzo, Saskia Burmeister and Matthew Holmes to explore sex and sexuality.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Hail is the story of love and loss based on real life partners, and actors in the film, Daniel P Jones and Leanne Letch. Hail had its world premiere at Venice International Film Festival.
Selected to screen the festival’s closing night is The Hunter, produced by Vincent Sheehan and directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, its the story of a mercenary (Willem Dafoe) hunting the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger.
Two films, writer/director John Winter’s Black & White & Sex and writer/director Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Hail will feature in the Bright Future section of the festival which presents debut or second feature films.
Black & White & Sex stars Katherine Hicks, Anya Beyersdorf, Dina Panozzo, Saskia Burmeister and Matthew Holmes to explore sex and sexuality.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Hail is the story of love and loss based on real life partners, and actors in the film, Daniel P Jones and Leanne Letch. Hail had its world premiere at Venice International Film Festival.
Selected to screen the festival’s closing night is The Hunter, produced by Vincent Sheehan and directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, its the story of a mercenary (Willem Dafoe) hunting the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger.
- 1/17/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Today's pick for the Sydney Film Festival Trailer of the Day is Black & White & Sex. Here's what the Sff Program says about the film: Australian producer John Winter (Rabbit-Proof Fence, Doing Time for Patsy Cline) makes his directorial debut with a conceptually daring work that adopts a film-within-a-film structure. Angie (played alternately by Katherine Hicks, Anya Beyersdorf, Valerie Bader, Roxane Wilson, Michelle Vergara Moore, Dina Panozzo, Saskia Burmeister and Maia Thomas) is a sex worker being interviewed by a director (Matthew Holmes) who is making a film about sex. Determined to set the record straight about love, seduction and power, Angie's interview is erotic, funny and confronting. Her intellectual striptease and no-holes-barred approach to talking about sex ultimately turns the tables, exposes...
- 6/19/2011
- Screen Anarchy
SXSW is one of my favorite festivals of the year as it showcases some of the best and most innovative real independent films, and with this host of world premiers, it's also playing alot of Sundance material as well as genre fare from all over the world, many of which we've covered heavily in these pages.
From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.
For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.
I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..
Lineup after the break.
Narrative Features Competition
Artois the Goat
Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart
Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...
From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.
For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.
I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..
Lineup after the break.
Narrative Features Competition
Artois the Goat
Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart
Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...
- 2/2/2009
- QuietEarth.us
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