Ted Hope is one of the most respected and dynamic independent producers in the US. The successful applicant will receive $40,000 from Screen Australia to support their six-month placement working with Ted at his New York-based production company Double Hope Films, commencing in August 2012.

Emerging in the early 1990s with his phenomenal company Good Machine, Ted has remained at the forefront of new technologies, consistently delivering vital and exciting work. He has produced and executive produced over 40 films, including 21 Grams, In the Bedroom, Happiness and American Splendor. More recently he produced Martha Marcy May Marlene, Collaborator and Dark Horse. With a keen eye for strong talent, Ted has 21 ‘first features’ under his belt, including those of Alan Ball, Todd Field, Michel Gondry, Hal Hartley and Ang Lee.

The ideal candidate will have an interest not only in development and production, but also in social media, marketing and distribution. In addition to his busy slate of films, Ted Hope is currently developing new distribution models for independent filmmakers and is considered a leading innovator in this field. The successful applicant stands to gain invaluable skills and experience in numerous areas of the independent film sector in the US.

Screen Australia is inviting applications from talented producers who have either one feature film credit, or who have produced at least two outstanding short films. The guidelines and application form are available at www.screenaustralia.gov.au/TedHopeinternship

The application deadline is Friday 22 June 2012.

For further information contact the Development Department on 1800 507 901 or development@screenaustralia.gov.au

Among the projects to receive investment are two projects from the National Documentary Program: Grey Man, a one-hour ABC documentary, and the SBS series Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl.

Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl is a landmark four-part series about Lebanese migrant settlement in Western Sydney which follows the hugely successful Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta that screened early this year on SBS. The series will be produced by Tim Toni and executive produced by Sue Clothier.

“I’m thrilled to announce investment in the SBS series Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl,” said Screen Australia’s Documentary Manager Liz Stevens. “This important series will again strongly resonate with the local community.”

“It’s really encouraging to see that one-off documentaries still have a place in broadcasters’ schedules and I’m sure audiences will find the six powerful and unique films announced today compelling viewing,” said Ms Stevens.

Grey Man follows serving and former Australian soldiers and police who rescue children from the sex trade in Thailand. The film will be produced, written and directed by Luigi Acquisto and also produced by Stella Zammataro.

Documentaries to receive investment from the General Documentary Program include Licence to Kill from producer/director Terry Carlyon who will seek answers to the tragic chain of events set in motion when police use firearms in the course of duty. This ABC documentary is also produced by Robyn Miller.

Writer/director/producer John Hughes’s ABC documentary Love and Fury looks at one of the best-kept secrets in Australian literary and political public life – the 25-year clandestine relationship of Judith Wright and HC ‘Nugget’ Coombs. Producer Philippa Campey and writer Penelope Chai are also attached to this project.

Producer Laurie Critchley and writer/director Aviva Ziegler’s ABC documentary Plumpton High Babies: 10 Years On will focus on four teenage mums who revisit the success of a radical experiment to keep them at school.

The Sunnyboy is an ABC documentary from producer Tom Zubrycki and writer/director Kaye Harrison about schizophrenia told through the story of the lauded singer/songwriter of the 80s band ‘The Sunnyboys’ on the eve of their comeback.

SBS documentary The Surgery Ship will follow a team of Australian doctors and nurses over a year who sail to one of the poorest nations on earth to provide life-saving medical supplies and services. The film will be produced and directed by Madeleine Hetherton and will also be produced by Rebecca Barry.

NATIONAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM (NDP)

GREY MAN
57 mins
FairTrade Films Pty Ltd
Writer/Director/Producer Luigi Acquisto
Producer Stella Zammataro
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis This powerful, suspenseful documentary embeds itself with a daring group of serving or former Australian soldiers and police as they rescue children from the sex trade in Thailand, often from the reach of Australian paedophiles.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN PUNCHBOWL
4 x 52 mins
Northern Pictures
Executive Producer Sue Clothier
Series Producer Tim Toni
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl is a landmark television series about Lebanese migrant settlement in Western Sydney.

GENERAL DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM

LICENCE TO KILL
57 mins
DD & B Productions Pty Ltd
Producer/Director Terry Carlyon
Producer Robyn Miller 
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Licence to Kill seeks answers to the tragic chain of events that is set in motion when police use firearms in the course of duty – tragedy for both the shooting victims and the police who pull the trigger.

LOVE AND FURY
27 mins
Early Works
Writer/Director/Producer John Hughes
Producer Philippa Campey
Writer Penelope Chai   
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis On 1 January 2009, the National Library of Australia lifted an embargo on the private correspondence between Judith Wright and HC ‘Nugget’ Coombs, making public their clandestine relationship of 25 years, one of the best-kept secrets in Australian literary and political public life.

PLUMPTON HIGH BABIES: 10 YEARS ON
57 mins
Australian Documentaries Pty Ltd
Producer Laurie Critchley
Writer/Director Aviva Ziegler    
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Four teenage mums revisit the success of a radical experiment to keep them at school.

THE SUNNYBOY
56 mins
Jotz Productions
Producer Tom Zubrycki
Writer/Director Kaye Harrison
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Commissioned by the ABC, The Sunnyboy is a documentary by director/dop Kaye Harrison and producer Tom Zubrycki about Jeremy Oxley, front man of the 80's band the Sunnyboys , his 30 year battle with schizophrenia, his struggle for recovery and his triumphant return to the stage.

THE SURGERY SHIP
52 mins
Media Stockade
Producer/Director Madeleine Hetherton
Producer Rebecca Barry
Broadcaster SBS
Synopsis A team of Australian doctors and nurses on board a unique ship, crammed with medical supplies, is sailing to one of the poorest nations on earth to provide life-saving medical services – they have just one year.

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

My Thai Bride was supported by Screen Australia and screened in Hot Docs’ International Spectrum program – a curated competition of diverse works from around the world. The film details the ensuing demise of Ted, a 46-year-old Welshman, after his marriage to a poor Thai bar girl.

On awarding the prize the jury said, “My Thai Bride is a film that takes the story of an unlikely couple and through subtle analysis extends their human dramas into a moving examination of political, cultural and economic power dynamics. It is a film that destabilises its viewer’s empathy through a nuanced and even-handed portrayal of charged, contradictory terrain, and reframes who exactly is the conqueror and conquered.”

Australian documentaries Despite the Gods (d: Penny Vozniak) and Scarlet Road (d: Catherine Scott) also screened at the festival.

For more information about Hot Docs visit: www.hotdocs.ca

DESPITE THE GODS
(85 mins)
Production Company House of Gary
Director Penny Vozniak
Producer Karina Astrup
Synopsis An overly ambitious Bollywood/Hollywood production about a man-eating snake goddess becomes an exercise in self-actualisation rather than effective filmmaking. An unforgiving behind-the-scenes look at Jennifer Lynch’s disastrous return to filmmaking after a 15-year hiatus.

MY THAI BRIDE
(55 mins)
Production Company Showreal Productions
Director/Producer David Tucker
Writer Ashleigh Hooker
Synopsis Ted marries a Thai bar girl but when his money runs out the marriage ends and he returns to the UK destitute, having learned what his Thai wife already knew: without money you lose everything.

SCARLET ROAD
(70 mins)
Production Company Paradigm Pictures
Director/Co-producer Catherine Scott
Producer Pat Fiske
Synopsis Driven by her passion for free sexual expression and the rights of sex trade workers, Australian sex trade worker Rachel Wotton specialises in a long over-looked clientele – those with disabilities.

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

The projects approved include two comedy series: House Husbands, a 10-part series for the Nine Network, and Mr & Mrs Murder, a 13-part comedy/crime series for Network Ten. The Broken Shore, an ABC telemovie adapted from the Peter Temple novel of the same name, and Get Ace, a 26-part animated children’s comedy series for Network Ten, were also approved.

“It’s great to announce such an eclectic slate of television projects today,” said Screen Australia’s Chief Executive Ruth Harley. “So far this financial year we’ve invested in 116 hours of quality Australian adult and children’s television drama gearing up in excess of $100 million worth of production.”

House Husbands is produced by Sue Seeary and Drew Proffitt and tells the story of four modern Australian families through the eyes of stay at home dads in charge of raising the kids. The series is written by Ellie Beaumont, Michael Miller, Blake Ayshford, Drew Proffitt, Christine Bartlett, Leon Ford and Matt Ford, directed by Geoff Bennett and Shirley Barrett with David Taylor and David Maher on board as executive producers.

Mr & Mrs Murder is about a married couple with a cleaning business who solve the crimes that cops can’t and features Shaun Micallef and Kat Stewart. It is to be produced by Andy Walker and Jason Stephens with Stephens also executive producing. The series is written by John Banas, Jonathan Gavin, John Hugginson, Doug MacLeod, Christine Bartlett, Katherine Thomson, Marieke Hardy and Glen Dolman.

Telemovie The Broken Shore comes from producer Ian Collie, writer Andrew Knight and director Jeffrey Walker, and the children’s series Get Ace comes from producers Gian Christian and Dina McPherson. Get Ace is written by Dina McPherson, Ray Boseley and Brendon Luno.

TELEVISION DRAMA

THE BROKEN SHORE
Essential Media & Entertainment
Producer Ian Collie
Writer Andrew Knight
Director Jeffrey Walker
International Sales eOne, Hopscotch
Australian Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Soon after big-city detective Joe Cashin is posted to a quiet town on the Australian coast the whole community is thrown into unrest by the murder of a local philanthropist, a man with some very disturbing secrets.

HOUSE HUSBANDS
Playmaker Media
Producers Sue Seeary, Drew Proffitt
Executive Producers David Taylor, David Maher
Writers Ellie Beaumont, Michael Miller, Blake Ayshford, Drew Proffitt, Christine Bartlett, Leon Ford, Matt Ford
Directors Geoff Bennett, Shirley Barrett
International Sales Nine Network
Australian Broadcaster Nine Network
Synopsis House Husbands is a comedy drama about four modern families with one thing in common – the men are in charge of raising the kids. A warm, funny and real look at the way we live today, House Husbands proves that just because you have kids doesn’t mean you stop acting like one.

MR & MRS MURDER
FremantleMedia Australia Pty Ltd in association with Bravado Productions
Producers Andy Walker, Jason Stephens
Executive Producer Jason Stephens
Writers John Banas, Jonathan Gavin, John Hugginson, Doug MacLeod, Christine Bartlett, Katherine Thomson, Marieke Hardy, Glen Dolman
Director TBC
International Sales DCD Rights
Australian Broadcaster Ten Network
Synopsis A clean freak with a heightened sense of justice, and a misfit with an encyclopaedic knowledge of just about everything, married couple Nicola and Charlie run an extreme cleaning business which specialises in crime scenes. Armed with wit, smarts and the invisibility that cleaning brings, the duo solve the crimes the cops can’t in a murder mystery with a smile.

CHILDREN’S TELEVISION

GET ACE
Galaxy Pop Pty Ltd
Producers Gian Christian, Dina McPherson
Writers Dina McPherson, Ray Boseley, Brendan Luno
International Sales Moonscoop
Australian Broadcaster Ten Network
Synopsis Meet Ace McDougal... just your average, everyday nerdy school kid... Well he was, until he happened to be in the wrong dentist’s chair at the wrong time and accidentally said the wrong secret codeword. Next thing he knew he’d been fitted with a set of top-secret, ultra high-tech experimental braces. From that moment on he’s catapulted – teeth first – into one oddball adventure after another! Now he’s the kid proving you’re never too nerdy to be cool!

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

Inspired by Tony Briggs' uplifting, hit stage-play of the same name, The Sapphires is adapted for the screen by Briggs and Keith Thompson and is produced by Rosemary Blight and Kylie du Fresne of Goalpost Pictures Australia.

The Sapphires is a musical comedy set against the social upheaval of the late 1960s. It stars Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell as an all-girl singing group who are discovered by an unlikely talent scout, played by Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids). Plucked from obscurity on a remote Australian Aboriginal mission, the girls are branded as Australia’s answer to The Supremes and dropped into the jungles of Vietnam to entertain the troops.

Screen Australia is a major investor in the film, which has already achieved significant sales around the world.

“Selection into Cannes, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, will truly launch The Sapphires on the international stage,” said Screen Australia’s Chief Executive Ruth Harley. “There’s something very special about this film and there’s a huge amount of buzz about it already. I’d like to congratulate the filmmakers on this wonderful achievement.”

Twelve other Australian feature films will also be on show this year at Cannes, screening in the marketplace.

The short film Yardbird which received funding through Screen Australia’s Short Film Completion program will screen in Official Competition. Yardbird is directed by Michael Spiccia, produced by Jessica Mitchell and written by Julius Avery, who won the Cannes Jury Prize for his film Jerrycan in 2008. The 13-minute film is about a young girl who takes on the local bullies that torment her father. The screening at Cannes will mark its world premiere.

More than 300 Australians are expected to attend Cannes in 2012. Screen Australia will host a number of networking business-focused events during the festival. The agency is also running an induction program for emerging producers as well as targeted activities for more established practitioners.

The Cannes Film Festival takes place 16–27 May 2012 in France.
www.festival-cannes.com

THE SAPPHIRES
Production Company Goalpost Pictures Australia
Producers Rosemary Blight, Kylie du Fresne
Executive Producers Ben Grant, Tristan Whalley
Writers Tony Briggs, Keith Thompson
Director Wayne Blair
Sales and Distribution Goalpost Film, Hopscotch Films
Synopsis Gail, Cynthia, Julie and Kay are sexy, black, young and talented – and they’ve never set foot outside Australia. Until, in the chaos of 1968, they’re plucked from the obscurity of a remote Aboriginal mission, branded as Australia’s answer to The Supremes, and – grasping the chance of a lifetime – dropped into the jungles of Vietnam to entertain the troops. Inspired by the hit stage-play of the same name.

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

Three Australian documentaries are screening in competition over the next week at Hot Docs. Held in Toronto, Canada, Hot Docs is North America’s largest documentary festival.

Penny Vozniak’s Despite the Gods will have its international premiere at Hot Docs, screening in the World Showcase program. Despite the Gods tells the story of Jennifer Lynch’s disastrous return to filmmaking as she delves into an ambitious Bollywood/Hollywood production.

Also screening in the World Showcase program is Catherine Scott’s Scarlet Road which follows Australian sex worker Rachel Wotton who, impassioned about freedom of sexual expression, works with clients who have disabilities.

David Tucker’s My Thai Bride will screen in the International Spectrum program. My Thai Bride details the ensuing demise of a 46-year-old Welshman after his marriage to a poor Thai bar girl.

This year’s Hot Docs will showcase 189 films selected from 2,085 submissions. Also a premier documentary conference and market, Hot Docs will welcome over 2,000 industry delegates who will partake in a wide array of industry events and services, including conferences sessions, The Doc Shop and the Hot Docs Forum.

Hot Docs takes place 26 April–6 May 2012. For more information visit: www.hotdocs.ca

DESPITE THE GODS
(85 mins)
Production Company House of Gary
Director Penny Vozniak
Producer Karina Astrup
Synopsis An overly ambitious Bollywood/Hollywood production about a man-eating snake goddess becomes an exercise in self-actualisation rather than effective filmmaking. An unforgiving behind-the-scenes look at Jennifer Lynch’s disastrous return to filmmaking after a 15-year hiatus.

MY THAI BRIDE
(55 mins)
Production Company Showreal Productions
Director/Producer David Tucker
Writer Ashleigh Hooker
Synopsis Ted marries a Thai bar girl but when his money runs out the marriage ends and he returns to the UK destitute, having learned what his Thai wife already knew: without money you lose everything.

SCARLET ROAD
(70 mins)
Production Company Paradigm Pictures
Director/Co-producer Catherine Scott
Producer Pat Fiske
Synopsis Driven by her passion for free sexual expression and the rights of sex trade workers, Australian sex trade worker Rachel Wotton specialises in a long over-looked clientele – those with disabilities.

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

Tristram Miall will participate in the consideration of all LOI and production investment applications, as well as advise on projects after investment is confirmed. In addition, for each round of production investment applications, a second specialist will be drawn from a select group of distinguished working practitioners with demonstrated experience across a wide range of projects. Some will assess only one round while others will participate in more than one round, subject to availability.

These industry specialists include Andrew Bovell, Jan Chapman, Marcus D’Arcy, Chris Noonan, Neil Peplow and Joan Sauers. To view their biographies visit: www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding/business/Industry_specialists.aspx

Screen Australia’s Chief Executive Ruth Harley said, “Firstly, I want to acknowledge the significant contributions that Victoria Treole and Matthew Dabner have made to Screen Australia during their time with us in supporting Australian stories and filmmakers.

“External industry specialists bring an independent industry perspective to Screen Australia’s decision-making processes. Having one consistent person available for all funding rounds contributes to a context and depth of knowledge across Screen Australia’s feature film slate. Drawing the other from the group of industry specialists will enable Screen Australia to work with experienced senior practitioners from various disciplines who are actively working in the industry. This approach will enable Screen Australia to manage any conflicts of interest that will naturally arise within such an active group of senior practitioners.

“Consistent with our disciplined conflict of interest policy, industry specialists must declare any conflict of interest in a project. They would then not participate in the funding round the project is considered at, allowing us to draw on the expertise of another industry specialist from the group,” said Dr Harley.

The two main changes to the revised Feature Film Production Guidelines are to:

• provide more flexibility by making Letters of Interest available at an earlier stage in the financing process so that producers can respond to marketplace feedback without already being locked into deals

• consider financing decisions at more Board meetings per year – eight rather than the current four – reducing the need for producers to submit a project before it’s ready just to make a deadline.

Dr Harley continued, “Screen Australia believes the revised approach will make Letters of Interest a more useful tool in the marketplace by making them available at a slightly earlier stage. The less onerous application process will also be beneficial to producers. We’ll monitor and review the LOI program after a period of operation to assess its effectiveness in assisting the financing process and look forward to feedback from producers on how it goes.

“Screen Australia plays an important role in ensuring Australian feature films can be made in a competitive environment. We hope the changes to the guidelines help producers in the difficult task of raising finance.”

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

Screen Australia plays an important leadership role in providing authoritative research and strategic analysis on the screen production sector. Projects funded through the Research Partnerships Program must align with Screen Australia’s strategic interests by exploring current issues and future challenges of audience development and business sustainability in the Australian screen sector.

The Research Partnerships Program is focused on creating substantive research outcomes, by leveraging contributions from partnerships with higher education researchers in Linkage Projects supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Proposals must be from higher education researchers looking to work with Screen Australia as a Partner Organisation in an ARC Linkage Project. See www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/lp/lp_default.htm

We anticipate receiving proposals twice annually, related to ARC Linkage funding rounds. Screen Australia deadlines for 2012 are 29 June 2012 and 10 December 2012.

More information about eligibility requirements and the application process is available at www.screenaustralia.gov.au/ResearchPartnerships

Dr Harley said, “The Australian Embassy in Beijing, through the Australia-China Film Industry Forum, is once again providing an ideal opportunity for Australian producers to establish and further build relationships with Chinese producers and production companies.”

The Australia-China Film Industry Forum coincides with the opening of the second Beijing International Film Festival. The 2012 event builds on the highly successful inaugural Australia-China Film Industry Forum in December 2010. The Forum is an invitation-only event held on Monday 23 April and will include panel sessions and presentations by high-profile Australian film industry experts and leading world-class producers and directors. It will also provide opportunities for industry networking.

“With two official Australian-Chinese co-productions released in 2011, and more Australian films being seen on Chinese screens, this Forum speaks to a bright future for the joint outcomes of our shared experience, skills and talents,” said Dr Harley.

2012 Australia-China Film Industry Forum speakers include:

Dr Ruth Harley, Chief Executive Officer, Screen Australia
Miao Xiaotian, Vice-President, Beijing Film Production Corporation, China Film Corporation Limited
Chris Oliver, Senior Manager, State and Industry Partnerships, Screen Australia
Alaric McAusland, Chairman/Managing Director, Ausfilm/Deluxe Australia
Geoff Brown, Executive Director, Screen Producers Association of Australia
Ellen Eliasoph, President and Chief Executive Officer, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia
Mario Andreacchio, Chairman/Executive Director, Australia-China Screen Alliance/AMPCO Films (Producer of the first official Australia-China film co-production The Dragon Pearl)
Mathew Alderson, Partner, Asia Pacific, Harris & Moure Attorneys

Australian delegation

Delegation leader: Dr Ruth Harley, Chief Executive Officer, Screen Australia

Chris Oliver, Senior Manager, State and Industry Partnerships, Screen Australia
Alaric McAusland, Chairman of Ausfilm, Managing Director of Deluxe Australia, SPAA TVC, Services & Facilities Councillor
Debra Richards, Chief Executive Officer, Ausfilm
Defrim Isai, Director, Production Investment, ScreenWest
Geoff Brown, Executive Director, Screen Producers Association of Australia

Companies in alphabetical order:

Mario Andreacchio, Executive Director and Producer, AMPCO Films
Gary Hamilton, Founder and Executive Producer, Arclight Films – Lord of War, Strictly Ballroom, Two Hands
Michael Tear, Managing Director, Bearcage Films
Paul Sullivan, Producer, Benchmark Films
Jane Cameron, Director, Cameron Creswell Agency
Carmelo Musca, Producer, CM Film Productions
Pauline Chan, Producer and Director, Darkroom Films
Chris Hilton, Executive Producer and CEO, Essential Media and Entertainment
Deidre Kitcher, Managing Director, Filmscope Entertainment
Rosemary Blight, Producer, Goalpost Pictures Australia – Clubland, The Eternity Man, The Tree
Doug Mitchell, Producer, Kennedy Miller Mitchell – Happy Feet (Oscar® winner), Babe (Oscar® winner), Happy Feet Two
Lynda Woods, Producer, NJM Worldwide
Ian Hart, Principal, Peace Mountain Productions
Pamela Wilson Endrina, Principal, Red Tiger Productions
Emile Sherman, Founder, Producer, See-Saw Films – The King’s Speech (Oscar® winner), Rabbit-Proof Fence
John Dietz, Principal, VisPop
Alan Lindsay, Managing Director, Vue Group
Lesley Hammond, Principal, Wild Candy

The event has been made possible through the generous support of the Australian Embassy in Beijing,  the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with partners Screen Australia and Ausfilm.

Media contacts: to discuss the possibility of an interview with Australian delegation members or Forum speakers, please contact Ms Katie Tian Katie.Tian@dfat.gov.au, Tel 010 5140 4225 or Ms Jin Wen Wen.Jin@dfat.gov.au, Tel 010 5140 4297.

Yardbird is produced by Jessica Mitchell and written by Julius Avery, who won the Cannes Jury Prize for his film Jerrycan in 2008. The 13-minute short film is about a young girl who takes on the local bullies that torment her father.

The film was produced by Buffalo Films and Bridle Path Films, a directors’ collective founded by Julius Avery in 2011 in association with Good Oil Films. The screening at Cannes will mark Yardbird’s world premiere.

Yardbird received funding through Screen Australia’s Short Film Completion program.

“This is such a thrill and an absolute honour. I cannot wait to share this experience with my partners and fellow directors in Cannes,” said director Michael Spiccia upon receiving the news.

“Selection at an event like Cannes is a tremendous vote of confidence in Australia’s emerging filmmaking talent. Congratulations to the team involved,” said Kathleen Drumm, Screen Australia’s Head of Marketing.

YARDBIRD
(13.5 mins)
Production Company Buffalo Films and Bridle Path Films in association with Good Oil Films
Producer Jessica Mitchell 
Writer Julius Avery 
Director Michael Spiccia 
Cast Mitzi Ruhlmann, Wade Briggs, Luke Elliot, James Malcher, Matt Callan
Sales jessica@buffalofilms.com.au
Synopsis Yardbird is a film about a young girl who lives in a remote wrecking yard who takes on the local bullies when they travel out to torment her father. 

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

Screen Australia will join ABC Television as a member of the Supervisory Board of the AAS and, with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will provide financial support for up to 10 Australian producers to attend the inaugural AAS in Kuala Lumpur 10-11 December 2012.

The AAS brings together four regional screen agencies – Korea Creative Content Agency, Multimedia Development Corporation of Malaysia, Media Development Authority of Singapore and Screen Australia – to assist producers of animation in the Asian region to find finance and co-production partnerships for their projects.

“This is an ideal opportunity to support producers to build complimentary and collaborative international relationships in our region,” said Screen Australia’s CEO, Ruth Harley. “We’re looking forward to working together with our sister organisations in Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore to create new opportunities in children’s programming.”

The AAS will provide a platform for animation producers to present two types of projects to potential co-producers, broadcasters and distributors – partially-financed projects seeking production finance, and projects in development seeking market feedback and financing interest.

The event will be attended by regional broadcasters and producers. A number of international distributors and broadcasters from Europe and North America will also attend.

Kim Dalton, Director of ABC Television, said, “ABC Television is delighted to support this initiative to assist Australian animation producers in securing Asian co-production and financing partners for their projects. We believe that Asian partnerships are key to maintaining the supply of quality animation for our children’s audience on both our digital channels, ABC3 and ABC4Kids, in the future.”

The Canadian publishing and event-organising company Brunico (operator of two other international television events – Kidscreen for kids television and Realscreen for factual television) has been appointed as the Event Services Partner for the AAS.

Information about submitting projects to the AAS will be available from Screen Australia later in the year.

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

After a successful first year of partnership in 2011, Screen Australia and IFP are enabling selection of up to three Australian projects for this prestigious market, which chooses only 40 projects annually from around the world.

No Borders is the oldest and most prominent co-production market in the US for narrative projects and provides producers with the chance to secure financing for their feature projects through one-on-one meetings, informal roundtable discussions and networking events.

The program is open to established American and international producers. All projects must have a minimum of 20 per cent financing in place. Producers will be selected on the strength and artistic merit of their projects in advanced development.

Selected producers will have access to a diverse range of carefully tailored activity:

• Project Forum: Emerging Narrative, No Borders, Independent Filmmaker Labs and Spotlight on Documentaries programs.
• Independent Filmmaker Forum: workshops, discussions and case studies providing access to innovators and icons of independent cinema.
• Festival Forum: a gathering of international and US film festival programmers.
• Sneak Preview Screening Series: where IFP alumni filmmakers introduce new works.

Once selected, IFP will provide Australian producers with professional pitching and industry consultation prior to participation.

Screen Australia will shortlist projects before final consideration by the No Borders IFP Selection Team. The submission deadline for applications to Screen Australia is Tuesday 24 April 2012.

The No Borders Co‐Production Market will be held 16–20 September 2012.
For guidelines and application forms see www.screenaustralia.gov.au/marketing/Int_Pitch_Forums/NoBorders.aspx

For enquiries please contact Dale Fairbairn, Marketing Manager Industry Support, on 02 8113 5980 or dale.fairbairn@screenaustralia.gov.au

ABC TV is looking to commission up to six one-off films to form an insightful and entertaining series that will look at contemporary Australian life and appeal to a broad audience.

ABC TV Head of Documentaries, Alan Erson, says, “Opening Shot series 1 shows  the next generation of documentary makers have distinctive voices and visions. I can’t wait to see what Opening Shot series 2 brings.”

Screen Australia’s Documentary Manager, Liz Stevens, says, “It’s really important for younger filmmakers to have an opportunity to develop their craft and it’s hard to get a break in an industry that relies on experience. Opening Shot offers a chance for them to have a go.”

Applicants can apply for up to $80,000 for each half-hour documentary. To be eligible, the director must be 35 or under at 1 June 2012.

Guidelines and application forms can be found online from today at www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding/documentary/openingshot.aspx and www.abc.net.au/independent

Applications close at 5pm on Friday 1 June 2012.

Media Enquiries
Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995
teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au