Production Investment for Films, Television, Online & Mobile Phone Project Decisions

MAY 2011

Title: CROKER ISLAND EXODUS
Factual One Off
Tamarind Tree Pictures Pty Ltd
Producer: Anna Grieve
Director: Steven McGregor
Writer/s: Danielle MacLean, Steven McGregor
April 1942, as the Japanese bomb Darwin, 95 Aboriginal children and their missionary caregivers evacuate their tiny island and make a remarkable epic journey across the continent. In 44 days they travel 3,000 miles. This is their story in their own words - one of Australia's truly heroic and untold journeys.April 1942, as the Japanese bomb Darwin, 95 Aboriginal children and their missionary caregivers evacuate their tiny island and make a remarkable epic journey across the continent. In 44 days they travel 3,000 miles. This is their story in their own words - one of Australia's truly heroic and untold journeys.

Title: JACK IRISH
Factual One Off
Essential Media and Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producer: Ian Collie
Director: Jeffrey Walker
Writer/s: Andrew Knight, Matt Cameron
Rain. Wind. Pubs. Beer. Sex. Corruption. Murder. It's Melbourne in winter and life couldn't be richer. Meet Jack Irish; former criminal lawyer, part-time investigator, debt collector, cabinetmaker and mug punter. Jack is an expert at finding people that don't want to be found. Dead or alive.

Title: LAID SERIES TWO
TV Fiction Series
Like A Virgin Pty Ltd
Producer: Liz Watts (EP), Andy Walker
Director: Trent O'Donnell
Writer/s: Marieke Hardy, Kirsty Fisher
Continuing on from the successful first series, Laid Series 2 is about a woman whose sexual history catches up with her in the most unusual of ways. In the second series, the world of our heroine Roo, is turned upside down when she is introduced to somebody stricken with a vaguely similar set of mysterious circumstances to the ones plaguing her - although this person is very different from Roo.

Title: THEN THE WIND CHANGED
Factual One Off
Rebel Films Pty Ltd
Producer: Jeni McMahon, Celeste Geer (EP)
Writer/Director: Celeste Geer
THEN THE WIND CHANGED documents the extraordinary spectrum of human responses to the firestorm that swept through a community in the Black Saturday bushfires.  In the two years after the fires, how have the people of the small rural hamlet of Strathewen managed the devastation and mustered the stamina to rebuild their homes, their lives and their community?

Title: TRIANGLE WARS
Factual One Off
Circe Films Pty Ltd
Producer/s: Lizzette Atkins, Peter George
Writer: David Tiley
Director: Rosie Jones
An inspirational story for our times, THE TRIANGLE WARS is the story of the battle being waged between local government, big business and the community over the development of a tiny sliver of crown land on the foreshore of St Kilda. A microcosm of a much bigger story about power, values, compromise and transparency, THE TRIANGLE WARS tells the story through three men at the heart of the conflict an eccentric politician, an outrageous celebrity photographer and a high-powered property developer. Combining a study of democracy in progress with a community's impassioned struggle against an institutional behemoth, THE TRIANGLE WARS highlights the lengths the community will go when they believe their democratic rights are being eroded.  It is a battle which will redefine a vital Australian community.

Title: UNIVERSE 3D
Factual One Off
December Films Pty Ltd
Producer/s: Stephen Amezdroz, Russell Scott (Co-Producer) (3D/CGI), Andrew Wight (Co-Producer), Tony Wright (EP)
Writer/Director: Sonya Pemberton
The new generation of mega telescopes will reveal the Universe like never before. We will journey back 14 billion years to the dawn of time to see the lights of the universe switch on. We will predict the future, test Einstein's theories and discover if life really does exist on other planets - the Universe will never look the same again.

MARCH 2011

Title: ANATOMY SERIES THREE
Factual Series
Matchbox Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers: Michael McMahon, Tony Ayres
Directors: Paola Morabito, Althea Jones, Kim Munro
Following the success of the first and second series of Anatomy, Matchbox Pictures are currently financing a third series, which following the form of previous series, will consist of three documentaries that explore art, sex and the body. The films will all touch on a wide range of human experience and emotion well beyond the boundaries of traditional arts documentaries. They will be unique and evocative with each story being realised in distinctive director driven visions.

Title: LOWDOWN SERIES TWO
Fiction Television
High Wire Productions Pty Ltd
Producer: Nicole Minchin
Director: Amanda Brotchie
Writers: Adam Zwar, Amanda Brotchie
Alex Burchill writes the Lowdown column for struggling tabloid newspaper, the Sunday Sun. Circulation is in decline and the paper is downsizing and adapting to the brutal economic climate, and Alex's methods for unearthing stories become increasingly desperate. Each week he must come up with a shock-and-awe story for the embattled paper, and each week that shock-and-awe story somehow ruins his own life.
 

DECEMBER 2010

Title: AUSTRALIA ON TRIAL
Factual Series
December Films Pty Ltd
Producers: George Adams, Penny Robins
Directors: Lisa Matthews, Wayne Fimeri, Ana Kokkinos
Writers: Katherine Thomson, Max Mannix, Ana Kokkinos
Australia on Trial provides snapshots of colonial Australia  through the prism of three pivotal and controversial criminal trials that in a wider social and political context, raised issues of national identity. At stake in each case is not just the necks of the defendants, but who are we, and what did we wish to become as Australia evolved from a dominion of the British Empire to a more autonomous federated nation by 1900. The three trails are The Eureka Trial, The Mount Rennie Rape Trial and the Myall Creek Massacre Trial.

Title: BEACONSFIELD
Telemovie
Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers: John Edwards, Sarah Shaw
Director: Glendyn Ivin
Writer: Judi McCrossin
BEACONSFIELD is a telemovie that tells us the story of how Matthew Gill and Pat Ball and their rescue teams rescued Todd Russell and Brant Webb. It is the story of the women they left behind, and how they sustained themselves, but of course, most of all it is the story of two men who had nothing in common, trapped together for 15 days in a dark wet space so small they could neither fully sit up nor fully lie down. Two men who kept their heads together, and they kept their hope alive, for 15 days and nights.

Title: THE PHRYNE FISHER MURDER MYSTERY SERIES
Fiction Television
Every Cloud Productions Pty Ltd
Producers: Fiona Eagger, Deb Cox
Director: Tony Tilse
Writer: Deb Cox
Phryne Fisher is a thirteen x one hour murder mystery series based on the novels of Australian author Kerry Greenwood. Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920's Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl handled pistol and her dagger sharp wit. Leaving a trail of admirers in her wake, our thoroughly modern heroine makes sure she enjoys every moment of her lucky life.

Title: OFFSPRING SERIES TWO
Fiction Television
Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers: John Edwards, Imogen Banks
Directors: Kate Dennis, Glendyn Ivin
Writers: Debra Oswald, Christine Bartlett, Ian Meadows, Michael Lewis, Jono Gavin
Offspring 2 continues the story of obstetrician Nina Proudman, her boisterous family and her chaotic romances.

Title: DEVIL ISLAND
Factual Television
360 Degree Films Pty Ltd
Producers: Sally Ingelton
Writer/Director: Andrew Sully
Since 1996 the Tasmanian Devil has fallen prey to a highly contagious facial cancer that has wiped out 80% of the wild population. Now, wildlife biologist Nick Mooney and his team have hatched an audacious plan to save these devilishly delightful little critters from extinction.  They will create an 'insurance' population of disease-free Devils on the former penal settlement of Maria Island, off the coast of Tasmania. It's a risky experiment because the nation's only disease-free Devils are also captive. The 50 individuals they've handpicked from zoos and animal sanctuaries across Australia have never hunted, found shelter or faced a predator in their pampered little lives, but they're about to be released into the wild! As for the current residents of the island - wombats, penguins and wallabies - they're none too pleased about the imminent arrival of the new neighbours from hell. Expect mayhem and high jinks as we follow the fortunes of Lucifer, Lucy and little Eve on this make-or-break experiment to save their species - and themselves - on DEVIL ISLAND.

Title: SPORTING NATION
Factual Television
Sporting Nation Holdings Pty Ltd
Producers: Laura Waters, Andrea Denholm, Yael Bergman
Director: Bruce Permezel
Writers: John Clarke, Jeff Stilson
Over three x 1 hour episodes, John Clarke, arguably Australia's greatest natural athlete, kicks around with legendary sporting heroes, amateur athletes and the country's loudest fans in a documentary series that barracks for and rips into Australian sport, past and present. With his acute observational style, Clarke offers a new perspective on key sporting legends that spawn so many of our heroes and villains. Has money killed the Great Australian Underdog? Will the poetry of the paddock, pool or track continue to define this Sporting Nation? Should sport be declared Australia's national religion? Would today's MCG stand up against the Ancient Greeks' Colosseum? What would Australians achieve if they didn't have sport to fill the vacuum? Does sport hold us back or enhance our true potential as a nation?

NOVEMBER 2010

Title: SAVE YOUR LEGS
Fiction Feature Film
Save Your Legs Pty Ltd
Producers: Nick Batzias and Robyn Kershaw
Directors: Boyd Hicklin
Writers: Brendan Cowell and Boyd Hicklin
Edward 'Teddy' Brown lives for his suburban cricket club and his two best friends, Rick and Stavros. But when he realizes that his beloved teammates are moving on and growing up, he's forced to take matters into his own hands and remind them of just how good cricket can be. Rallying a boyhood dream and his own teenage obsession, 35 year old Teddy leads his very ordinary cricket team into the extraordinary heart of India, on an audacious 3-match tour and a mission to meet cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar. While Ted's best-laid plans are brought undone by the chaos of India, stumps fly, friendships fray and a life-changing comic adventure unfolds. The dream tour becomes a nightmare and the men are forced to face the realities of their mateship, confront their fears and Ted learns to move with the changing times.

Title: RUSH SERIES FOUR
Fiction Television Series
Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers: John Edwards, Mimi Butler
Directors: Grant Brown, Andrew Prowse
Writers: Adam Todd, Samantha Winston, Justin Monjo, Keith Thompson, Ben Chessell
Rush, series four, returns to Tactical Response - a squad of Police striving to be better, trained to respond to crisis. For the next thirteen part mini- series we open a bigger world. Kerry has been promoted to Deputy Commissioner and has TR at her beck and call. A larger story arc will straddle the self-contained, week by week stories; and the personal lives of our central characters is also revealed more deeply than in the first three series.

OCTOBER 2010

Title: MADE UP RELIGIONS
Factual, One Off
Your Ex-Boyfriend Pty Ltd
Producer: John Safran
Director: Germain McMicking
Writers: John Safran, Sofija Stefanovic
John uses the fact that tens of thousands of Australians rebel and write 'Jedi' on their census form as a springboard for all sorts of issues: What are other fictitious religions made up by authors that have taken on a life of there own? Can quasi-religions like Norse and Wiccan be satisfying substitutes? Would Australian society fall apart without the big religions? The action follws John preparing for a radio show to explore these issues, interviewing literary and religgious figures and talking to guests in studio on his Triple J radio porgram with Father Bob. Shot in one week, in close to real time, this arts documentary will have the feeling of a quest, taking a census prank and using it as device to explore faith, its role in our lives and its contruction.

Title:  ROWLAND S HOWARD: AUTOLUMINESCENT
Factual, One Off
Ghost Pictures Pty Ltd
Producers: Richard Lowenstein, Andrew De Groot, Lynn-Maree Milburn
Director: Lynn-Maree Milburn
Writers: Richard Lowenstein, Lynn-Maree Milburn
A riveting and intimate portrait of a man who made music his life; who, despite the trial and tribulations of his career, stood for something above and beyond commercial success. AUTOLUMINESCENT traces the turbulent life of one of the most influential and multi-faceted Australian rock-guitarists and songwriters of all time, Rowland S. Howard. Using a combination of contemporary and archival footage, the film weaves a portrait of a unique and enigmatic man via a selection of revealing interviews, performance footage, photographs and music that traverses the vibrant history of the post-punk era. It is an inspirational and poignant exploration of a man who became a quiet rock'n'roll icon and who formed a truly original, eclectic and visionary body of work amidst an homogenised rock world.

Title: SHEZOW
Children's C Classification, Animation
Moody Street Kids Pty Ltd
Producer/Series Director: Gillian Carr
Writers: Ray Boseley, Brendan Luno
Twelve year-old Guy Hammon is a natural cut-up who fancies himself an extreme dude with his own macho catch phrase, "It's a GUY thing." Guy lives the dream of every rough-and-tumble boy when he discovers an awesome power ring which transforms him into a mighty superhero! Pretty cool, huh? Well, there's just one tiny catch the ring that gives Guy his amazing super powers was only meant to be worn by a girl and the result is absolutely she-larious!  Guy must use his super powers to battle mega-villains while sporting an outrageous female superhero costume which actually ends up helping him tremendously on his own personal journey toward becoming one heck of a super man.

AUGUST 2010

Title: THE LAST DANCE (aka THE HOSTAGE)
Fiction Feature, Live Action
FG Film Productions (Australia) Pty Ltd (on behalf of the FG / Pullbrook / Hammond Joint Venture)
Producer: Antony I Ginnane
Writer: Terence Hammond
Director: David Pulbrook
When live-alone, holocaust survivor ULAH LIPPMANN (82) hears of a terrorist attack in her Melbourne neighbourhood, she has no idea she'll soon find herself held hostage by a Muslim radical on the run after the bombing. Desperately wounded, SADIQ MOHAMMED (26) sees Ulah's flat as a place to hide while he plans his next move. And so begins a conflict that will force Ulah and Sadiq to confront their own pasts - at times driven by mutual need; at times by unexpected revelations; at times by events outside the room. Captive becomes captor as Ulah takes control, not turning Sadiq in, but nursing him until she discovers his dreadful secret...

Title: HAIL
Fiction / Factual Feature Film
Flood Projects Pty Ltd
Producers: Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Michael Cody, Richard Lowenstein (EP)
Writer/Director: Amiel Courtin-Wilson
Dan is in love with Leanne. They eat together. They live together. They steal together. When Dan's love is suddenly ripped away from him, he is reduced to savagery. The past is not a dead thing, but may return, like a hunter, to follow us for a time.

Title: KAPYONG
Television Pay, Factual One Off
Kapyong Pty Ltd
Producer / Writer / Director: Dennis Smith
In 1951, following a rout of the South Korean army, the Chinese People Volunteer Army pursued their enemy to the lines of Australian and Canadian troops still digging fall-back defences, 12 kilometres to the rear. Here, sometimes at the length of a bayonet, often in total darkness, individual is pitted against individual in a struggle between a superpower and a cluster of other nations from across the world. They fought for a valley, the ancient and traditional invasion route to Seoul. If it fell the southern capital and the war, was lost.
The United Nations troops had the military advantage of the high ground and the Chinese the advantage of vastly superior numbers. The battle fought at Kapyong became the turning point of China's spring offensive. The aim of the offensive was to finally drive the foreign troops out of South Korea and into the sea, What happened instead, changed the history of the Korean War. The Chinese were denied victory and forced back into negotiations.

Title: MAD AS HELL: THE PETER FINCH STORY
Television Pay, Factual One Off
Lowlands Media Pty Ltd
Producer / Writer / Director: Robert de Young
While Mad as Hell maps the career of actor Peter Finch, the film is much more than a biopic - this film provides an opportunity to explore, through the lens of Finch's career, the complex relationship between Britain and her Australian colony during the 1940s and 1950s. Peter Finch is the only actor ever to have received an Academy Award for Best Actor posthumously for his performance in the film Network (1976) where Finch, as apocalyptic live newscaster Howard Beale, tells a stunned American public to go outside and shout "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"  Professionally Peter Finch worked with some of the major stars and directors working in England and Hollywood including Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Errol Flynn, Virginia McKenna, Glenda Jackson, Audrey Hepburn, Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Shelley Winters, Terence Stamp, Chips Rafferty, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury, Liv Ullmann, Faye Dunaway and William Holden. Throughout his life Finch had a reputation as a hell-raiser and his life and career is testament to his rebelliousness and his enduring interest in black culture.

Title: UTOPIA GIRLS
Television, Factual One Off
Renegade Films Pty Ltd
Producers: Lucy Maclaren, Alex West, Joe Connor (EP)
Writers: Dr Clare Wright, Alex West
Director: Jasmin Pappas
In Utopia Girls historian Clare Wright presents an investigation into how and why Australia became the first western country to give women full political rights. The film covers the period between 1850 and 1900 when Australia became a nation. Australia's unique history bred an amazing group of rebellious women who each played crucial roles in shaping the destiny of the country. But this being Australia, this tale of nation building is driven as much by raw luck, bizarre beliefs, wild miscalculation and rank opportunism as by high-minded idealism.

Title: TWENTYSOMETHING
Television, Fiction Long Form Series
High Wire Films Pty Ltd
Producer: Nicole Minchin
Writer: Jess Harris
Director: Paul Currie
Best friends Jess and Josh never went to uni, never had a clear talent and never had the drive to grow up. When their mind numbing jobs start wearing them down and they don't have an impressive answer to the dreaded question "So what do you do with yourself?" they decide its time to become their own boss. Jess and Josh embark on an unusual entrepreneurial journey sharing massive highs, heartbreaking lows and plenty of drinks in-between. Whether it's finding out how you got home last night or what to do with the rest of your life, the twentysomething world is never dull as Jess and Josh search for their big break.

Title: WOODLEY
Television free to Air, Fiction Long Form Series
Bucket Tree Pty Ltd
Producers: Simon Wright, Andy Walker, Frank Woodley, Kevin Whyte (EP)
Writer: Frank Woodley
WOODLEY is a half hour visual comedy about a man who is as close as you will ever get to being a 40 year old child. While there is an innocence and charm to the man, and his heart is always in the right place, you can also understand that living with him would require the patience of a saint. Unfortunately his lovely and long-suffering ex-wife, Mel, could take no more and, as the series begins, we find Woodley living alone and sharing custody of their delightful 8 year old daughter. When Mel decides to first date and possibly marry Terry, a local psychiatrist, then mayhem ensues as Woodley attempts to win her back.