Funding for Sapphires and new De Heer film
Screen Australia announced its last investment round for 2010, with almost $18m for five features, three drama series, two low budget TV dramas, a children’s TV series, and 17 docos.
The films include the musical The Sapphires (dir. Wayne Blair), The King is Dead! (dir. Rolf de Heer), Dead Europe (dir. Tony Krawitz), Venice (dir. Miro Bilbrough) and Summer Coda (dir. Richard Gray).
Summer Coda was released in October, and today’s announcement by Screen Australia refers to a September decision that provided the film with post-production funding.
The projects are:
Feature Drama
DEAD EUROPE
See Saw Films Pty Ltd
Producers Emile Sherman, Iain Canning
Writer Louise Fox
Director Tony Krawitz
Sales and Distribution Cross City Sales, Wild Bunch International Sales, Transmission Films
Synopsis Isaac, a late 20s Greek Australian, spirals out of control when he’s forced to confront
his own family’s cursed legacy on his first trip to Europe – with the continent’s haunted past and
troubled present pressing in on him.
THE KING IS DEAD!
Vertigo Productions Pty Ltd
Producers Rolf de Heer, Nils Erik Nielsen
Writer/Director Rolf de Heer
Sales and Distribution Fandango Portobello, Pinnacle
Synopsis An unsuspecting couple buy a house in what appears to be a quiet street… a dark
comedy about neighbours, ice and baseball bats.
THE SAPPHIRES
Goalpost Pictures
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/Quickfire 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.
VENICE
Dragonet Films Pty Ltd
Producers Karen Radzyner, Michael Wrenn
Writer Miro Bilbrough
Director Miro Bilbrough
Sales and Distribution Wide Film Sales, Curious Distribution
Synopsis When Venice’s ex-hippy dad comes to stay in her tiny Sydney apartment primal
emotions are stirred. At 40, the pain of childhood rejection is rekindled. How old is too old to be
your father’s daughter? Until Venice asks the right person the right question, she is condemned to
ask it of all who cross her path.
SUMMER CODA
Revival Film Company
Producers Richard Gray, Marc Goldenfein, John Finemore
Writer Richard Gray
Director Richard Gray
Sales and Distribution Sharmill Films/Jump Street Films
Synopsis Having grown up with her mother in Nevada, Heidi hasn’t spoken to her father since
she was seven. Now a young woman, haunted by his memory, she returns to Australia seeking
closure. Traveling to her hometown, Heidi is forced to busk for cash and her melancholic violin
score catches the attention of handsome orange picker Michael, who offers Heidi a ride. Both are
initially guarded, but an unexpected connection soon blossoms.
Adult TV Drama
THE PHRYNE FISHER MURDER MYSTERY SERIES
Every Cloud Productions Pty Ltd
Producer Fiona Eagger, Deb Cox
Writer Various
Director Tony Tilse
Broadcaster ABC TV
Sales and Distribution All3Media, ABC Commercial
Synopsis The Phryne Fisher Murder Mystery Series is a 13 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 1920s 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.
TOP OF THE LAKE
See-Saw Films Pty Ltd
Producers Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Philippa Campbell
Executive Producers Jane Campion, Sharon Menzies
Writers Jane Campion, Gerard Lee
Director Jane Campion
Broadcaster BBC, ABC, TV3
Sales and Distribution BBC Worldwide, ABC Commercial
Synopsis A 12-year-old girl is found chest deep in the freezing waters of a South Island lake.
She’s five months pregnant and when asked who the father is she insists: “No one”. Then she
disappears. Detective Robin Griffin’s obsessive search for Tui unravels both Robin and the
compromised town of Laketop.
WILD BOYS
Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd
Producers Sarah Smith, Julie McGauran
Writers John Ridley, Jeff Truman, James Walker, Dave Warner, Michelle Offen, Margaret Wilson
Directors Jeff Walker, Ken Cameron, Arnie Custo, Chris Martin Jones, Ian Watson
Broadcaster Seven Network
Sales and Distribution Endemol Worldwide Distribution
Synopsis Australia 1850s. Wild Boys follows a gang of bushrangers as they stage hold-ups
determined to keep ahead of the troopers or wind up at the end of a noose.
Adult TV Series – Low-budget Drama
DANGER 5
Dinosaur Pty Ltd
Producers Kate Croser, Dario Russo
Writers Dario Russo, David Ashby
Director Dario Russo
Broadcaster SBS TV
Sales and Distribution SBS Content, SBS TV
Synopsis Follows the adventures of five specialist secret agents assigned with the task of
eliminating Hitler in a pulp-novel inspired, 1960s–70s interpretation of the Second World War.
TWENTYSOMETHING
High Wire Films and Electric Living Productions
Producer Nicole Minchin
Writer Jess Harris
Creators Jess Harris, Josh Schmidt
Director Paul Currie
Broadcaster ABC TV
Sales and Distribution ABC Commercial
Synopsis When best friends Jess and Josh left high school they never went to uni, never had a
clear talent and never had a drive to grow up – until the pressure to conform sends them on a
search for their big break.
Children’s Television
THE ADVENTURES OF FIGARO PHO
The Chocolate Liberation Front Pty Ltd
Producer Dan Fill, Frank Verheggen
Executive Producer Michael Boughen
Writers Matthew Phipps and Sam Carroll
Director Luke Jurevicius
Director (Animation) David Webster
Story Editor Mark Sherrifs
Broadcaster ABC TV
Sales and Distribution ABC Commercial, ABC TV
Synopsis Figaro Pho is a warm-hearted, adorable, quirky and mischievous character… who just
happens to be afflicted with a multitude of weird and wonderful phobias. Based on the awardwinning
series of shorts by Luke Jurevicius, this long-form series provides an even more intimate
experience with the loveable character tragic character Figaro Pho.
Documentary
AUSTRALIA ON TRIAL
December Films and Essential Media
Executive Producers Tony Wright and Ian Collie
Writers Katherine Thomson, Ma Mannix, Ana Kokkinos
Directors Lisa Matthews, Wain Fimeri, Ana Kokkinos
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Provides snapshots of colonial Australia, through the prism of three pivotal and
controversial criminal trials that in a wider social and political context raised significant questions
around national identity. At stake in each case were not just the necks of the defendants but the
evolving ideas of identity and nationhood, as Australia grew from a dominion of the British Empire
to a more autonomous federated nation by 1900. The three trials are the Eureka Trial, the Mount
Rennie Rape Trial and the Myall Creek Massacre Trial.
KAPYONG
Kapyong Pty Ltd
Producer John Lewis
Writer/Director Dennis K Smith
Broadcaster History Channel
Synopsis In 1951, following a rout of the South Korean army, the Chinese People’s Volunteer
Army pursued their enemy to the lines of Australian and Canadian troops still digging fall-back
defences, 12 kilometres to the rear. 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 MAN WHO JUMPED
Prospero Productions
Producers Ed Punchard, Julia Redwood
Writer/Director Russell Vines
Broadcaster SBS
Sales and Distribution SBS
Synopsis In 2002, footage of an incarcerated asylum seeker leaping onto razor wire at Woomera
Detention Centre made front-page news around the world. It became one of the most provocative
and enduring images of the decade in Australia. But who was the man who jumped, why did he
do it and what happened to him?
UTOPIA GIRLS
Renegade Films
Producers Lucy Maclaren and Alex West
Executive Producers Alex West, Joe Connor, Ken Connor
Director Jasmin Tarasin
Writers Dr Clare Wright and Alex West
Broadcaster ABC
Sales and Distribution ABC
Synopsis Historian Clare Wright investigates how and why Australian women fought successfully
to become the first in the world to obtain equal political rights.
VIETNAM: THE WAR BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE USA
November Films
Producer Anne Delaney
Writers Toby Creswell, Paul Ham
Directors Toby Creswell, Anne Delaney
Broadcaster ABC
Sales and Distribution ABC Commercial
Synopsis How Australia discovered that its biggest battle in the Vietnam War was dealing with its
best friend, the USA.
COUNTRY TOWN RESCUE
Zapruder’s Other Films
Executive Producers Anita Jacoby and Debbie Cuell
Series Director Debbie Cuell
Writer Debbie Cuell
Broadcaster ABC
Sales and Distribution ABC Commercial
Synopsis Documents the inspiring story of the people of Trundle, a small community of 485 in
Central Western NSW, who plan to save their town from dying by giving families Australia-wide
the chance to begin a new life in the country by living in an abandoned local farmhouse for just
One Dollar A Week! It’s a story about how these newcomers will build new lives and friendships
in this small community, and how the old traditional country community will come to accept these
new families into their town.
THE DIGGER – A HISTORY FOR THE TITLE
Bearcage Films
Producer Michael Tear
Director Serge Ou
Writer Michael Cove
Broadcaster Foxtel
Synopsis At the end of the 19th century soldiers from Australia came under fire in Africa – they
were the first of one and a quarter million Australian men and women to serve their country in war
and conflict and in every continent except the one they called home. Amongst them were the first
of more than one hundred thousand to die in the service of Australia. The chronicle of Australia’s
soldiers from then till now is full of heroism, humour, mateship and larrikinism. It has bred
perhaps the most enduring Australian icon – the digger. This is his story.
GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM
Cordell Jigsaw Productions
Executive Producers Michael Cordell, Nick Murray
Writer/Director TBC
Broadcaster SBS
Sales and Distribution SBS
Synopsis Six Australians agree to challenge their preconceived notions by living with, and as,
refugees for one month. To do so, they will trace, in reverse, the journeys that real refugees took
to reach Australia. In Episode I, the participants move in with a recently arrived refugee family
and join them in their everyday lives… to work, to school and their social, cultural and religious
activities. In Episode II, the Australians head for Indonesia, getting a first-hand account of refugee
life in transit and why some board leaky boats even if there are structures for re-settlement in
place. In Episode III, our participants travel all the way to (or near to) the countries of origin of
their refugee hosts in Australia. There they will live in sprawling refugee camps or as destitute
urban refugees. Along the route the participants will debate, argue and perhaps change some of
their opinions. Not one will be untouched by their experience.
A LAW UNTO HIMSELF
Carolyn Johnson Films
Producer Carolyn Johnson
Director Catherine Hunter
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis Roger Law was the artist and energy behind the UK puppet show Spitting Image
before he deported himself to Australia to explore his remaining artistic talent. Roger Law takes
us on his journey of personal discovery through the wonders of Australian wildlife and his work in
Jingdezhen porcelain.
MAD AS HELL: THE PETER FINCH STORY
Lowlands Media
Producer/ Writer/Director Robert de Young
Broadcaster Ovation
Sales and Distribution Ovation
Synopsis 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, as apocalyptic live
newscaster Howard Beale, he 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!” 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. Finch left an acting career in Sydney at the invitation of
Laurence Olivier in 1948. Finch went on to work with some of the major stars and directors
working in England and then Hollywood including Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Errol Flynn, Virginia
McKenna, Glenda Jackson, Audrey Hepburn, Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Shelley Winters, Terence
Stamp, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury, Liv Ullmann, Faye Dunaway and William
Holden. The film also includes frank interviews with three of Finch’s daughters and unseen candid
private photos.
OCHRE AND INK
Nirvana Films
Producers Rachel Clements, James Bradley
Writer/Director James Bradley
Broadcaster ABC
Synopsis A landmark exhibition on the history of the Australia–China trade in trepang (sea
cucumber) opens in Beijing. It is the culmination of an extraordinary partnership between artists
Zhou ‘Joe’ Xiaoping and the late Aboriginal artist JBB, forged over 20 years in remote Arnhem
Land. As JBB’s son Paul and brother Peter attend the exhibition opening, Joe’s fascinating story
unfolds in a compelling series of glimpses into his life and work. The cultural exchange that has
been the basis of Joe’s life and work is powerfully played out as Peter and Paul explore Joe’s
home country.
IN THE WILD
Freehand Productions
Producer Colette Beaudry
Writer Matt Tomaszewski
Director Jeff Siberry
Broadcaster National Geographic
Sales and Distribution National Geographic, Australia and ROW, Freehand DG
Synopsis Welcome to the extraordinary life of dangerous animal expert Matt Wright. Raised in
the rugged Australian bush, Matt now uses his unique skills and perspective to solve problems
with animals that no-one else can. Fusing blue chip with ob-doc and wildlife adventure, In the
Wild will follow Matt as he finds, captures and safely relocates some of the world’s most
fascinating and dangerous animals with the simple objective of keeping humans safe from
animals and just as importantly – keeping them safe from us.
SAS: THE SEARCH FOR WARRIORS
Prospero Productions
Producers Ed Punchard, Julia Redwood
Writer Russell Vines
Director Russell Vines
Broadcaster SBS
Sales and Distribution Beyond Distribution
Synopsis For the first time in 25 years, a film crew has been given access to the highly secretive
selection course for the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). This gripping two-part
documentary reveals what it takes to join one of the most elite fighting forces in the world.
SHARK HARBOUR
Ultramarine Films
Producer Edward Radford
Executive Producer Michael Lynch
Writer/Director Michael Lynch
Broadcaster National Geographic US / ABC
Sales and Distribution Off The Fence
Synopsis Sydney, Australia, 2009. Three terrifying shark attacks in as many weeks caused a
wave of primeval panic to sweep through the city. Not since the last fatal shark attack in 1963 had
the city been gripped by such collective fear. Shark Harbour follows a specialist ‘Shark Research
Team’ – commissioned by the government in response to the attacks – as they conduct the most
comprehensive and technologically advanced study of sharks that’s ever been undertaken in
Sydney’s waters. They want to know if, in a city of nearly four and a half million people,
surrounded by much loved and used waterways, sharks and humans can safely co-exist.
MONGOLIAN BLING
Flying Fish Films Pty Ltd
Producer Nubar Ghazarian
Consultant Producer Liz Burke
Writer/Director Benj Binks
Synopsis Mongolia has hip hop. It was beamed into the country, bringing with it foreign images
of jewels, clothes and fame. In their haste to take in the outside world, many of the youth ignored
their country’s rich musical history. A history that the Shamans believe holds the key to
Mongolia’s success on the world hip hop stage. While many artists still aspire to the West, a
handful are using hip hop to try and salvage their country’s struggling democracy, and bring
Mongolia’s rich musical history into modern beats and rhymes.
THE TOTE DOCUMENTARY
NicNat Films
Producer Nicole Rogers
Director Natalie Van Den Dungen
Synopsis Explores the rich musical history of one of Melbourne’s most renowned rock’n’roll
pubs, the Tote Hotel in Collingwood, and the impact of its imminent closure.
WELCOME TO MAPWORLD
CraigFX Pty Ltd
Producer/Writer/Director Craig Anderson
Writer/Director Doug Bayne
Synopsis Comedy, animation and special effects combine in this essay documentary to ask the
big questions: “What is it to be human? Do we need God? What is it with these maps?”
Excuse me for asking the obvious, but why is Summer Coda getting funding when its already in theaters and was completed months ago?
The only film that looks moderately entertaining here is “The Sapphires”.
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Dean, we were just told by Screen Australia that the Summer Coda part of the announcement refers to a September 2010 decision to provide completion funds to that film. They just had not announced it officially, but the amount given to Summer Coda is part of their $18m end of the year investment.
I’ll go and see Rolf’s film but I’m a fan of his. I go see all his films. The synopsis doesn’t say much, but it will probably be another low budget wonder.
And I think Danger 5 is going to blow people away. It’s the same people who did that Italian Spiderman thing on youtube that got like a billion hits.
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