Priscilla Queen of the Desert duo to return with new comedy Flammable Children as Bait creators plan ‘sharks on a plane’ sequel
The celebrated filmmakers behind The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert are to reunite reunited for a new comedy film Flammable Children with funding from Screen Australia.
Writer and director Stephan Elliott and producer Al Clark’s feature film is one of 19 feature film productions that will receive $570,000 in funding from Screen Australia.
Other than the title and genre of the feature , no other details were released although Elliott is known to have been working on a semi-autobiographical script inspired by his Australian childhood.
Al Clark received the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Raymond Longford award for lifetime achievement last year.
Also receiving funding is Shane Danielsen’s science fiction script End of Animal, directed by Eron Sheean and set in the West Australian desert. Writer and director Jacqueline McKenzie will develop her drama King: A Street Story, and writer Melina Marchetta will adapt her bestselling novel On the Jellicoe Road for the screen with director Kate Woods.
Bait gets sharks on a plane sequel
The funding of over $570,000 will also provide three new industry internships for writer and director Miranda Nation, producer Samantha Dinning and producer Charlie Carman through the Talent Escalator Program, and support three emerging directors through the Director’s Acclaim Fund.
The list of productions in development:
SINGLE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: Feature Development
BAIT 2 3D
Genre – Horror
Producer – Gary Hamilton
Executive Producer – Michael Wrenn
Writers – Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause
Synopsis – An air marshal and a small group of air crash survivors must try to escape a sinking jetliner before it plunges into an oceanic trench, while they are hunted by huge and deadly tiger sharks.
BEREFT
Genre – Crime, historical
Producers – Lyn Norfor, Sheila Jayadev
Executive Producer – Nina Stevenson, Greg Sitch
Writers – Andy Cox, Ranald Allan
Synopsis – Quinn returns to the home he fled 10 years earlier when he was falsely accused of murdering his beloved sister. When he finds out it was his own uncle who killed her, Quinn must tell his mother in order to clear his name and for justice to be done. But he could never have reckoned with the terrible demand his mother would now make of him from her deathbed.
THE BURIAL
Genre – Western
Producer – Lucy Maclaren
Executive Producer – Joe Connor
Director – Jasmin Tarasin
Writer – Polly Watkins
Synopsis – After doing time for cattle-rustling, one time circus star 26-year old Jessie is placed in the custody of a brutal husband. Determined that she and her child will live free, Jessie escapes, but the consequences see her branded as a murderess. Now mother and baby are on the run.
DEALER
Genre – Drama
Producer – Robert Coe
Writer/Directors – Sam McKeith, Tom McKeith
Synopsis – After causing the accidental death of a recovering addict, a small time drug dealer desperately searches for a way to make up for what he has done. When he discovers that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant with the addict’s child, the dealer is finally offered a path to redemption.
END OF ANIMAL3/5
Genre – Science fiction
Producers – Michael Wrenn, Paul Yi
Executive Producer – Lizzette Atkins
Director – Eron Sheean
Writer – Shane Danielsen
Synopsis – When an unknown catastrophe befalls the Earth, Jess, a pregnant 20-year-old, is caught between towns in the middle of the West Australian desert, which proves the start of a terrifying journey to safety. She realises to her horror that her own unborn child somehow represents the key to this disaster.
FLAMMABLE CHILDREN
Genre – Comedy
Producer – Al Clark
Writer/Director – Stephan Elliott
JASPER JONES
Genre – Drama
Producers – David Jowsey, Vincent Sheehan
Executive Producer – Rebecca O’Brien
Writer – Shaun Grant
Synopsis – Based on the award-winning Australian novel by Craig Silvey.
KID SNOWBALL
Genre – Romance
Producer – Lizzette Atkins
Director – Matthew Saville
Writer – Shane Danielsen
Synopsis – As the rough and tumble era of tent boxing fades into the hot outback sunset, once-promising boxer Kid Snowball falls in love with feisty Skye, and finds himself forming a bond with her 10-year-old son Darcy. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes their travelling troupe, he finds himself at the crossroads; a choice between his family and his lifelong dream of winning one final bout against the reigning champ.
KING: A STREET STORY
Genre – Drama
Producer – Robert Coe
Executive Producers – Jocelyn Moorhouse, Timothy White
Writer/Director – Jacqueline McKenzie
Synopsis – King, a courageous and resourceful 12-year-old street-kid who acts like a dog, finds acceptance in a small community on the outskirts of the city. But the threat of a redevelopment forces King to his final redemption.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Genre – Drama
Producer – Marian Macgowan
Director – Gillian Armstrong
Writer – Lally Katz
Synopsis – 27-year-old Catherine forms an unlikely friendship with neighbour Ana, a cranky 80-year-old Hungarian woman prone to offending everyone. Through a spirited retelling of stories from Ana’s past, Catherine finds a way back into her life and Ana can die in peace.
OBELIA
Genre – Drama
Producer – Heather Oxenham
Executive Producer – Phillip Noyce
Writer/Director – Darlene Johnson
Synopsis – 1951: An olive-skinned teenager runs away from an Aboriginal government reserve and joins a travelling carnival, but finds she can’t outrun who she really is.4/5
ON THE JELLICOE ROAD
Genre – Mystery romance
Producers – Sue Taylor, Rosemary Blight
Director – Kate Woods
Writer – Melina Marchetta
Synopsis – Abandoned by her mother at a roadside deli on the outskirts of Jellicoe, Taylor Markham knows all about survival, but not much about who she is. Now 17, a chance meeting with a mysterious hermit provides a clue to her identity, but in trying to unlock the truth about her past, Taylor must first deal with the present. Based on the bestselling novel by Melina Marchetta.
PEST CONTROL
Genre – Action, comedy
Producers – Jamie Hilton, Michael Pontin
Writer/Director – Christopher Weekes
Synopsis – When a city finds itself getting overrun with monsters, our only hope of survival rests with an all-woman team of pest controllers.
RED EARTH
Genre – Drama
Producers – Trish Lake, Dan Lake
Writer/Director – Liselle Mei
Synopsis – Frontier Queensland, 1882. Desperate to escape her arranged marriage, a Chinese bride begins an erotic game with an English plantation owner, hoping to buy back her freedom.
THE SHIPKILLER
Genre – Action, thriller
Producer/Writer/Director – Robert Connolly
Executive Producers – Gale Anne Hurd, Henry Morrison
Synopsis – One man determined to win at sea the justice he has been denied on land. Based on the bestselling novel by Justin Scott.
STARFISH
Genre – Comedy, drama
Producer – Robin Geradts-Gill
Director – Hannah Moon
Writers – Hannah Moon, Stephen Sholl, Robin Geradts-Gill
Synopsis – Headstrong, independent Georgia can’t wait to show her friends the joys of the caravan park – parties, beaches and hot surfy guys. But when her BFF Ashley falls for a boring schoolboy, Georgia’s plans are dashed as everything revolves around the lame romance… A sex comedy from the girls’ perspective.
SINGLE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: Feature Matched Initial Option
PLAYGROUND DUTY
Genre – Comedy
Producer – Michelle Harrison
Writer – Ned Manning
Synopsis – A thoughtful and humorous account of an insider’s experiences and insights into the teaching life; from country towns to a Canberra college, from an Indigenous Arts Centre to the Newtown Performing Arts High School, Ned Manning has evolved into the best kind of teacher.
TRUCK DOGS
Genre – Family
Producers – Jamie Hilton, Michael Petroni
Synopsis – Sparky is a small truckdog with a big heart and an even bigger load on his 5/5 shoulders as he attempts to match it with the big boys, the mighty truckdogs that rule the highways. Based on the children’s book by author and illustrator Graeme Base.
TALENT ESCALATOR PROGRAMS: Director’s Acclaim Fund
JESSICA REDENBACH
Director – Jessica Redenbach’s short film Tender was selected for International Competition at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and won the ADG Award for Best Short Film in 2013. Jessica will spend time developing her television project with producers Kate Croser and Sandy Cameron in preparation for submission to broadcasters.
MIRRAH FOULKES
Director Mirrah Foulkes’ short film Dumpy Goes to the Big Smoke was nominated for Best Short Fiction Film at the AACTA Awards. Mirrah will collaborate with mentors including directors Garth Davis and David Michôd and writer Luke Davies.
PAOLA MORABITO
Director Paola Morabito’s short film I’m the One was selected for competition at the Venice International Film Festival. Paola will work with Andrew Bovell to develop her first feature film.
TALENT ESCALATOR PROGRAMS: International Script Workshop
SEAN KRUCK – RECKLESS – BINGER WRITERS LAB
Genre – Biopic
Synopsis – Inspired by the true life story of Australian teenage daredevil Dale Buggins, Reckless is a tragic tale of a young man adrift in a fantasy from which he wakes to encounter the destruction of his hero and a world that no longer makes sense.
TALENT ESCALATOR PROGRAMS: Industry Internships
MIRANDA NATION – INTERNSHIP
Writer/director Miranda Nation will spend six months working with director Kasimir Burgess and producer John Maynard on the feature film Fell.
SAMANTHA DINNING – INTERNSHIP
Producer Samantha Dinning will spend four months in London working with the development and acquisitions team at distribution and production company Element Pictures (The Guard, Shadow Dancer, Omagh).
CHARLIE CARMAN – INTERNSHIP
Producer – Charlie Carman will spend four months in Los Angeles working with producer Josh Kesselman (Courage Under Fire, Doctor Dolittle) at Thruline Entertainment/Tagline Pictures.
