Taking a positive look at visual impairment, rather than focusing on it as a disability, “Coyote Ugly” star Adam Garcia joins producer and actor Tsu Shan Chambers in the lead roles of “My Eyes,” a drama film now shooting in Melbourne, Australia.
When optometrist Alana discovers her daughter has a rare inherited eye disease, she must look into her past to realize her vision for the future. She discovers that a judo athlete with a visual impairment halfway across the world may hold the answers she seeks. But old truths make the task of saving her daughter’s sight an uncomfortable and marriage-threatening mission.
Joining Garcia and Chanbers in the cast are gold medal Judo champion Eduardo Ávila Sánchez and young newcomer Nia Rush.
The story was inspired by incidents that emerged during Chambers time as an optometry student and while volunteering at the 2000 Paralympic Games.
“[We are] approaching the story and...
When optometrist Alana discovers her daughter has a rare inherited eye disease, she must look into her past to realize her vision for the future. She discovers that a judo athlete with a visual impairment halfway across the world may hold the answers she seeks. But old truths make the task of saving her daughter’s sight an uncomfortable and marriage-threatening mission.
Joining Garcia and Chanbers in the cast are gold medal Judo champion Eduardo Ávila Sánchez and young newcomer Nia Rush.
The story was inspired by incidents that emerged during Chambers time as an optometry student and while volunteering at the 2000 Paralympic Games.
“[We are] approaching the story and...
- 10/18/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Nearly 30 projects will share in $975,000 of story development funding from Screen Australia, including a television series inspired by the 1999 film Two Hands from director Gregor Jordan, and a family feature film from the producers of Bluey.
The 28 recipients for the final round of development funding in the 2020/21 financial year comprise 12 feature films, 13 television dramas, and three online projects.
Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said there was no shortage of variety across the projects.
“Screen Australia is really proud to be supporting this impressive mix of projects,” she said.
“This includes fresh genre-bending comedies Home and Our Haunt, and beautiful romantic drama 10 Moments that will bring together 10 chapters from a great team of exciting creative voices.
“It’s also wonderful to support more children’s content with Big Serious Studios’ Goo Zoo set to invite children into the world of microbiology as part of the company’s aims to...
The 28 recipients for the final round of development funding in the 2020/21 financial year comprise 12 feature films, 13 television dramas, and three online projects.
Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said there was no shortage of variety across the projects.
“Screen Australia is really proud to be supporting this impressive mix of projects,” she said.
“This includes fresh genre-bending comedies Home and Our Haunt, and beautiful romantic drama 10 Moments that will bring together 10 chapters from a great team of exciting creative voices.
“It’s also wonderful to support more children’s content with Big Serious Studios’ Goo Zoo set to invite children into the world of microbiology as part of the company’s aims to...
- 7/26/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
George Ogilvie, who co-directed the 1985 action film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with George Miller and guided Russell Crowe in his big-screen debut, has died. He was 89.
Ogilvie died Sunday of cardiac arrest at the Braidwood Hospital in New South Wales, his niece Heather Ogilvie told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been suffering from emphysema for years.
It was in the 1990 Australian romantic drama The Crossing that Crowe, then 26, first appeared on a film screen.
Ogilvie recalled Crowe arriving late to his audition, disheveled and out of breath. "He was desperate, but from the moment he walked in he ...
Ogilvie died Sunday of cardiac arrest at the Braidwood Hospital in New South Wales, his niece Heather Ogilvie told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been suffering from emphysema for years.
It was in the 1990 Australian romantic drama The Crossing that Crowe, then 26, first appeared on a film screen.
Ogilvie recalled Crowe arriving late to his audition, disheveled and out of breath. "He was desperate, but from the moment he walked in he ...
George Ogilvie, who co-directed the 1985 action film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with George Miller and guided Russell Crowe in his big-screen debut, has died. He was 89.
Ogilvie died Sunday of cardiac arrest at the Braidwood Hospital in New South Wales, his niece Heather Ogilvie told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been suffering from emphysema for years.
It was in the 1990 Australian romantic drama The Crossing that Crowe, then 26, first appeared on a film screen.
Ogilvie recalled Crowe arriving late to his audition, disheveled and out of breath. "He was desperate, but from the moment he walked in he ...
Ogilvie died Sunday of cardiac arrest at the Braidwood Hospital in New South Wales, his niece Heather Ogilvie told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been suffering from emphysema for years.
It was in the 1990 Australian romantic drama The Crossing that Crowe, then 26, first appeared on a film screen.
Ogilvie recalled Crowe arriving late to his audition, disheveled and out of breath. "He was desperate, but from the moment he walked in he ...
Bec Cubitt has joined Aquarius Films as development and production executive after three years in the UK.
The hire marks a period of rapid expansion at the production company founded by Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford.
Cate Shortland is directing Berlin Syndrome, a thriller about a holiday romance that turns sinister, scripted by Shaun Grant and starring Teresa Palmer and Max Riemelt , in Germany and Melbourne.
Expat Aussie Kate Hickey (an editor on Lena Dunham.s Girls) is helming Roller Dreams, a feature documentary about the Venice Beach roller dancing scene from 1978 until now, financed through Screen Australia.s Signature Documentary Fund.
Garth Davis is on post on Lion, the true life drama starring Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman, which Aquarius is producing with See-Saw Films.
Most recently Cubitt was development executive in the London office of Rooks Nest Entertainment. Before that she completed a Screen Australia placement...
The hire marks a period of rapid expansion at the production company founded by Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford.
Cate Shortland is directing Berlin Syndrome, a thriller about a holiday romance that turns sinister, scripted by Shaun Grant and starring Teresa Palmer and Max Riemelt , in Germany and Melbourne.
Expat Aussie Kate Hickey (an editor on Lena Dunham.s Girls) is helming Roller Dreams, a feature documentary about the Venice Beach roller dancing scene from 1978 until now, financed through Screen Australia.s Signature Documentary Fund.
Garth Davis is on post on Lion, the true life drama starring Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman, which Aquarius is producing with See-Saw Films.
Most recently Cubitt was development executive in the London office of Rooks Nest Entertainment. Before that she completed a Screen Australia placement...
- 9/21/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
All Australian screen agencies are failing to develop female feature directors, according to Megan Simpson Huberman.
The agencies .cannot continue doing the same things and expecting a different result. And the current result - 15% of Australian dramatic features directed by women - is unacceptable,. she writes in the latest issue of Aftrs. Lumina magazine, which is devoted to gender equality in the screen industry.
Among the other factors which contribute to the under-representation of female directors, she says, are Australian film distribution companies which are run by blokes; and international film festival directors who are mostly male.
A former director of development and production investment at Screen Nsw and development executive at Screen Australia, Simpson Huberman is attached to direct Salvation Creek, a drama about a high-flying magazine editor whose husband and brother die within three days of each other, with producer Heather Ogilvie.
In the Lumina article she advocates...
The agencies .cannot continue doing the same things and expecting a different result. And the current result - 15% of Australian dramatic features directed by women - is unacceptable,. she writes in the latest issue of Aftrs. Lumina magazine, which is devoted to gender equality in the screen industry.
Among the other factors which contribute to the under-representation of female directors, she says, are Australian film distribution companies which are run by blokes; and international film festival directors who are mostly male.
A former director of development and production investment at Screen Nsw and development executive at Screen Australia, Simpson Huberman is attached to direct Salvation Creek, a drama about a high-flying magazine editor whose husband and brother die within three days of each other, with producer Heather Ogilvie.
In the Lumina article she advocates...
- 5/28/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Sessions writer-director Ben Lewin is attached to helm Blue Rose, a biopic about the self-described .sex crazed. Australian composer and pianist Percy Grainger.
La-based Jeffrey Walker will return to Oz a to direct Dance Academy: The Comeback., a spin-off of Werner Film Productions. popular TV series, which will follow a young ballerina who dreams of being a star.
Following Ruin and Hail, Amiel Courtin-Wilson is to write, produce and direct Hawkwood, a thriller set in the backwaters of Africa which tells of ageing mercenary.s journey from chaos to grace.
These are among 16 feature projects which are receiving more than $620,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.
Lewin will write Blue Rose with Wain Fimeri for producers Chryssy Tintner, Jan Eymann, Judi Levine and Arclight.s Mark Lazarus and Gary Hamilton. His next film is Us indie romantic drama Purple Hearts, which will star Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez...
La-based Jeffrey Walker will return to Oz a to direct Dance Academy: The Comeback., a spin-off of Werner Film Productions. popular TV series, which will follow a young ballerina who dreams of being a star.
Following Ruin and Hail, Amiel Courtin-Wilson is to write, produce and direct Hawkwood, a thriller set in the backwaters of Africa which tells of ageing mercenary.s journey from chaos to grace.
These are among 16 feature projects which are receiving more than $620,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.
Lewin will write Blue Rose with Wain Fimeri for producers Chryssy Tintner, Jan Eymann, Judi Levine and Arclight.s Mark Lazarus and Gary Hamilton. His next film is Us indie romantic drama Purple Hearts, which will star Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez...
- 4/21/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Ausfilm has announced the 15 Australian producers who will participate in Ausfilm Week London from October 20-23. The event aims to create and develop co-production opportunities between Australian and UK producers for feature film and high-end TV drama.
The schedule will feature meetings for Australian producers with UK counterparts for specific co-production projects that hold international appeal. Following a call out for submissions, the following Australian production companies and representatives have been selected: Australian attendees . Ausfilm Week London 2014:
. Aidan O'Bryan - Wbmc . Amanda Higgs - Amanda Higgs Pty Ltd . Bridget Callow-Wright - Midwinter Films . Heather Ogilvie - Galvanized Film Group . Jamie Hilton - See Pictures . Joanna Werner - Werner Film Productions Pty Ltd . Martha Coleman - Goalpost Pictures . Melissa Kelly - Factor 30 Films . Meredith Garlick - Thomas Street Productions . Patrick McDonald - Wolfhound Pictures Pty Ltd . Stephen Luby - Ruby Entertainment Pty Ltd . Sue Taylor - Taylor Media...
The schedule will feature meetings for Australian producers with UK counterparts for specific co-production projects that hold international appeal. Following a call out for submissions, the following Australian production companies and representatives have been selected: Australian attendees . Ausfilm Week London 2014:
. Aidan O'Bryan - Wbmc . Amanda Higgs - Amanda Higgs Pty Ltd . Bridget Callow-Wright - Midwinter Films . Heather Ogilvie - Galvanized Film Group . Jamie Hilton - See Pictures . Joanna Werner - Werner Film Productions Pty Ltd . Martha Coleman - Goalpost Pictures . Melissa Kelly - Factor 30 Films . Meredith Garlick - Thomas Street Productions . Patrick McDonald - Wolfhound Pictures Pty Ltd . Stephen Luby - Ruby Entertainment Pty Ltd . Sue Taylor - Taylor Media...
- 8/22/2014
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
UK producer Kevin Loader joins comedy drama B Model, to be directed by actor Rachel Griffiths.
Now that it is likely to be set up as a UK/Australian co-production, prolific UK producer Kevin Loader (In the Loop, Hyde Park on Hudson, Le Week-End) has become part of the team behind the comedy drama B Model, to be directed by actor Rachel Griffiths.
Griffiths has directed two shorts, Roundabout and Tulip and this will be her first feature – providing the money can be raised.
Australian producer Louise Smith was reluctant to provide details of the project precisely because it is yet to be financed. The current draft of the script is being written by Samantha Stauss, co-creator of the series Dance Academy.
B Model is included in a list of 18 features that Screen Australia has injected a total of Us$500,000 worth of development money into in the last four months.
One of the...
Now that it is likely to be set up as a UK/Australian co-production, prolific UK producer Kevin Loader (In the Loop, Hyde Park on Hudson, Le Week-End) has become part of the team behind the comedy drama B Model, to be directed by actor Rachel Griffiths.
Griffiths has directed two shorts, Roundabout and Tulip and this will be her first feature – providing the money can be raised.
Australian producer Louise Smith was reluctant to provide details of the project precisely because it is yet to be financed. The current draft of the script is being written by Samantha Stauss, co-creator of the series Dance Academy.
B Model is included in a list of 18 features that Screen Australia has injected a total of Us$500,000 worth of development money into in the last four months.
One of the...
- 7/23/2014
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
Screen Australia today announced nearly $535,000 in development funding for 18 features including projects set in Canada, inner-city Berlin, Mexico City, Vietnam, the Middle East and medieval England.
The genres range from family and musical to comedy, drama, thriller, sci-fi and action. The funding will support eight new projects as well as further assistance for 10 titles.
Through its Talent Escalator programs, the agency is placing three producers in professional posts to improve their direct industry experience and supporting short film director Nicholas Verso in the next stage of his professional development.
Screen Australia.s Head of Production Sally Caplan said, .In this round it is encouraging to see such a great range of Australian stories receive support from filmmakers at different levels, some with international creative partners and several with international focus.
"We are also pleased to be able to support emerging local talent with international placements that will increase our industry...
The genres range from family and musical to comedy, drama, thriller, sci-fi and action. The funding will support eight new projects as well as further assistance for 10 titles.
Through its Talent Escalator programs, the agency is placing three producers in professional posts to improve their direct industry experience and supporting short film director Nicholas Verso in the next stage of his professional development.
Screen Australia.s Head of Production Sally Caplan said, .In this round it is encouraging to see such a great range of Australian stories receive support from filmmakers at different levels, some with international creative partners and several with international focus.
"We are also pleased to be able to support emerging local talent with international placements that will increase our industry...
- 7/22/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Screen industry figures took to social media on Saturday night, most lamenting the election result.
The negative responses continued on Sunday although, to be fair, the Coalition.s victory was warmly welcomed in some circles.
Here.s a sample of Facebook postings:
Julie Marlow: A rotten week; a friend died way too soon, an emotional funeral and now this debacle of an election.
Angie Fielder: Despite the polls, I can't believe it's happening, I can't believe someone like Tony Abbott could be elected to lead our country.
Polly Staniford Seager: Soooooo depressing! Can't even bear to read/watch the news.
John L Simpson: Sad, not the Australia that's in my heart.
Stephen Lance: I can't watch.
Matilda Brown: How did we go from Julia to Tony? This is horrible.
Steve Saragossi: Australia, what the hell have you just done?
Stephen Sewell : I just woke up this...
The negative responses continued on Sunday although, to be fair, the Coalition.s victory was warmly welcomed in some circles.
Here.s a sample of Facebook postings:
Julie Marlow: A rotten week; a friend died way too soon, an emotional funeral and now this debacle of an election.
Angie Fielder: Despite the polls, I can't believe it's happening, I can't believe someone like Tony Abbott could be elected to lead our country.
Polly Staniford Seager: Soooooo depressing! Can't even bear to read/watch the news.
John L Simpson: Sad, not the Australia that's in my heart.
Stephen Lance: I can't watch.
Matilda Brown: How did we go from Julia to Tony? This is horrible.
Steve Saragossi: Australia, what the hell have you just done?
Stephen Sewell : I just woke up this...
- 9/8/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Megan Simpson Huberman has agreed to direct Salvation Creek, an Australian movie about a high-flying magazine editor whose husband and brother die within three days of each other.
The producer is Heather Ogilvie, CEO of Galvanized Film Group, who collaborated with the director on her two previous features, Alex (1992) and Dating the Enemy (1996).
Ross Grayson Bell is writing the screenplay based on the novel by Susan Duncan, which has sold more than 250,000 copies. The narrative follows the grief-stricken protagonist as she throws in her city job and buys a rundown shack on Sydney.s Pittwater, where she finds friendship, love and a new life.
Ogilvie optioned the book in 2010 and has developed the project with the support of Screen Australia and Screen Nsw. Grayson Bell is working on the third draft and shooting is planned for mid-.2014.
The producer has an in-principle agreement for Australian distribution with Paramount Pictures. MD Mike Selwyn.
The producer is Heather Ogilvie, CEO of Galvanized Film Group, who collaborated with the director on her two previous features, Alex (1992) and Dating the Enemy (1996).
Ross Grayson Bell is writing the screenplay based on the novel by Susan Duncan, which has sold more than 250,000 copies. The narrative follows the grief-stricken protagonist as she throws in her city job and buys a rundown shack on Sydney.s Pittwater, where she finds friendship, love and a new life.
Ogilvie optioned the book in 2010 and has developed the project with the support of Screen Australia and Screen Nsw. Grayson Bell is working on the third draft and shooting is planned for mid-.2014.
The producer has an in-principle agreement for Australian distribution with Paramount Pictures. MD Mike Selwyn.
- 8/20/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Screen Australia has committed almost $700,000 in development support across 23 feature projects.
Fifteen new projects have been added to Screen Australia.s development slate, while eight teams will receive continued support to develop their projects.
Two Australian filmmakers will also be supported to undertake overseas internships: producer Ma.ara Bobby Romia will work for six months with Screentime Group in New Zealand and director Ariel Martin-Merrells will work under the mentorship of director James Foley in Los Angeles for five months.
Screen Australia.s head of development Martha Coleman said in a statement: .Following a now well-established tradition, the development slate announced today includes a diverse range of compelling stories from both established and emerging filmmakers. The high calibre of screenplays coming through our door backs up positive feedback we are getting from the domestic and international marketplace and I.m looking forward to seeing the best of these projects make...
Fifteen new projects have been added to Screen Australia.s development slate, while eight teams will receive continued support to develop their projects.
Two Australian filmmakers will also be supported to undertake overseas internships: producer Ma.ara Bobby Romia will work for six months with Screentime Group in New Zealand and director Ariel Martin-Merrells will work under the mentorship of director James Foley in Los Angeles for five months.
Screen Australia.s head of development Martha Coleman said in a statement: .Following a now well-established tradition, the development slate announced today includes a diverse range of compelling stories from both established and emerging filmmakers. The high calibre of screenplays coming through our door backs up positive feedback we are getting from the domestic and international marketplace and I.m looking forward to seeing the best of these projects make...
- 8/29/2012
- by Staff reporter
- IF.com.au
The story of Rupert Murdoch’s rise to become the world’s biggest media mogul looks set to become an Australian TV telemovie,
Screen Australia has provided funding development for the work which is being written by Bob Ellis and Stephen Ramsay.
The announcement comes days after Southern Star’s production of Howzat, the story of how Australian media mogul Kerry Packer took on the cricket establishment delivered the Nine Network with 2m+ ratings.
The series has the working title of The News of the World.
The British Sunday tabloid the telemovie is named after was closed by Murdoch last year in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
Bob Ellis wrote the Australian journalism drama Newsfront and most recently ABC’s Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley’s Battle for Coal while Stephen Ramsey wrote and directed The Baby Boomers Picture Show and Flashbacks.
Ellis told Mumbrella: “What we have...
Screen Australia has provided funding development for the work which is being written by Bob Ellis and Stephen Ramsay.
The announcement comes days after Southern Star’s production of Howzat, the story of how Australian media mogul Kerry Packer took on the cricket establishment delivered the Nine Network with 2m+ ratings.
The series has the working title of The News of the World.
The British Sunday tabloid the telemovie is named after was closed by Murdoch last year in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
Bob Ellis wrote the Australian journalism drama Newsfront and most recently ABC’s Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley’s Battle for Coal while Stephen Ramsey wrote and directed The Baby Boomers Picture Show and Flashbacks.
Ellis told Mumbrella: “What we have...
- 8/28/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Zephyr Films founder Chris Curling is one of many UK producers taking part in this year.s Ausfilm Week London and, as one of the producers on Death Defying Acts, has already experienced the particular needs of UK/Australian co-productions.
The mid-May pre-Cannes event is designed to develop co-productions between Australia and the UK -- both feature film and high-end television series . through a series of networking events and panel discussions aimed at familiarising delegates with the funding and production landscape of their potential partners.
Also on the list of attendees is Carlo Dusi, head of business and commercial affairs at Ridley and Tony Scott.s production company Scott Free. Ridley Scott cast Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe in his 2010 action adventure Robin Hood.
Others include Carola Ash, one of the two people heading 2B Pictures, the production arm of the finance-focussed Future Films Group, and Alison Meese, who is...
The mid-May pre-Cannes event is designed to develop co-productions between Australia and the UK -- both feature film and high-end television series . through a series of networking events and panel discussions aimed at familiarising delegates with the funding and production landscape of their potential partners.
Also on the list of attendees is Carlo Dusi, head of business and commercial affairs at Ridley and Tony Scott.s production company Scott Free. Ridley Scott cast Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe in his 2010 action adventure Robin Hood.
Others include Carola Ash, one of the two people heading 2B Pictures, the production arm of the finance-focussed Future Films Group, and Alison Meese, who is...
- 5/2/2012
- by Sandy George
- IF.com.au
John Polson, Robert Connolly and Catriona McKenzie are among the filmmakers to receive development funding from Screen Australia, announced today.
The funding, worth $275,000 is for the development of 10 feature film projects.
Polson has received matched funding to develop his Sydney Project, a collection of short films in s similar vein to Paris Je T’aime and New York I Love You, while Robert Connolly will develop his film Paper Planes and Catriona McKenzie will work on new project One White Crow.
Writer John Ratchford will travel to London for a six month internship with Dominic Minghella, writer of Doc Martin and Robin Hood and Island Pictures.
Full List of Single-funded projects
Aussie Gals
Genre Comedy
Writer Josephine Emery
Synopsis Georgie and Kylie are sisters. When Georgie’s boyfriend cons her into pulling a job for him and the heat is on her, Kylie has to risk everything she has to...
The funding, worth $275,000 is for the development of 10 feature film projects.
Polson has received matched funding to develop his Sydney Project, a collection of short films in s similar vein to Paris Je T’aime and New York I Love You, while Robert Connolly will develop his film Paper Planes and Catriona McKenzie will work on new project One White Crow.
Writer John Ratchford will travel to London for a six month internship with Dominic Minghella, writer of Doc Martin and Robin Hood and Island Pictures.
Full List of Single-funded projects
Aussie Gals
Genre Comedy
Writer Josephine Emery
Synopsis Georgie and Kylie are sisters. When Georgie’s boyfriend cons her into pulling a job for him and the heat is on her, Kylie has to risk everything she has to...
- 1/25/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia has invested $275,000 in funding to support the development of 10 feature film projects, it was announced today.
The money will be used toward the development of films including a new feature from Balibo director Robert Connolly and John Polson's mysteriously titled 'Sydney Project.'
Connolly is attached to write, direct and co-produce Paper Planes, the story of a young boy with such a love flight, that he is compelled to compete in the world paper plane championships.
Details surrounding Tropfest creator John Polson's Sydney project are few. When announced last June, it was said to be a collection of 12 short films set in each month of the year that paid tribute to the city.
Other films that have received funding include Kingdom Come, an action thriller to be directed by Marc Furmie and One White Crow, from writer/director Catriona McKenzie.
Kingdom Come features an Australian Federal...
The money will be used toward the development of films including a new feature from Balibo director Robert Connolly and John Polson's mysteriously titled 'Sydney Project.'
Connolly is attached to write, direct and co-produce Paper Planes, the story of a young boy with such a love flight, that he is compelled to compete in the world paper plane championships.
Details surrounding Tropfest creator John Polson's Sydney project are few. When announced last June, it was said to be a collection of 12 short films set in each month of the year that paid tribute to the city.
Other films that have received funding include Kingdom Come, an action thriller to be directed by Marc Furmie and One White Crow, from writer/director Catriona McKenzie.
Kingdom Come features an Australian Federal...
- 1/25/2012
- by Amanda Diaz
- IF.com.au
Screen Australia has announced a new round of funding for 18 filmmaking teams to develop feature projects including teams led by producer Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech), director Kriv Stenders (Red Dog) and director Gillian Armstrong.
The funding totals $500,000.
Sherman is working with Clayton Jacobsen (Kenny) to develop crime film The Docks with writers Jamie Browne and Kris Mrksa.
Auteur director and cancer sufferer Paul Cox is working with executive producer Shaun Miller and producer Maggie Miles to develop his own memoir Tales from the Cancer Ward into drama script Force of Destiny.
Screen Australia also continues its investment in producer Marian Macgowan’s The Great, with writer Tony McNamara and director Gillian Armstrong on the adaptation of McNamara’s play of the same name.
Red Dog director Kriv Stenders works with his Lucky Country writer Andy Cox to develop their comic romance script F*****! A Romance.
Screen Australia has...
The funding totals $500,000.
Sherman is working with Clayton Jacobsen (Kenny) to develop crime film The Docks with writers Jamie Browne and Kris Mrksa.
Auteur director and cancer sufferer Paul Cox is working with executive producer Shaun Miller and producer Maggie Miles to develop his own memoir Tales from the Cancer Ward into drama script Force of Destiny.
Screen Australia also continues its investment in producer Marian Macgowan’s The Great, with writer Tony McNamara and director Gillian Armstrong on the adaptation of McNamara’s play of the same name.
Red Dog director Kriv Stenders works with his Lucky Country writer Andy Cox to develop their comic romance script F*****! A Romance.
Screen Australia has...
- 12/12/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Seventeen feature films have received support for development by Screen Australia, with a spend totalling $500,000.
The productions include projects involving Emile Sherman, Johnathan Teplitzky, Helen Pankhurst and Jan Sardi.
Martha Coleman, Screen Australia’s head of development, said: “I’m proud of our association with this compelling group of feature projects by such talented filmmaking teams. The quality and range of projects we are seeing is hugely inspiring and our development team care passionately about assisting the filmmakers we are working with to achieve the best possible version of their story. This is a very exciting time.”
Projects include:
Tim Winton’s best selling surfing story, Breath will get an adaptation by Simon Baker producing with Jamie Hilton and Mark Johnson and written by Peter Duncan. Four comedies have received funding including Ali’s Wedding, written by Osamah Sami and Andrew Knight will be developed by producers Helen Panckhurst, Michael McMahon...
The productions include projects involving Emile Sherman, Johnathan Teplitzky, Helen Pankhurst and Jan Sardi.
Martha Coleman, Screen Australia’s head of development, said: “I’m proud of our association with this compelling group of feature projects by such talented filmmaking teams. The quality and range of projects we are seeing is hugely inspiring and our development team care passionately about assisting the filmmakers we are working with to achieve the best possible version of their story. This is a very exciting time.”
Projects include:
Tim Winton’s best selling surfing story, Breath will get an adaptation by Simon Baker producing with Jamie Hilton and Mark Johnson and written by Peter Duncan. Four comedies have received funding including Ali’s Wedding, written by Osamah Sami and Andrew Knight will be developed by producers Helen Panckhurst, Michael McMahon...
- 10/14/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia has invested on the development of features Remarkable Creatures (written by Jan Sardi), A Murder of Crows, Black Echoes, Sibling and Worms.
The investment round includes three short films from the Springboard Program, meant to act as ‘calling cards’ to feature film proposals.
The features in development are:
Black Echoes
Producers Michael Robertson, Murray Pope
Writers Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause
A group of international tourists are taken off the beaten path to an isolated village deep in the Vietnamese countryside. They are promised a Viet Cong tunnel crawl experience that makes the famous Cu Chi Tunnels seem like a playground… Tighter, more claustrophobic, scarier – they get their money’s worth and then some.
A Murder of Crows
Producers Murray Pope, Michael Robertson
Writers Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause
Director Nick Robertson
Lost love brought him there, cold-blooded murder kept him there, now dark vengeance takes flight.
Remarkable Creatures
Producer...
The investment round includes three short films from the Springboard Program, meant to act as ‘calling cards’ to feature film proposals.
The features in development are:
Black Echoes
Producers Michael Robertson, Murray Pope
Writers Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause
A group of international tourists are taken off the beaten path to an isolated village deep in the Vietnamese countryside. They are promised a Viet Cong tunnel crawl experience that makes the famous Cu Chi Tunnels seem like a playground… Tighter, more claustrophobic, scarier – they get their money’s worth and then some.
A Murder of Crows
Producers Murray Pope, Michael Robertson
Writers Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause
Director Nick Robertson
Lost love brought him there, cold-blooded murder kept him there, now dark vengeance takes flight.
Remarkable Creatures
Producer...
- 3/25/2011
- by Miguel Gonzalez
- Encore Magazine
Esther Blueberger
Generation Kplus
SYDNEY -- Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger is an Australian coming-of-age comedy that's as self-consciously quirky as its title.
First-time writer-director Cathy Randall would have done well to dial down the eccentricity and concentrate on evening out the tone, which oscillates between cutesy and creepy with a jarring third-act detour into melodrama.
The misfit Jewish girl of the title (played by newcomer Danielle Catanzariti) bears more than a passing resemblance to Heather Matarazzo's nerdy 12-year-old in Welcome to the Dollhouse. But Randall doesn't have the fine-tuned satirical sensibility that allowed Todd Solondz to hit just the right note between comedy and pain.
The presence of Toni Collette and Oscar-nominated Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) should help its profile, but this Disney-backed film is too left of center to appeal to the mainstream when it opens March 20 in Australia.
Esther takes a kitchen-sink approach to the teen issues it canvasses -- bullying, peer pressure, family dysfunction and sexual awakening among them -- so there's something for everyone as far as the adolescent target audience is concerned.
But some of it is dubious fare. Esther's back-alley experimentation with a classmate, for example, is more disquieting than droll. And the behavior exhibited by her number-crunching twin brother Jacob (Christian Byers) is not so much idiosyncratic as downright scary. Little wonder the entire family winds up in a psychiatrist's office.
Esther is a tiny, beetle-browed 13-year-old tormented by her perfectionist mother's (Essie Davis) preparations for her upcoming bat-mitzvah and by the taunting of classmates at her ultra-conformist all-girls private school. The girls make fun of her dorky look and peculiar habits, and she spends lonely lunch hours talking to God through a toilet bowl. It's that kind of quirky.
Her oddness catches the eye of Sunni (Castle-Hughes), a tough-nut drummer from a nearby public school, who befriends Esther. Together they hatch a plan: Esther borrows Sunni's spare school uniform and secretly changes schools, fooling her parents while exploring an exciting new universe that includes hanging out with the cool kids and Sunni's hip, laid-back mother, Mary (Collette.)
In her desperation to fit in, Esther's natural adolescent self-absorption takes an unpleasant turn, and she starts to alienate everyone (except the pet duckling named Normal that follows her everywhere and is somewhat labored as a metaphor.)
Production designer Nell Hanson, costume designer Shareen Beringer and cinematographer Anna Howard use a Skittles-colored palette to create a heightened reality that mirrors Esther's internal fantasy world. The film boasts a great indie soundtrack dominated by upbeat Australian bands.
HEY HEY IT'S ESTHER BLUEBERGER
Tama Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Cathy Randall
Producer: Miriam Stein
Executive producers: Heather Ogilvie, Stephen Hays, Peter Graham, Anton Rosenberg, Toni Collette
Director of photography: Anna Howard
Production designer: Nell Hanson
Music: Guy Gross
Co-producer: Harry Clein
Costume designer: Shareen Beringer
Editor: Dany Cooper
Cast:
Esther: Danielle Catanzariti
Sunni: Keisha Castle-Hughes
Mary: Toni Collette
Jacob: Christian Byers
Grace: Essie Davis
Osmond: Russell Dykstra
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
SYDNEY -- Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger is an Australian coming-of-age comedy that's as self-consciously quirky as its title.
First-time writer-director Cathy Randall would have done well to dial down the eccentricity and concentrate on evening out the tone, which oscillates between cutesy and creepy with a jarring third-act detour into melodrama.
The misfit Jewish girl of the title (played by newcomer Danielle Catanzariti) bears more than a passing resemblance to Heather Matarazzo's nerdy 12-year-old in Welcome to the Dollhouse. But Randall doesn't have the fine-tuned satirical sensibility that allowed Todd Solondz to hit just the right note between comedy and pain.
The presence of Toni Collette and Oscar-nominated Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) should help its profile, but this Disney-backed film is too left of center to appeal to the mainstream when it opens March 20 in Australia.
Esther takes a kitchen-sink approach to the teen issues it canvasses -- bullying, peer pressure, family dysfunction and sexual awakening among them -- so there's something for everyone as far as the adolescent target audience is concerned.
But some of it is dubious fare. Esther's back-alley experimentation with a classmate, for example, is more disquieting than droll. And the behavior exhibited by her number-crunching twin brother Jacob (Christian Byers) is not so much idiosyncratic as downright scary. Little wonder the entire family winds up in a psychiatrist's office.
Esther is a tiny, beetle-browed 13-year-old tormented by her perfectionist mother's (Essie Davis) preparations for her upcoming bat-mitzvah and by the taunting of classmates at her ultra-conformist all-girls private school. The girls make fun of her dorky look and peculiar habits, and she spends lonely lunch hours talking to God through a toilet bowl. It's that kind of quirky.
Her oddness catches the eye of Sunni (Castle-Hughes), a tough-nut drummer from a nearby public school, who befriends Esther. Together they hatch a plan: Esther borrows Sunni's spare school uniform and secretly changes schools, fooling her parents while exploring an exciting new universe that includes hanging out with the cool kids and Sunni's hip, laid-back mother, Mary (Collette.)
In her desperation to fit in, Esther's natural adolescent self-absorption takes an unpleasant turn, and she starts to alienate everyone (except the pet duckling named Normal that follows her everywhere and is somewhat labored as a metaphor.)
Production designer Nell Hanson, costume designer Shareen Beringer and cinematographer Anna Howard use a Skittles-colored palette to create a heightened reality that mirrors Esther's internal fantasy world. The film boasts a great indie soundtrack dominated by upbeat Australian bands.
HEY HEY IT'S ESTHER BLUEBERGER
Tama Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Cathy Randall
Producer: Miriam Stein
Executive producers: Heather Ogilvie, Stephen Hays, Peter Graham, Anton Rosenberg, Toni Collette
Director of photography: Anna Howard
Production designer: Nell Hanson
Music: Guy Gross
Co-producer: Harry Clein
Costume designer: Shareen Beringer
Editor: Dany Cooper
Cast:
Esther: Danielle Catanzariti
Sunni: Keisha Castle-Hughes
Mary: Toni Collette
Jacob: Christian Byers
Grace: Essie Davis
Osmond: Russell Dykstra
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/28/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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