Second features from directors Natalie Erika James (Relic) and Samuel Van Grinsven (Sequin in a Blue Room) are among the 28 projects to recently share in $1 million worth of development funding from Screen Australia.
The agency announced the funding recipients today, with money going towards seven features, 16 TV drama and five online projects.
These are the first projects to be announced for the 2020-21 financial year, from both the Premium and Generate funds.
Projects funded via Premium Plus, the additional development funding allocation Screen Australia launched to support the industry through Covid-19, are expected to be announced later today.
Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said: “It’s great to see producers thinking globally and developing unique stories for Australian audiences and the world. We’re excited to support these original story ideas, many with distinct storyworlds and fantastic comedic imaginations that I’m confident will resonate. We’re also...
The agency announced the funding recipients today, with money going towards seven features, 16 TV drama and five online projects.
These are the first projects to be announced for the 2020-21 financial year, from both the Premium and Generate funds.
Projects funded via Premium Plus, the additional development funding allocation Screen Australia launched to support the industry through Covid-19, are expected to be announced later today.
Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said: “It’s great to see producers thinking globally and developing unique stories for Australian audiences and the world. We’re excited to support these original story ideas, many with distinct storyworlds and fantastic comedic imaginations that I’m confident will resonate. We’re also...
- 10/28/2020
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Rebecca Green, Sarah Epstein and Kristian Moliere.
The producers of The Babadook and US horror movie It Follows are teaming up for a feature adaptation of Small Spaces, a young adult novel by Australian author Sarah Epstein.
Triptych Pictures’ Kristian Moliere and US producer Rebecca Green have hired Shelly Lauman to write and direct the psychological thriller.
Epstein’s debut novel follows Tash Carmody, who has been traumatised since childhood when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival.
At the time nobody believed Tash and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now aged 17, as disturbing memories resurface, Tash starts to see Sparrow again.
She realises Mallory is the key to unlocking the truth about a dark secret connecting them, raising the questions: Does Sparrow exist after all? Or is Tash more dangerous to others than she thinks?...
The producers of The Babadook and US horror movie It Follows are teaming up for a feature adaptation of Small Spaces, a young adult novel by Australian author Sarah Epstein.
Triptych Pictures’ Kristian Moliere and US producer Rebecca Green have hired Shelly Lauman to write and direct the psychological thriller.
Epstein’s debut novel follows Tash Carmody, who has been traumatised since childhood when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival.
At the time nobody believed Tash and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now aged 17, as disturbing memories resurface, Tash starts to see Sparrow again.
She realises Mallory is the key to unlocking the truth about a dark secret connecting them, raising the questions: Does Sparrow exist after all? Or is Tash more dangerous to others than she thinks?...
- 8/25/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘A Field Guide to Being A 12-Year-Old Girl’ (Photo: Nat Rogers)
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) today launched #SocialShorts, its national online short film competition.
#SocialShorts – this year presented in partnership with Mini – runs for two weeks across Drama, Comedy and Open categories, with the winner of each to be announced July 29. Audiences can watch all participating films on the #SocialShorts website.
Many of the films in this year’s comp have achieved acclaim already, including Shelly Lauman’s Birdie, which was acquired by Fox Searchlight after screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, Julie Kalceff’s First Day, which has been turned into a full series for the ABC, and Tilda Cobham-Hervey’s A Field Guide to Being A 12-Year-Old Girl, which was awarded the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film at Berlinale in 2018.
Corrie Chen, Lucy Gaffy, Mirrah Foulkes, and Luke Eve are this year’s #SocialShorts’ ambassadors,...
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) today launched #SocialShorts, its national online short film competition.
#SocialShorts – this year presented in partnership with Mini – runs for two weeks across Drama, Comedy and Open categories, with the winner of each to be announced July 29. Audiences can watch all participating films on the #SocialShorts website.
Many of the films in this year’s comp have achieved acclaim already, including Shelly Lauman’s Birdie, which was acquired by Fox Searchlight after screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, Julie Kalceff’s First Day, which has been turned into a full series for the ABC, and Tilda Cobham-Hervey’s A Field Guide to Being A 12-Year-Old Girl, which was awarded the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film at Berlinale in 2018.
Corrie Chen, Lucy Gaffy, Mirrah Foulkes, and Luke Eve are this year’s #SocialShorts’ ambassadors,...
- 7/15/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
A short look at how a simple smile can lead to danger and terror. Birdie is a short film made by filmmaker Shelly Lauman, the next film debuted as part of Fox Searchlight's new online initiative called "Searchlight Shorts". A woman walks alone to the train station. As she descends the stairs to the underground platform she smiles at a young man, and he smiles back. With the smallest of gestures, the woman becomes caught in a subtle and sinister game. Maeve Dermody stars, with Sam Parsonson, Joshua Brennan, Lynette Curran, and Eden Falk. This simple but powerful short film utilizes the Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1, and plays without any real dialogue. It's an example of how bad it is out there for women, how aggressive men can be, and how the tiniest of kind gestures can be misconstrued as an invitation. Watch in full below. Birdie is...
- 4/15/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Sophie Hyde, Rachel Perkins.
Warwick Thornton, Garth Davis, Joel Edgerton and Anthony Maras have been nominated for best direction in a feature film budgeted at $1 million or more in the 2019 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards.
So Sweet Country, Mary Magdalene, Boy Erased and Hotel Mumbai will compete in the awards to be announced on Monday May 6 at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.
In the new category of best direction in a feature budgeted below $1 million, the nominees are Christopher Kay (Just Between Us), Donna McRae (Lost Gully Road), Dustin Feneley (Stray) and Jason Perini (Chasing Comets).
The nominees for best direction in a TV or SVoD drama series episode are Rachel Perkins (Mystery Road series 1), Nash Edgerton (Mr Inbetween series 1), Tony Krawitz and Emma Freeman.
Jeffrey Walker (Riot), Daina Reid and Shannon Murphy (On The Ropes) have been nominated for best direction in a TV or SVoD miniseries and telefeature.
Warwick Thornton, Garth Davis, Joel Edgerton and Anthony Maras have been nominated for best direction in a feature film budgeted at $1 million or more in the 2019 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards.
So Sweet Country, Mary Magdalene, Boy Erased and Hotel Mumbai will compete in the awards to be announced on Monday May 6 at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.
In the new category of best direction in a feature budgeted below $1 million, the nominees are Christopher Kay (Just Between Us), Donna McRae (Lost Gully Road), Dustin Feneley (Stray) and Jason Perini (Chasing Comets).
The nominees for best direction in a TV or SVoD drama series episode are Rachel Perkins (Mystery Road series 1), Nash Edgerton (Mr Inbetween series 1), Tony Krawitz and Emma Freeman.
Jeffrey Walker (Riot), Daina Reid and Shannon Murphy (On The Ropes) have been nominated for best direction in a TV or SVoD miniseries and telefeature.
- 4/8/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Shideh Faramand, Julietta Boscolo and April Tafe.
Shideh Faramand, April Tafe and Julietta Boscolo are the recipients of the third instalment of the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Metro Screen Open Fellowship, and will share in $15,000 to fund opportunities in the Us.
Further, two short films – Adrian Chiarella’s Dwarf Planet and Joshua Levi Sambono’s Suspect – will each receive $20,000 in production funding as part of the Adg Metro Screen Production Fellowship. The panel also awarded a special commendation to Home-Brand from writer/director Sophie Hattch.
Joshua Levi Sambono.
Adg CEO Kingston Anderson said: “Once again, the Adg have had the great pleasure of overseeing the legacy of Metro Screen, in continuing to administer the Metro Screen Open and Production Fellowships for our screen community. Our Open Fellowship recipients have all been afforded the opportunity to explore new pathways to develop their careers overseas; and this year we have undertaken for the first time,...
Shideh Faramand, April Tafe and Julietta Boscolo are the recipients of the third instalment of the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Metro Screen Open Fellowship, and will share in $15,000 to fund opportunities in the Us.
Further, two short films – Adrian Chiarella’s Dwarf Planet and Joshua Levi Sambono’s Suspect – will each receive $20,000 in production funding as part of the Adg Metro Screen Production Fellowship. The panel also awarded a special commendation to Home-Brand from writer/director Sophie Hattch.
Joshua Levi Sambono.
Adg CEO Kingston Anderson said: “Once again, the Adg have had the great pleasure of overseeing the legacy of Metro Screen, in continuing to administer the Metro Screen Open and Production Fellowships for our screen community. Our Open Fellowship recipients have all been afforded the opportunity to explore new pathways to develop their careers overseas; and this year we have undertaken for the first time,...
- 4/2/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Most Oscar contenders had their distribution plans sorted months ago, but “Skin” just lined up its plans last week. That’s when Fox Searchlight announced that it had acquired the Oscar-nominated live action short film, with plans to make it available on its social media channels. The news is the latest indication of how the 25-year-old specialty distributor, which was recently acquired by Disney, may evolve into its next stage.
“Skin” marks the fourth short film acquired by Fox Searchlight since the fall, when the studio picked up A.V. Rockwell’s “Feathers” and Shelly Lauman’s “Birdie” out of the Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the company acquired Matthew Puccini “Lavender.”
With Disney’s new streaming platform Disney+ set to launch this fall, it may be inevitable that companies tasked with acquiring new content would turn to shorts, which have limited theatrical potential but can play just fine in the living room.
“Skin” marks the fourth short film acquired by Fox Searchlight since the fall, when the studio picked up A.V. Rockwell’s “Feathers” and Shelly Lauman’s “Birdie” out of the Toronto International Film Festival. At Sundance, the company acquired Matthew Puccini “Lavender.”
With Disney’s new streaming platform Disney+ set to launch this fall, it may be inevitable that companies tasked with acquiring new content would turn to shorts, which have limited theatrical potential but can play just fine in the living room.
- 2/11/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Danielle Boesenberg.
With five shorts she has worked on screening this week at the Flickerfest International Short Film Festival screen editor Danielle Boesenberg must have a good shot at success at the festival.
She knew Ritual and Dust Devil were having their world premieres because she had a heads-up from the filmmakers. When the program came out she was pleasantly surprised to find Birdie, Black Lips and I F*cked A Mermaid and No One Believes Me were also selected.
“What I love about the five is they are all very different: two dramas, a comedy, a documentary and a queer film,” she tells If.
After working on more than 30 shorts she is looking to take the next step into features and long-form TV dramas, noting: “It’s just a matter of finding the right project.”
Most ambitiously, she and her partner, screenwriter Sam Meikle, hope to co-direct a movie...
With five shorts she has worked on screening this week at the Flickerfest International Short Film Festival screen editor Danielle Boesenberg must have a good shot at success at the festival.
She knew Ritual and Dust Devil were having their world premieres because she had a heads-up from the filmmakers. When the program came out she was pleasantly surprised to find Birdie, Black Lips and I F*cked A Mermaid and No One Believes Me were also selected.
“What I love about the five is they are all very different: two dramas, a comedy, a documentary and a queer film,” she tells If.
After working on more than 30 shorts she is looking to take the next step into features and long-form TV dramas, noting: “It’s just a matter of finding the right project.”
Most ambitiously, she and her partner, screenwriter Sam Meikle, hope to co-direct a movie...
- 1/15/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Short Live Action film Nothing to Declare by Hetty de Kruijf, has been selected by an independent committee of Dutch film professionals for Oscar® submission in the Live Action Short Film Category.
‘Feathers’ by A.V. Rockwell
It will face tough competition with the two shorts that Fox Searchlight picked up during Tiff to promote for the nomination. Feathers, directed by A.V. Rockwell in which present struggles and past traumas threaten to weigh down a new arrival at a school for lost boys, a place portrayed as both a ruthless battleground a place for recovery, and Birdie, from Shelly Lauman. (an international premiere) in which a woman walks alone to the train station. As she descends the stairs to the underground platform she smiles at a young man, he smiles back. With the smallest of gestures, the woman becomes caught in a subtle and sinister game.
Nothing to Declare tells...
‘Feathers’ by A.V. Rockwell
It will face tough competition with the two shorts that Fox Searchlight picked up during Tiff to promote for the nomination. Feathers, directed by A.V. Rockwell in which present struggles and past traumas threaten to weigh down a new arrival at a school for lost boys, a place portrayed as both a ruthless battleground a place for recovery, and Birdie, from Shelly Lauman. (an international premiere) in which a woman walks alone to the train station. As she descends the stairs to the underground platform she smiles at a young man, he smiles back. With the smallest of gestures, the woman becomes caught in a subtle and sinister game.
Nothing to Declare tells...
- 10/1/2018
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Maeve Dermody in ‘Birdie.‘
Writer-director Shelly Lauman’s short film Birdie is screening at a Los Angeles cinema this week in order to qualify for the Academy Awards.
Fox Searchlight booked Birdie and African-American female director A.V. Rockwell’s Feathers for a one-week run starting on September 24 at the Vintage Los Feliz Theatre after acquiring worldwide rights to both titles at the Toronto International Film Festival.
After the festival Lauman spent a week in La meeting studios, producers and agents, aiming to secure support for her first feature, which she wants to make in Australia. She signed with the Paradigm Talent Agency for Us representation. Among the agency’s clients are James Wan, Shane Brennan, Stephen King, James Ivory, Antonio Banderas and Laurence Fishburne.
Funded by the inaugural $20,000 Australian Directors’ Guild/Metro Screen Production Fellowship and produced by Lizzie Cater, Birdie stars Maeve Dermody as a young woman who meets...
Writer-director Shelly Lauman’s short film Birdie is screening at a Los Angeles cinema this week in order to qualify for the Academy Awards.
Fox Searchlight booked Birdie and African-American female director A.V. Rockwell’s Feathers for a one-week run starting on September 24 at the Vintage Los Feliz Theatre after acquiring worldwide rights to both titles at the Toronto International Film Festival.
After the festival Lauman spent a week in La meeting studios, producers and agents, aiming to secure support for her first feature, which she wants to make in Australia. She signed with the Paradigm Talent Agency for Us representation. Among the agency’s clients are James Wan, Shane Brennan, Stephen King, James Ivory, Antonio Banderas and Laurence Fishburne.
Funded by the inaugural $20,000 Australian Directors’ Guild/Metro Screen Production Fellowship and produced by Lizzie Cater, Birdie stars Maeve Dermody as a young woman who meets...
- 9/25/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Both acquisitions screened in Tiff, will get qualifying runs.
Fox Searchlight has acquired two short films that screened in the Tiff Short Cuts programme and will mount awards campaigns as part of a new venture.
Feathers directed by A.V. Rockwell and Birdie by Shelly Lauman will get exclusive runs at the Vintage Los Feliz 3 Theatres starting on Monday (24). Both shorts will receive one-week qualifying runs in advance of the 91st Academy Awards ceremony.
Fox Searchlight Pictures previously released Wes Anderson’s 2007 short Hotel Chevalier prior to select prints of The Darjeeling Limited.
At time of writing Searchlight had not replied...
Fox Searchlight has acquired two short films that screened in the Tiff Short Cuts programme and will mount awards campaigns as part of a new venture.
Feathers directed by A.V. Rockwell and Birdie by Shelly Lauman will get exclusive runs at the Vintage Los Feliz 3 Theatres starting on Monday (24). Both shorts will receive one-week qualifying runs in advance of the 91st Academy Awards ceremony.
Fox Searchlight Pictures previously released Wes Anderson’s 2007 short Hotel Chevalier prior to select prints of The Darjeeling Limited.
At time of writing Searchlight had not replied...
- 9/24/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Fox Searchlight has acquired a pair of short films acquired at the Toronto Film Festival and has set one-week Oscar-qualifying runs beginning today in Los Angeles for both of them.
The pics, the A.V. Rockwell-directed Feathers and the Shelly Lauman-directed Birdie, were part of Tiff’s Short Cuts lineup earlier this month. They open in theaters Monday with exclusive runs at the Vintage Los Feliz 3.
Feathers centers on an emotionally dejected new enrollee at the Edward R. Mill School for Boys, who must overcome memories of a tragic past and hazing by his peers to tackle larger issues dominating his life. Birdie follows a woman (Maeve Dermody) walking alone in a train station, who finds herself part of a sinister game after returning the smallest of gestures to a young man (Sam Parsonson).
Fox Searchlight is no stranger to the Oscars, having distributed four of the past nine...
The pics, the A.V. Rockwell-directed Feathers and the Shelly Lauman-directed Birdie, were part of Tiff’s Short Cuts lineup earlier this month. They open in theaters Monday with exclusive runs at the Vintage Los Feliz 3.
Feathers centers on an emotionally dejected new enrollee at the Edward R. Mill School for Boys, who must overcome memories of a tragic past and hazing by his peers to tackle larger issues dominating his life. Birdie follows a woman (Maeve Dermody) walking alone in a train station, who finds herself part of a sinister game after returning the smallest of gestures to a young man (Sam Parsonson).
Fox Searchlight is no stranger to the Oscars, having distributed four of the past nine...
- 9/24/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Dop Anna Howard and Shelly Lauman (Photo: Nicholas Prokop).
Writer-director Shelly Lauman hopes to secure Us representation and support for her first feature after Fox Searchlight acquired worldwide rights to her short film Birdie.
After the deal was announced at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Birdie screened in the Short Cuts competition, Lauman is spending a week in Los Angeles meeting with producers, managers and other industry contacts.
Produced by Lizzie Cater, Birdie had its first international screening in Toronto following the world premiere at Miff.
Funded by the inaugural $20,000 Australian Directors Guild/Metro Screen Production Fellowship, the psychological thriller follows a young woman who meets a man as she descends the stairs to an underground platform, leading to a subtle and sinister game.
Starring Maeve Dermody, Sam Parsonson, Joshua Brennan, Eden Falk and Lynette Curran, Birdie was one of two shorts acquired by Fox Searchlight in Toronto; the...
Writer-director Shelly Lauman hopes to secure Us representation and support for her first feature after Fox Searchlight acquired worldwide rights to her short film Birdie.
After the deal was announced at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Birdie screened in the Short Cuts competition, Lauman is spending a week in Los Angeles meeting with producers, managers and other industry contacts.
Produced by Lizzie Cater, Birdie had its first international screening in Toronto following the world premiere at Miff.
Funded by the inaugural $20,000 Australian Directors Guild/Metro Screen Production Fellowship, the psychological thriller follows a young woman who meets a man as she descends the stairs to an underground platform, leading to a subtle and sinister game.
Starring Maeve Dermody, Sam Parsonson, Joshua Brennan, Eden Falk and Lynette Curran, Birdie was one of two shorts acquired by Fox Searchlight in Toronto; the...
- 9/16/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
There is no shortage of Canadian short films. Just ask Tiff Short Cuts programmers Lisa Haller and Jason Anderson. The duo sifted through the 789 Canadian titles with runtimes of 49 minutes or less in order to discover the 20 Canuck titles included in this year’s Short Cuts lineup.
In all 56 films – 20 Canadian titles and 36 international titles – will be featured in the Short Cuts program. The showcase is comprised of stories told in short form in various styles and genres including narrative, documentary, comedy and thriller.
It’s an exciting lineup that even caught the attention of Hollywood. Fox Searchlight has acquired two titles in the program: “Feathers”, directed by A.V. Rockwell, and “Birdie,” from Shelly Lauman. (an international premiere). “It’s largely unprecedented for a studio to venture into the shorts world like this and see this as an opportunity to support emerging filmmakers so we’re hugely excited,” Anderson said,...
In all 56 films – 20 Canadian titles and 36 international titles – will be featured in the Short Cuts program. The showcase is comprised of stories told in short form in various styles and genres including narrative, documentary, comedy and thriller.
It’s an exciting lineup that even caught the attention of Hollywood. Fox Searchlight has acquired two titles in the program: “Feathers”, directed by A.V. Rockwell, and “Birdie,” from Shelly Lauman. (an international premiere). “It’s largely unprecedented for a studio to venture into the shorts world like this and see this as an opportunity to support emerging filmmakers so we’re hugely excited,” Anderson said,...
- 9/12/2018
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The 2018 Toronto Film Festival has unveiled lineups for its key Tiff Docs and Midnight sidebars, which features a host of strong world premieres including for Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9, Alexis Bloom’s Roger Ailes pic Divide and Conquer and Rashida Jones’ Quincy in the documentary section and Shane Black’s The Predator and David Gordon Green’s Halloween in the genre pic lineup.
The fest, which kicks off its 43rd edition September 6, also revealed its classics sidebar Tiff Cinematheque and short films lineups Thursday. (See the full lists below.)
Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, which unveiled its first trailer today ahead of Tiff’s announcement and the pic’s September 21 theatrical release, will open the Tiff Docs sidebars, which also features the heart-stopping El Capitan free-climb docu Free Solo, Tom Donahue’s This Changes Everything and the closing film Searching for Ingmar Bergman.
Fox’s The Predator reboot, which hits big...
The fest, which kicks off its 43rd edition September 6, also revealed its classics sidebar Tiff Cinematheque and short films lineups Thursday. (See the full lists below.)
Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, which unveiled its first trailer today ahead of Tiff’s announcement and the pic’s September 21 theatrical release, will open the Tiff Docs sidebars, which also features the heart-stopping El Capitan free-climb docu Free Solo, Tom Donahue’s This Changes Everything and the closing film Searching for Ingmar Bergman.
Fox’s The Predator reboot, which hits big...
- 8/9/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Brietta Hague, Amanda Hood, Rebecca Ingram and Shelly Lauman have been chosen as the recipients of the inaugural Metro Screen Fellowships.
The fellowships are administered by the Australian Directors. Guild with funds left over following the closure of Metro Screen in 2016, and will run for four years.
Writer-director Lauman.s proposed short film Birdie will receive the $20,000 Production Fellowship. It tells the story of a woman trapped in a psychological power struggle while waiting for her train.
The other three filmmakers share in $15,000 as part of the Open Fellowship. Hague will travel to Cuba in March to attend a two-week workshop with German auteur Werner Herzog, while Hood will be travel to La to take part in The Hollywood Field Trip, and Ingram will attend the Annual Stowe Storylab in Vermont.
Adg CEO Kingston Anderson said the guild was excited to carry on the work of the former film school,...
The fellowships are administered by the Australian Directors. Guild with funds left over following the closure of Metro Screen in 2016, and will run for four years.
Writer-director Lauman.s proposed short film Birdie will receive the $20,000 Production Fellowship. It tells the story of a woman trapped in a psychological power struggle while waiting for her train.
The other three filmmakers share in $15,000 as part of the Open Fellowship. Hague will travel to Cuba in March to attend a two-week workshop with German auteur Werner Herzog, while Hood will be travel to La to take part in The Hollywood Field Trip, and Ingram will attend the Annual Stowe Storylab in Vermont.
Adg CEO Kingston Anderson said the guild was excited to carry on the work of the former film school,...
- 2/9/2017
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
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