Screen Australia has announced 18 feature films, 10 television dramas, two online projects and one virtual reality project that will share in over $900,000 of story development funding. Included in this slate are 16 projects that have been supported through the Generate Fund, 13 through the Premium Fund and two through the Online Development Fund.
Among the funded projects are children’s animation series Wishes, following five-year-old girl Lucy and her young Guardian-creature Kino, and the second iteration of acclaimed virtual reality series, Lustration 2.0.
“This diverse slate of projects reflects a rich tapestry of creativity, from animated family adventures to thought-provoking dramas. It presents a wealth of opportunities to showcase and nurture the incredible talent we have here in Australia,” said Bobby Romia, Head of Development for Screen Australia. “We’re committed to continuing our drive to invest in ambitious, quality content for audiences far and wide and I’m excited to see these teams transform their visions into compelling narratives.”
Information on all of the projects selected for funding can be found here.
Wishes (Generate Fund)
26 x 7 mins.
Karu-Karu
Family, Adventure, Fantasy
Director: Ana Maria Mendez Salgado
Producer: Carlos Manrique Clavijo
Executive Producer: Colin South
Synopsis: Wishes is an animated series about a five-year-old girl, Lucy, and her young Guardian-creature Kino. Whenever Lucy feels the struggles of others and wishes she could do something to help, Kino materialises into Lucy’s world of magical solutions, helping her shape them into selfless acts of kindness.
Lustration 2.0 (Online Development Fund)
6 x 15 mins.
New Canvas Pty. Ltd.
Drama, Fantasy
Director: Ryan Griffen
Writers: Ryan Griffen, Hannah Belanszky
Producers: Carolina Sorensen, Nathan Anderson
Executive Producers: Nathan Anderson, Wadooah Wali, Ryan Griffen, Wolfgang Bylsma
Synopsis: Life is hard. Life after death is harder. From First Nations creator Griffen, the second iteration of the critically acclaimed VR series follows Bardolph and Gallus — two protectors of ‘The Between,’ a realm where the dead go in order to cleanse or ‘lustrate’ themselves before crossing over to pure happiness. But when an evil target slips through their grasps, everyone and everything in ‘The Afterlife’ begins to unravel.
