Screen production in NSW continues to boom with 12 new projects set to go into production with the support of the NSW Government.
‘Create NSW’ CEO Michael Brealey said the screen productions, which include drama and factual programs, will receive investment through Create NSW’s Production Finance Program, Made in NSW and Regional Filming Fund initiatives.
“These productions will bring a total of $60.85 million in direct production expenditure to NSW and create over 3,400 highly-skilled jobs in the screen sector,” Mr Brealey said.
The productions include Little Monsters, to be directed by actor-turned-director Abe Forsyth and ‘Big Little Lies’ producer Bruna Papandrea, who will return to local production as Executive Producer of the film.
The French-Australian co-production Slam brings acclaimed Sydney-based director Partho Sen-Gupta to shoot in Western Sydney with an international cast that includes Adam Bakri (Omar), Rachael Blake (‘Cleverman’, Lantana) and Abbey Aziz (Let It Be Love).
Also included is the new feature film from brothers Tristan Roache-Turner and Kiah Roache-Turner, the follow up to their worldwide hit Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead.
New television to be produced in NSW includes a new eight-part series from Playmaker, the producers of The Code and Love Child and the new four-part series Dead Lucky created by Ellie Beaumont and Drew Proffitt (the creative team who brought House Husbands to the screen), which will be directed by David Caesar (Dirty Deeds, The Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows). Also supported is the returning series of the much-loved Rake and series two of Doctor Doctor.
The feature documentary Beautiful Minds: The Agents of Change charts the journey of 76 female scientists on an epic journey to Antarctica, exposing the disturbing prevalence of gender inequality in STEM.
Making Muriel follows film director P.J. Hogan and his creative partners as they turn an Australian film classic into a world-first stage musical at the Sydney Theatre Company and Todd Sampson returns to television with Body Hack 2.0. Also funded is a production from Screentime, and the multi-platform The Queen and Zak Grieve, a ‘vodcast’ series which delves into the story of Zak Grieve, a young Indigenous man sent to jail for life over a murder, despite the judge finding he wasn’t there when it took place.
“This is an incredibly diverse range of productions with some of the state’s most experienced screen creatives attached. It’s exciting that they have chosen NSW as their production base and that several productions have also chosen to film in regional NSW or Western Sydney, where the production expenditure will have a significant positive impact on local economies.
“It is also pleasing to note that NSW’s diversity is represented both on screen and behind the camera in productions such as Slam and Beautiful Minds: The Agents of Change, which include opportunities for emerging practitioners to have attachment roles with some of our leading screen practitioners,” Mr Brealey said.
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