News

Yael Stone, Rob Collins, Callan Mulvey and Shantae Barnes-Cowan are the topline cast for AMC Studios and See-Saw Films’ vampire series, Firebite, now shooting in South Australia.

The brainchild of Warwick Thornton and Brendan Fletcher, the eight-part series follows two Indigenous Australian hunters, Tyson (Collins) and Shanika (Barnes-Cowan), on their quest to battle the last colony of vampires in the middle of the Sa desert.

It is set in a remote desert mining town, a hive for the last vampire stronghold shipped from Britain to Australia in 1788 by the colonial superpower to eradicate the Indigenous populations. Sheltering from the sun in the underground mines and tunnels that surround the town until the present day, the colony’s numbers and hunger is growing. War is coming. Tyson and Shanika stand vanguard to the war. But what hope does an expertly reckless man full of bravado and a 17-year-old orphan possibly have...

Screen Australia has announced nearly $2 million of production funding for two documentaries through the Commissioned program and eight through the Producer Program.

The projects include series Could You Survive on the Breadline? exploring financial disadvantage for Sbs; The Secret World of Fungi, a documentary for IMAX; and a series investigating racism in Australia called Unheard.

There’s also Medalia Productions and Sweetshop & Green’s feature documentary Prisoner X, coincidentally about the same man – and with the same title – as the narrative series Fremantle Australia announced it is developing with Stephen Corvini and Israeli production company Abot Hameiri.

Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said: “We’re very pleased to support these documentaries that will shine a light on issues including mental health and wellbeing, racism and the natural environment, and are sure to spark conversations. We’re excited to back the first ever Israeli documentary co-production with compelling feature Prisoner X,...

Sophie Hyde, pictured here on the set of ‘Animals’, has been nominated for two Adg Awards.

First-time feature directors Thomas Wright (Acute Misfortune), John Sheedy (H is for Happiness), Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) and Natalie Erika James (Relic) will vie for the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde (Animals) and Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding).

Up in the $1 million or under category are Josephine Mackerras for Alice, Imogen Thomas for Emu Runner, Lucy Colman for Hot Mess, Luke Sullivan for Reflections In The Dust and Samuel Van Grinsven for Sequin In A Blue Room.

The Adg announced nominees for its annual awards today, with winners to be announced in Sydney at a ceremony October 19. A record 202 entries were received this year, up from 117 in 2019.

“At these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we come...

Vincent Sheehan, Liz Watts and Anita Sheehan.

After 23 years and a body of work that spans 15 features, five TV series, two docos and three shorts, Porchlight Films will cease operations as founding partners Vincent Sheehan, Liz Watts and Anita Sheehan move on to pursue new opportunities individually.

The company is best known internationally for producing three of David Michôd’s four features, including his Oscar-nominated debut, Animal Kingdom, as well as The Rover and Netflix’s The King.

Other notable film credits include Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, Garth Davis’ Mary Magdalene, Rachel Perkins’ Jasper Jones, Tony Krawitz’ Jewboy and Dead Europe, Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter, Tony Ayres’ The Home Song Stories and Walking on Water, Cate Shortland’s Lore, Rowan Woods’ Little Fish and David Caesar’s Mullet.

In television and episodic, the team have produced Foxtel drama The Kettering Incident, created by Vicki Madden...

Warwick Thornton, Garth Davis, Joel Edgerton and Anthony Maras go head to head at the Australian Directors Guild Awards. They are each nominated as best director in the category of films with a budget of A$1 million Donna McRae Dustin Feneley (“Stray”) and Jason Perini (“Chasing Comets”).

Some of Australia’s most respected directors have been recognized in the television/SVoD categories. Rachel Perkins, Nash Edgerton, Tony Krawitz and Emma Freeman all receive nominations in the best direction in a TV or Svod drama series episode category.

Ben Lawrence Catherine Scott Mark Joffe Matthew Sleeth Paul Damien Williams (“Gurrumul”) and Richard Tood (“Dying to Live”) are nominated for best direction in a documentary feature.

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.

Alastair McKinnon.

A generational change is sweeping through Matchbox Pictures as the NBCUniversal-owned production company develops a raft of projects with emerging writers and producers.

“Talent development has always been a priority for Matchbox,” says Alastair McKinnon, who started as MD last December after three years with the ABC, most recently as head of content investment and planning,

McKinnon signed on just as the company founded by Penny Chapman, Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst was celebrating its 10th anniversary. “That was the perfect time to reflect and think about what Matchbox has done incredibly successfully over that time as the leading drama production company in Australia,” he tells If in his first interview since taking charge.

“But the industry has transformed in that 10 years and is unrecognisable if you think about the sorts of shows, how they are financed and the distribution models of drama.

Robert Rabiah in ‘Safe Harbour’

After a self-imposed exile, Robert Rabiah is returning to the screen early next year in Maziar Lahooti’s Below, an action-drama set in a refugee detention centre.

The actor decided he needed a break after playing Bilal in Matchbox Pictures’ Sbs miniseries Safe Harbour directed by Glendyn Ivin.

Bilal’s brother Ismail (Hazem Shammas) and sister-in-law Zahra (Nicole Chamoun), Iraqi asylum seekers, were struck by tragedy when their nine-year-old daughter died after their vessel sank.

Rabiah tells If: “Bilal was such a draining character to play. Even though a lot of scenes didn’t make the cut, feeling my stomach turn every morning was intense and I just needed to travel for a while.”

Produced by Nick Batzias of Good Thing Productions, Veronica Gleeson and Kate Neylon and due to shoot in Wa in January, Below stars Ryan Corr as Dougie, a directionless dreamer who...

Adg CEO Kingston Anderson..

Just as films like Lion and TV series such as Rake, The Kettering Incident, Top of the Lake and Cleverman are commanding the attention of the world, the Australian screen industry is in danger of losing its greatest set of assets — our directors.

Australian film and television directors are fleeing to Hollywood in ever-greater numbers; some of them vowing never to return. While their talent is applauded around the world, here at home our directors are battling for the respect and remuneration they deserve.

Late last year it was revealed that the television production company behind the remake of the iconic Australian story Picnic at Hanging Rock had decided to use a Canadian director for the series. When challenged by the Australian Directors Guild (Adg) about why this occurred, the producers said they could not find a suitable Australian candidate. This slap in the face to...

Cate Shortland on the set of 'Berlin Syndrome'..

Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland has only made three features: 2004.s Somersault, 2012.s Lore and now Berlin Syndrome, with the last two both set in Germany.

.Like a lot of people I.m just drawn to the vibrancy of the culture,. says the filmmaker, .and I love living in Berlin..

Shortland.s partner is Australian filmmaker Tony Krawitz (Dead Europe), whose family is German Jew.

.His grandmother is still alive, she.s 102, and she.s from Berlin,. Shortland tells If. .We.ve lived in Berlin on and off for the last six years, our kids went to school there for a while. My German.s still really atrocious but I love living there..

Now the director has shot a feature in the city — adapted by Snowtown.s Shaun Grant from a novel by Melanie Joosten.

Aquarius Films producer Polly Staniford was...

(l-r) Deepti Naval and Garth Davis on set (photo credit: Mark Rogers).

The nominees for best feature direction at this year.s Adg Awards are Garth Davis (Lion), Simon Stone (The Daughter), Ben Young (Hounds of Love), Craig Boreham (Teenage Kicks) and Jonathan Leahy (Skin Deep). All are celebrated for their feature debuts..

Adg CEO Kingston Anderson says the Adg is angling for a high-profile director to present the feature film award. .I can.t say who it is but if we get him it.d be great," he tells If. "It.s a timing issue as usual...

Emma Freeman is nominated in the TV direction category for her work on Secret City alongside Leah Purcell for Cleverman, Rowan Woods for Rake and Tony Krawitz for The Kettering Incident.

.As always TV drama continues to be a strong and important and powerful category, and that reflects what.s going on in our industry,...

'Glitch'.

Production has kicked off in Melbourne on the second season of Matchbox Pictures'.Glitch, with directors Emma Freeman and Tony Krawitz at the helm. The shoot will continue on location around the city and in regional Victoria until the end of March.

The first season of the zombie drama, created by Louise Fox (Broadchurch, Dead Europe) and Tony Ayres (The Slap, Cut Snake, Nowhere Boys), followed seven people who had inexplicably returned from the dead.

The second season sees .the Risen. unravel the mystery of how and why they are back while contending with a lethal threat..

In October it was announced that Netflix was coming on board as a production partner for the second season, along with Matchbox and the ABC.

.We can.t wait for our audience to see where the story goes. We want to deliver on the promise of answers and keep the thrills and spills coming,...

The Kettering Incident directors Rowan Woods and Tony Kravitz will host the first Directors Chair. Australian Directors Guild (Adg), in partnership with the Australian Film Television & Radio School (Aftrs), has launched The Directors Chair, a new masterclass and workshop program for directors.

The Directors Chair will be a monthly series of events which focus on the art and craft of directing. The series will initially be held in Sydney but will expand to other states over the next year.

The first masterclass -. .Is Television the New Cinema?.. - will be hosted by directors Rowan Woods and Tony Krawitz, who will dicuss the creation of recent TV series The Kettering Incident..

Chaired by fellow director and Adg President Samantha Lang, Woods and Kravitz. will discuss their approach to shooting, design and casting with examples of the series being shown during the session.

.This masterclass with Rowan and Tony is a...

Elizabeth Debicki in The Kettering Incident.

Amazon Prime has snapped up North American rights to The Kettering Incident, which looks set to capitalise on the rising star of Elizabeth Debicki after The Night Manager, in which she starred with Tom Hiddleston,.took U.S. audiences by storm earlier in the year..

The Tasmania-shot Kettering was created by Vicki Madden and producer Vincent Sheehan, and will premiere on Prime September 30. Amazon nabbed the rights from BBC Worldwide North America.

.Following the successful launch of The Kettering Incident in Australia, we are now bringing the mystery drama exclusively to Amazon Prime Video for U.S. audiences to enjoy,. said Matt Forde, BBC Worldwide North America's Evp, content production, sales and distribution..

.Amazon is already home to two of our most beloved programs, Doctor Who and Orphan Black, and we believe it is the perfect place for this rarefied story as it ventures into American homes.

Elizabeth Debicki in The Kettering Incident.

Amazon Prime has snapped up North American rights to The Kettering Incident, which looks set to capitalise on the rising star of Elizabeth Debicki after The Night Manager, in which she starred with Tom Hiddleston,.took U.S. audiences by storm earlier in the year..

The Tasmania-shot Kettering was created by Vicki Madden and producer Vincent Sheehan, and will premiere on Prime September 30. Amazon nabbed the rights from BBC Worldwide North America.

.Following the successful launch of The Kettering Incident in Australia, we are now bringing the mystery drama exclusively to Amazon Prime Video for U.S. audiences to enjoy,. said Matt Forde, BBC Worldwide North America's Evp, content production, sales and distribution..

.Amazon is already home to two of our most beloved programs, Doctor Who and Orphan Black, and we believe it is the perfect place for this rarefied story as it ventures into American homes.

.

The Kettering Incident on location. -. Sleeping Beauty, Huon Valley, Tasmania. Photo: Ben King.

.

The Kettering Incident, a gripping mystery with otherworldly overtones, will make its world premiere on July 4..

Australian and international expectations for the series continue to build after the show won the Special Jury Prize at the Series Mania Festival in Paris last week..

The eight episode series stars The Night Manager.s Elizabeth Debicki with Matthew Le Nevez.

The series boasts an impressive cast including Henry Nixon, Anthony Phelan, Damon Gameau, Damien Garvey, Sacha Horler, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Ben Oxenbould, Suzi Dougherty, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Dylan Young and Neil Pigot. .Many Tasmanian actors feature in the series including Alison Whyte, Kris McQuade, Brad Kannegiesser, Katie Robertson, Marcus Hensley, Nathan Spencer and Matt Burton.

Tasmanian writer Victoria Madden (Lynda La Plante.s Trial and Retribution, The Bill, Halifax Fp) is co-creator of The Kettering Incident with Vincent Sheehan (Animal Kingdom,...

Sophie Mathisen and Jonathan Burtreaux in Drama.

First-time writer-director Sophie Mathisen looked to the Lena Dunham model when making her first film.

Dunham famously made her debut feature, Tiny Furniture, by setting most of it in her parents' New York loft..

Mathisen made hers in Paris, shooting in the three-storey apartment owned by the parents of her focus-puller. The space ended up doubling as two seperate apartments, plus a nightclub.

Mathisen, who also stars in the film, graduated from Vca as an actor, worked in theatre for a few years, then decamped to London for an Ma in acting for screen at London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama..

While in London she became increasingly interested in scriptwriting, and ended up writing scripts for her fellow students..

"When it came time to do my thesis, I pitched that instead of making a short I'd make a feature instead", Mathisen told If.

Jennifer Kent has won Best Direction in a Feature Film for The Babadook at the 2015 Australian Directors Guild Awards, held in Melbourne on Friday night.

The Awards celebrate the outstanding work of Australian screen directors over the past year, across 15 categories including film, television , Tvc and content created for the internet.

Other winners included Tony Krawitz for Best Direction in a TV Mini Series for episode five of Devil.s Playground and Matthew Saville for Best Direction in a TV Comedy for Please Like Me.

The ceremony, ordinarily held in Sydney, switched it up this year and took place at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

Hosted by The Chaser.s Chris Taylor, the event honoured the 30th anniversary of Neighbours, with long-serving cast members Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher in attendance along with Ariel Kaplan and Harley Bonner.

This year, the Adg presented both the Michael Carson Award and the Adg/DGA Finders Award.

Writer-director Craig Monahan will get the chance to screen his film Healing to key industry figures in Los Angeles and New York after winning the Australian Directors Guild.s Finders Award.

In partnership with the Directors Guild of America Finders series, the Adg selects one Australian feature film which is yet to secure Us distribution and is entered into the Adg Awards.

Monahan will accompany the film when it.s screened later in the year for distributors, managers and agents in La and NY.

Adg CEO Kingston Anderson said, .The Adg selects a film that is submitted to the Awards that does not have Us distribution and would provide the director with an opportunity to showcase their work. Healing and its director Craig Monahan fit perfectly for the Finders Award."

Produced by Tait Brady and Monahan.s Pointblank Pictures and co-scripted by the director and Alison Nisselle, the drama starring Don Hany,...

Matt Saville has been nominated in two categories at the 2015 Australian Directors Guild Awards, for his feature Felony and an episode of Josh Thomas. ABC-tv comedy Please Like Me.

The other nominees in the feature film category are Sophie Hyde for 52 Tuesdays, Jennifer Kent for The Babadook and Robert Connolly for Paper Planes.

There are two nominees for Rake for TV drama series: Jessica Hobbs and Rowan Woods. Also in the running are Shawn Seet for The Code, Geoff Bennett for Love Child and Kevin Carlin for Wentworth.

Kate Dennis and Peter Salmon are both nominated for Secrets & Lies in the TV miniseries category, together with Tony Krawitz (Devil.s Playground). and Ian Watson (Anzac Girls).

The telemovie award is a toss-up between Samantha Lang for Carlotta and Jeffrey Walker for Jack Irish: Dead Point.

In the 30th year of Neighbours, Chris Langman has been nominated in the TV drama...

A chance meeting at the 2013 Logie awards was the catalyst for the launch of a joint venture between Blackfella Films and Werner Film Productions.

Big Chance Films. first production, Ready for This, a teenage drama with mostly Indigenous characters commissioned by ABC3, is now shooting in Sydney.

The ensemble cast includes two newcomers, rapper/singer Majeda Beatty who competed in The X Factor, and Liam Talty, who studied at the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts in Brisbane.

They join Aaron McGrath (The Code, Redfern Now, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Leonie Whyman (Redfern Now), Madeleine Madden (The Code, Jack Irish: Dead Point, Redfern Now), Christian Byers (Puberty Blues season 2), Christine Anu (Dance Academy, Outland) and Lasarus Ratuere (The Mule, Mabo, Terra Nova).

Set in inner city Sydney, the plot follows five Indigenous kids who come to the city to pursue their dreams. Anu and Ratuere play the couple who run the kids. boarding house.

A chance meeting at the 2013 Logie awards was the catalyst for the launch of a joint venture between Blackfella Films and Werner Film Productions.

Big Chance Films. first production, Ready for This, a teenage drama with mostly Indigenous characters commissioned by ABC3, is now shooting in Sydney.

The ensemble cast includes two newcomers, rapper/singer Majeda Beatty who competed in The X Factor, and Liam Talty, who studied at the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts in Brisbane.

They join Aaron McGrath (The Code, Redfern Now, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Leonie Whyman (Redfern Now), Madeleine Madden (The Code, Jack Irish: Dead Point, Redfern Now), Christian Byers (Puberty Blues season 2), Christine Anu (Dance Academy, Outland) and Lasarus Ratuere (The Mule, Mabo, Terra Nova).

Set in inner city Sydney, the plot follows five Indigenous kids who come to the city to pursue their dreams. Anu and Ratuere play the couple who run the kids. boarding house.

A chance meeting at the 2013 Logie awards was the catalyst for the launch of a joint venture between Blackfella Films and Werner Film Productions.

Big Chance Films. first production, Ready for This, a teenage drama with mostly Indigenous characters commissioned by ABC3, is now shooting in Sydney.

The ensemble cast includes two newcomers, rapper/singer Majeda Beatty who competed in The X Factor, and Liam Talty, who studied at the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts in Brisbane.

They join Aaron McGrath (The Code, Redfern Now, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Leonie Whyman (Redfern Now), Madeleine Madden (The Code, Jack Irish: Dead Point, Redfern Now), Christian Byers (Puberty Blues season 2), Christine Anu (Dance Academy, Outland) and Lasarus Ratuere (The Mule, Mabo, Terra Nova).

Set in inner city Sydney, the plot follows five Indigenous kids who come to the city to pursue their dreams. Anu and Ratuere play the couple who run the kids. boarding house.

Screen Australia says it has not mismanaged its finances by spending its annual production funding in just six months - a state of affairs which it says reflects the strength of the local film industry.

The government screen agency revealed in mid-December 2012 that it had spent its entire annual $42 million drama production allocation due to the unprecedented number of quality feature film and television projects seeking support. The shock announcement was reminiscent of the agency's abrupt decision to cut its investment cap in 2009 while several films were mid-financed. That decision.threw several major Australian productions into dissaray including The Tree and the biggest box office hit of.2010, Tomorrow When the War Began (Omnilab Media had to increase its investment at the last minute to ensure production).

Overspending on such a scale has never occurred before, even going back to the era of Screen Australia.s predecessor funding arm, the Film Finance Corporation.

Screen Australia has today announced it will invest over $11.4 million in five feature films and six television series, one of which is for children.

The feature projects include Kill Me Three Times from Red Dog director Kriv Stenders, The Darkside from writer/director Warwick Thornton, debut feature Fell from Kasimir Burgess, crime-thriller Cut Snake from director Tony Ayres (Home Song Stories) and comedy Now Add Honey from successful comedy team Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler (The Librarians).

Screen Australia.s Chief Executive Ruth Harley said, .It.s great to end the year investing in such a dynamic range of feature films from a good mix of experienced practitioners and emerging talent.

.I.m thrilled to announce Warwick Thornton.s highly creative and resonant Indigenous story, The Darkside. The smart and stylish thriller Cut Snake comes from a talented and experienced team and Kill Me Three Times is a well-told tale...