Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Australians in Film and Screen Australia announces the five Australians chosen for UNTAPPED

24/08/2021

24 08 2021 - Media release Australians in Film and Screen Australia announces the five Australians chosen for UNTAPPED

Top: Linda Chen, Kylie Aoibheann McDonnell and Kalu Oji. Bottom: Sophie Smyth, Shannan Tamby Lim

Five emerging Australian filmmakers have been announced today by Australians in Film (AiF) and Screen Australia, as the participants in UNTAPPED, a breakthrough talent development program for the next generation of undiscovered and underrepresented Australian screen voices.

This initiative, funded with support from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will help launch the international careers of these five filmmakers. The Los Angeles-based cultural foundation AiF will connect the five selected filmmakers and their projects with Oscar and Emmy -award winning production companies ensuring they receive robust development notes and strategic pipelines to develop their early or debut work for the global market.

The selected filmmakers and their projects in development are:

Kylie Aoibheann McDonnell (NSW)

DEADNAME, a supernatural horror feature film.

Returning to her creaky family home after her mother's untimely death, a 20-year-old transgender woman is haunted by the grotesque apparition of her younger male self, which seeks to reclaim what belongs to it.

Biography:

Kylie describes herself as just your average transgender, lesbian and asexual filmmaker, telling the raw, intimate genre stories you want to see . After graduating from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), she co-founded the production company Inner Pictures with producer Oliver Ellis. She wrote and directed the documentary Farewell Happy Fields, a gritty portrait of anorexia and depression featuring award-winning author Fiona Wright which screened at multiple international festivals. Kylie then collaborated with the Deaf community to write, direct and co-edit the psychological short thriller See for Yourself, and, later this year, she will direct Asexy, an asexual love story based on her experiences growing up.

Linda Chen (ACT)

HOW DID WE F*CK THIS UP?, half-hour dramedy series.

The drily humorous, disdainful, discontented life of a suffragette is miraculously and immaculately reincarnated into the body of a modern day, pansexual Asian woman as she runs into many of the same frustrations she did a century earlier.

Biography:

Linda is an actor, writer and multidisciplinary artist hailing from Ngunnawal and Ngambri country (Canberra) whose work spans film, theatre, interdisciplinary art and applied drama often exploring notions of identity, home, sociocultural structures and agency. Developed in its early stages through Screen Canberra's AcceleratorPOD, her UNTAPPED TV concept How Did We F*ck This Up was a finalist in Screenmakers' Conference's Pitch-O-Rama and Melbourne Webfest's Pitch iView. In 2020, Linda presented her one-person-show-turned-audiovisual-installation what is saudade is yu nf n is longing (Shopfront Arts) and was an Early Phase grant recipient at The Street Theatre, completing a full concept treatment for her play Linger.

Kalu Oji (VIC)

PASA FAHO, drama feature film.

Amidst the downfall of his longtime shoe business, Azubuike's son, Obinna, flies down to Melbourne for the summer holidays. With familial pressure mounting and news that his rent is being raised yet again, Azubuike's hopes of recovery spiral further into decline; the growing stress placing a steep wedge between father and son. When Azubuike loses a family member back in Nigeria he is pushed to reflect, realizing that the most important decision may still lay ahead of him.

Biography:

Kalu Oji is an Igbo-Australian writer, filmmaker and visual artist based in Naarm/Birraranga. His work primarily explores notions of identity, in particular the African-Australian experience. Kalu graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and TV). His graduate film, Blackwood, screened at the BFI London Film Festival, Palm Springs Shortfest, and Chicago International Film Festival, and picked up multiple awards, including the Filmmaker to Watch Award (Atlanta Film Festival), Luggi Waldleitner Award for Best Screenplay (Filmschoolfest Munich) and Best Cinematography (Flickerfest). Kalu's most recent film, The Moon and Me, received postproduction funding from The City of Melbourne and just had its world premiere at the Oscar Qualifying, Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Sophie Smyth (VIC)

UNLOVEABLE, half-hour dramedy series.

Reeling from the rejection of being dumped on her birthday because of her autism, twenty-something Sophie faces the prospect of dating as an autistic woman. She's flung headfirst into the throes of modern dating, hookup culture, and complex relationships desperate to prove that she! is! loveable! damnit!!

Biography:

Sophie is a singer, actor, writer and sometimes dancer. She was a finalist for the 2021 Rebel Wilson Comedy Commission and her cabaret show, The Aspie Hour, a poignant and hilarious look at autistic life, co-written and performed with Ryan Smedley, played to sold-out audiences across Australia. For this she was awarded a Green Room Award for Best Writing in a Cabaret, a Fringe World Weekly Award for Best Theatre and an Adelaide Fringe Weekly Award for Best Emerging Artist. Theatre credits include Helpmann Award Winning musical Robot Song with Arena Theatre Company and Motor-Mouth Loves Suck-Face: An Apocalyptic Musical at La Mama Theatre. Robot Song was presented at the 2020 IPAY (International Performing Arts for Youth) Conference in Philadelphia in the US. Sophie is a passionate disability advocate for authentic neurodivergent representation across film, television, and stage.

Shannan Tamby Lim (VIC)

SALTY, one hour horror / drama series.

Salty is a supernatural fam
LINK: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2021/08-24-aif...
See more stories from screenaustralia

Most recent headlines

13/03/2025

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring for VOS360 Streaming Workflows at the 2025 NAB Show

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...

13/03/2025

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage Platform that Empowers Video Teams to Scale Effortlessly

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...

13/03/2025

Ajit Pai Appointed President of CTIA

CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...

13/03/2025

NAB: FCC's 60 Minutes Investigation Is Unconstitutional, Invalid

he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...

13/03/2025

CBS Miami to Launch AR Coverage of Weather and Sports for March Madness

MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...

13/03/2025

Meet the co-founder and chief customer success & innovation officer

Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...

13/03/2025

FCC Chairman Carr Launches Massive Deregulation Initiative

WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...

13/03/2025

SDVI Integrates Rally With Spectra Vail

SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...

13/03/2025

FCC Approves Gray's Acquisition of KXLT

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...

13/03/2025

NAB Show 2025 Exhibitor Insight: Blackmagic Design

TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...

13/03/2025

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions. ...

13/03/2025

Italia 90 Republic of Ireland Squad, Riverdance, Cian Ducrot & B*Witched on Friday's Late Late Show

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty! Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...

13/03/2025

RT Celebrating all things Irish this St. Patrick's Weekend

This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...

13/03/2025

GTC 2025 - Announcements and Live Updates

What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...

13/03/2025

T-Mobile, Thales and SIMPL ease IoT deployments with a flexible and secure connectivity solution

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...

13/03/2025

Relive the Magic as GeForce NOW Brings More Blizzard Gaming to the Cloud

Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library. Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...

13/03/2025

Gaming Goodness: NVIDIA Reveals Latest Neural Rendering and AI Advancements Supercharging Game Development at GDC 2025

AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...

13/03/2025

Drop It Like It's Mod: Breathing New Life Into Classic Games With AI in NVIDIA RTX Remix

PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...

12/03/2025

Como o Impacto Cultural e Financeiro da Indstria Musical Define Seu Sucesso em 2025

O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...

12/03/2025

Cmo el impacto cultural y financiero de la industria musical define su xito en 2025

Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...

12/03/2025

Nourish Mind, Body, and Soul This Ramadan With Spotify

Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...

12/03/2025

How the Music Industry's Cultural and Financial Impact Define Its Success in 2025

Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...

12/03/2025

FAST now transcends back catalog content

More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...

12/03/2025

Viamedia Adopts ShowSeeker Pilot To Streamline Ad Workflows

GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...

12/03/2025

Mediagenix Appoints Wael Yasin as Sales Director Central Europe

BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....

12/03/2025

Omdia: Global Online Consumer Expenditure to Hit $6.6 Trillion by 2029

LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...

12/03/2025

Comcast Technology Solutions Upgrades to Interra Systems BATON Version 9

CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....

12/03/2025

Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering

Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering Brie Clayton March 12, 2025 0 Comments High-capacity switch enhances existi...

12/03/2025

DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol

DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol Brie Clayton March 12, 2025 0 Comments Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...

12/03/2025

SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally Sweden 2025

SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally...

12/03/2025

Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations

Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations A total of $17,000 will be distributed among the Boston-based nonprofits. By Madd...

12/03/2025

Offering a broad umbrella for IP standards

TVBEuropes Jenny Priestley sits down with new SMPTE president Richard Welsh to discuss his aims for the organisation going forward, its efforts to attract a you...

12/03/2025

Warner Bros Belgium takes a new approach to its post production workflows

The new process has significantly enhanced operational efficiencies, with automation freeing up creators to concentrate on higher value tasks By Matthew Corrig...

12/03/2025

Another VFX company suspends operations

Jellyfish Pictures, which has offices in London and Sheffield, said it has been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the last 12 months By Jenny ...

12/03/2025

Bitcentral to Showcase AI-Powered Innovations for Smarter...

Visit Booth #W2213 to Experience the Latest in AI-Driven Content Discovery and Workflow Automation Bitcentral, a leader in media workflow solutions, is set to ...

12/03/2025

Jeff Lilly Named WGN-TV Director Of Technology

CHICAGO Jeff Lilly has been named WGN-TV director of technology effective March 17, 2025, according to Ric Harris, WGN-TV vice president and general manager....

12/03/2025

Survey: Consumers Want More Shoppable TV Experiences

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. A new study from LG Ad Solutions indicates that consumers want more features that would allow them to shop for products on the connected T...

12/03/2025

IP Showcase To Focus On IP, Broadcast Tech Convergence at 2025 NAB Show

BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) will once again present...

12/03/2025

Comcast Boosts Internet Speeds for More Than 20 Million Customers

PHILADELPHIA Comcast announced that it has upgraded Xfinity Internet speeds for more than 20 million customers for no additional cost....

12/03/2025

Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14

Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14 Brie Clayton March 11, 2025 0 Comments Makin' Waffles with Elly Wade During Marc...

12/03/2025

Ross Video Strengthens Cloud Leadership with Appointment of Aaron Tunnell

Ottawa, Canada - March 12, 2025 - Ross Video is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Tunnell as Business Development Director, Cloud Solutions, reinforc...

12/03/2025

VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025

12 Mar 2025 VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...

12/03/2025

Getting Set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's Ongoing Software-Based Production Evolution

Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's ongoing software-based pro...

12/03/2025

Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful

Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful Leaders from Netflix, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, LinkedI, and Megapixel address ...

12/03/2025

Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptual Displays

Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptua...

12/03/2025

Sky Sports Unveils Exciting Plans for 2025 Formula 1 Coverage

With the 2025 Formula 1 season set to begin in Melbourne on March 16, Sky Sports is gearing up to deliver its most comprehensive F1 coverage yet. Following a th...

12/03/2025

Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz transmission solutions

Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz ...

12/03/2025

Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby Double-Header

Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby D...