Original YA Pilot GIFTED (Working title) punches into script comps
Back in April I decided to start submitting my original YA pilot, Gifted, to script competitions. I had zero expectations and no idea how incredibly rewarding and exciting it would be - or how much of a lifeline the process would give me through the past 9 months of pandemic life.
As an independent and unrepresented creator you’re often on your own in the motivation department. So to end the year reaching the semi finals of the Final Draft Big Break contest with my own original script has sent me straight up Out Of My Mind! Thanks so much to the team at Coverfly who do an excellent job collating the hundreds of competitions, tracking feedback and making it so achievable, constructive, and inspiring.
100% Wolf: Legend of the Moonstone - ABC Me Launch
Ahhhwwoooo! ABC ME is about to release the wolves - and poodles! Tune in on December 27th to see what Freddy Lupin has gotten himself into. This excited little development producer has her popcorn at the ready. Congratulations Flying Bark Productions and mega thanks to the unstoppable ABC team, staunch advocates for Australian kids content and creators all!
Lil Wild! Season One Goes LIVE!
Season one of Lil Wild! is now available to stream world wide on MeWatch. I wrote seven episodes for the season and I’m super proud of the two part finale, it was worth the wait!
Lil Wild Theme Song Sing along!
Lil Wild is set for release in September 2020 and OKTO has released this singalong version of the catchy theme song as a sneaky teaser! I joined this kooky lil project in development and wound up writing 7 episodes. It’s always so great to see the characters you’ve imagined for so long come to life - but to see them pop and lock is a whole other level!
100% WOLF series trailer released
This series was my very first TV project as development producer across creative from concept through to scripting and casting at Flying Bark so IT’S MY BABY!
I’m so proud of the wolf pack (and a few stray pups) for what it’s become! Have a squidgy-dige at the trailer, AH-WOOO!
New Article!
Most of us are looking at big changes in the next few months! I wrote this short article on linkedIn incase anyone is transitioning to work from home for the first time and needs HALP!!! I sure did.
100% wolf leads the pack at mip junior!
Our fluffy little buddy is a market hit! We just found out 100% Wolf - Legend of the Moonstone has the honour of being the most screened series at MIP Junior this week and I could not be more grateful to everyone who took the time to check out this cracker Aussie show!
100% Wolf has a special place in my heart as it’s the first series I took on at Flying Bark as a development producer (that’s Australian for ‘Development Exec’) across story and creative right from it’s very inception through pitching, scripting and casting. It’s also the first show I ever successfully pitched (with my boss who totally held my hand the whole time) to a major network. When it got up and running I received the privilege of staying on through scripting for the whole series. I got to work with a crew of my creative heroes, and even champion a few promising up and coming writers and voice actors to the ranks. So to see everyone’s efforts acknowledged at a renowned market like MIP Junior means the world!
Looking forward to sharing more once the series airs on ABC (Australia) and Super RTL (Germany) but for now there are links to a couple of the articles that came out this week in this post.
Based on the Australian literary property by Jayne Lyons, and with a feature film currently in simultaneous production, it’s safe to say this is one Wolf Pack with both bark and bite!
Feature film screenwriting debut
Wonderful to be able to share that I have been collaborating with an incredible team to bring established international TV series, ‘Mia and Me’ to the big screen! The project was announced at AFM 2017 and is now in production. As one of Australia’s few female animated feature film writers this is a huge thrill for me and I’m so excited to share updates with you all as they come through!
Maya brings home the honey at 2018 AEAF Awards!
Maya The Bee: The Honey Games picked up Silver in the Feature Film Animation category at the 2018 AEAF Awards. Congratulations to the whole hive! Working in story development and across the film throughout the production with a world class team was an incredible experience.
Wonderful to see our lil’ Maya soar!
Big congratulations to Producers Tracy Lenon , Brian Rosen and Thorsten Wegener, Directors Noel Cleary, Serg Delfino and Alexs Stadermann, and writer Fin Edquist.
SKINFORD Wins at MWF, on to NZ!
Massive thanks to Melbourne WebFest for having us this year, what a great community you guys have built! Had a blast and was brilliant to share a spot on the Blockbuster Web series panel with a pack of talented creators
Mega congratulations to all our Skinford crew, to nominees Evan Whiteside, Kent Hau, Nik Kacevski, and Michael Lira, and to winners Carl Robertson and Kieran Fowler (who will be known as Kieran Flowers from now on) for taking home Best Cinematography!
Probably the best ruby ticket announcement ever made from Keith from the NZ Web Fest. "We are in New Zealand people of simple taste, so we couldn't go past nudity and blowing shit up! We look forward to playing Skinford of NZ audiences in November." The trans-tasman love is mutual Keith!
Annecy blog
In June Flying Bark sent me on a mission to hit up the 2018 Annecy International Animation Festival. My first realisation was Annecy smelt like the signature cheese in the Savoy cuisine it’s famous for and was by far the most French place I’d been in my entire life. My second was I’d fallen victim to the ease with which your head can become so firmly tucked into the latest script in your office in Sydney. If you don’t get out there you completely lose sight of how incredibly broad, dynamic, and thriving an industry Animation is!
The festival market, MIFA, is a bustling collection of stalls filled with incredible creations from all corners of the world and filmmakers willing to take risks for the sake of great stories. At the screening venues dotted around town, programs drifted from the polished commercial success of Pixar, Dreamworks and Disney to the extraordinary experimental exploits of progressive young filmmakers. Best of all, the work of Flying Bark’s ruthless 2D animators on Nickelodeon’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was everywhere! It was awesome hearing the crowd lose their marbles at the animation in the Nickelodeon panel. Nothing more satisfying than seeing Australian animators absolutely killing it on the international stage!
Other highlights were attending the In Conversation with Rodrigo Blass (Trollhunters) on developing (my favorite) series and his partnership with Dreamworks and Guillermo del Toro. The WIA international summit talks on diversity and inclusion with Julie Ann Crommett (Vice President of Multicultural Engagement, Walt Disney Studios) were also standouts. As was the Netflix originals panel featuring the voices of incredible new talent with vibrant and explorative work. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, the crowd at screenings is awesome! Packed full of true lovers of animation and festival regulars, the pre screening air was filled with Annecy’s patented mix of paper planes and excitement. Not since Fantasia in Montreal had I experienced this kind of atmosphere and it was in full force at the screening of Welsh studio Animortal’s hilarious Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampiers.
Do yourself a favour, leave the office and take a bite out of this glorious mountain town and the festival that takes it over every year in June.
Pro tips for Annecy goers:
Plan your assault and be online at the moment tickets go on sale - you will miss out if you wait.
Start locking in meetings 2 months in advance where possible and stick to one venue.
Bring a small umbrella that fits in your bag, the weather can shift.
A good latte is hard to find so just order a shot of espresso.
Take the MIFA shuttle between MIFA and the festival centre at Bonilue, by the end of the week you’ll be glad you did!
Book accom in advance and stay in walking distance of the venue - there are no ubers and no cabs when you want to get home after a few post screening drinks at the Captain.
There’s a small shop called Dr Good Food near Bonlieu for those with gluten allergies or vegan meal requirements.
Arrive the Sunday before festival to check out the market in the old town.
JUMP IN THE LAKE! You won’t regret it.
SKINFORD wins at T.O. Webfest!
Skinford was nominated in two categories in the 2018 the Toronto Webfest, taking home Best Visual Effects! A massive congratulations to Evan Whiteside and to our fellow nominees.
One to watch!
I was selected by Screen Producers Australia to participate in their 2017 Ones To Watch program. It was a phenomenal experience including a mentorship with Kettering Incident Showrunner, Vicki Madden, and workshops with leading industry practitioners in the lead up to pitching at the Screen Forever conference. Most of all it was inspiring to be surrounded by such an incredible bunch of emerging filmmakers!
APRA AMCOS Screen music awards
The very talented Michael Lira has been nominated for Best Theme at the 2017 APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards! Michael was unable to attend so myself, Enzo and Tom attended on his behalf.
Congratulations to all the phenomenally talented musicians nominated in this prestigious awards!
Remember VR in film ink
Following the success of the multi award winning short film, which screened internationally at festivals the likes of Fantasia IFF, Berlin International Film Festival and Edinburgh Digital Festival, Remember, a long form pilot, is set to launch Australia's first VR series. Directors George Kacevski and Fred Simard caught up with Dov Kornits from Film Ink to discus the challenges and the possibilities of this new medium for cinematic narrative works.
Remember is available to view in 360 on Lens Immersive
SKINFORD In film ink
A kind and and candid FilmInk Review of Skinford from Australian critic Travis Johnson.
-Kacevski and his screenwriting partner, Tess Meyer, know their limitations, and the more striking moments rely more on deft writing than a judicious application of red corn syrup – such as when Skinny, suspended upside down over a river where the rising tide will eventually drown him, is informed, “The moon is going to kill you, Skinny!”-
The pale moonlight now on dust!
The Pale Moonlight is now available to stream on Dust, the first multi-platform destination to experience stunning visions of the future from filmmakers of tomorrow. Dust features the best sci-fi short films, series, and innovative content that cuts through the present to invite the future.
RSPCA adoption video Success
I teamed up with talented buddies to write and direct original online content that creates awareness and promotes the adoption of animals under the care of RSPCA NSW. Using a lo-fi approach and bringing their personalities to the forefront resulted in all featured animals finding their forever homes!
I was interviewed about it on 2UE radio by Angela Catterns.
Producer | Cinematographer - Debbie Steer
Voice Artist - Cam Ralph
Editor | Post - George Kacevski
The Pale moonlight hits North America!
The Pale moonlight took to the screen in its World Premier at the 2014 Fantasia International Film Festival in a night of Aussie domination where it was programmed with the Spierig Brothers latest feature film Predestination.
The short soon after headed to the sunny shores of California and screened at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood, among a bunch of brilliant short films as part of the Sci-Fi Showcase block at the HollyShorts Film Festival.
Screen Anarchy covers Mathilda’s online release
Screen Anarchy review Simon De Bruyn has covered Mathilda's online release, just short of one year after it's international festival premier at Fantasia International Film Festival.
Mathilda takes home silver!
Mathilda was honoured at the 2012 Fantasia International Film Festival with the Silver Audience Award for Best Short Film. Mathilda's world premier at the festival was programmed with William Friedkin's Killer Joe. We could not have wished for a more welcoming and thrilling audience! Huge thanks to Mitch Davies and team for pulling together such a celebration of cinema (and a life altering experience for one Aussie gal) year after year.
Mathilda has gone on to screen at the Cockatoo Island Film Festival, and Monster Fest, and was featured as part of Ain't it Cool News's Saturday Shorts