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The gig economy, and the food delivery industry in particular, are set for scrutiny in “Appetite,” an Australian short-form series that will debut next month at Canneseries, the TV festival that runs alongside the Mip-TV rights market (April 14-19).

“Appetite” is a mystery-comedy in which three penniless food delivery riders are brought together after their housemate mysteriously vanishes on the same night as a rider has a fatal roadside accident. They set out to discover the truth behind the accident and expose multinational food behemoth, Appetite.

“Appetite” was created by Mohini Herse (“Hair”) who wrote, directed and produced the series under her Fell Swoop Pictures banner. She worked with fellow writers Neilesh Verma (“Letters Home”) and Grace Tan (“Lucky Peach”), director Neil Sharma (“Heartbreak High”), and producer Karen Radzyner (“Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo”).

The drama includes performances from rising stars Shirong Wu (“Neighbours”), Gabriel Alvarado (“The Winter’s Tale...

Hoodlum Entertainment TV series Mummune and feature film Santa Whitebeard have been selected for Dame Changer’s Project to Market Accelerator, offering the teams tailored support to hone their creative concepts over the next two years.

The recipients were selected from a group of 12 teams via the professional women’s collective’s Screen Changer Project Lab (formerly Screen Tank).

Mummune and Santa Whitebeard creatives will work on a detailed plans with industry strategic advisors to get their project to market, including one-on-one mentoring and the opportunity to pitch their project to broadcasters, distributors and sales agents both locally and internationally.

Lucy Barzun Donnelly, the Emmy and Golden Globe winning producer, is consulting with Dame Changer about international markets.

“I am pleased to be continuing my long-standing interest in helping other women succeed in the industry,” she said.

Abhi Jeyakkumar and Cathy Randall.

Santa Whitebeard:

Santa Whitebeard is a “high concept...

Two distinctly Australian stories have taken out the top prizes at the inaugural Aidc Awards, with Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream and Southern Pictures’ Miriam Margolyes: Almost Australian awarded Best Feature Documentary and Best Documentary/Factual Series, respectively.

Held as a conclusion to this year’s Aidc, the awards ceremony crowned winners across six categories and distributed more than $200,000 of development funding and prizes.

The event was was broadcast live from Acmi in Melbourne to six cities around Australia.

It caps of this year’s online conference, which comprised more than 40 sessions across four days, and came with contributions from a diverse range of speakers and decision-makers.

The winners of the inaugural Aidc Awards are:

Best Feature Documentary

The Australian Dream

Daniel Gordon, Good Thing Productions & Passion Pictures.

Jury Statement: “In collaboration with Stan Grant, what Gordon finds in the story of Adam Goodes’ disgraceful public discrimination is potent,...

Pursekey Productions director and principal producer Michaela Perske is the Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) Stanley Hawes Award recipient for 2021.

Perske’s recognition was announced today alongside the 20 nominees for the inaugural Aidc awards.

Designed to recognise the “outstanding completed works of new Australian documentary and factual content”, the awards will be presented in person across eight cities, as well as livestreamed to Aidc delegates.

Originally trained as a journalist, Perske has over 20 years of media experience across radio, print and TV.

Since turning her hand to factual content, she has produced films including Girls Can’t Surf, Black Divaz, After the Apology, and Destination Arnold.

In announcing the award, the Aidc said it wanted to acknowledge “her outstanding contribution to the Australian documentary and factual sector”.

Australian practitioners had the opportunity to submit across six categories for the Aidc Awards: Best Feature Documentary, with a $5,000 cash prize presented by Doc...

For Charmaine Bingwa, the last eight minutes and 46 seconds of George Floyd’s life under the knee of a white cop is a powerful reminder to people everywhere to check their biases and consider the implications of what they are saying or silently condoning.

As an Indigenous woman, Larissa Behrendt felt a personal connection to police brutality in the Us, drawing a parallel with the death of David Dungay and more than 430 other Aboriginal deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission.

Gemma Bird Matheson suggests five ways in which a white person can deal with guilt, including telling white friends how he or she is contributing to anti-blackness and white supremacy; learning about Australia’s black history; and donating to families of First Nations who have suffered at the hands of Australian police.

Striking a similar tone, Eka Darville declares: “White Australia now it’s your turn – it starts with you.

Aacta Pitch.

Entries are now open for Aacta Pitch: Elevate, a pitching competition that aims to discover original ideas for globally-focused, high-concept scripted series.

Aacta are looking for series ideas which are original, unique and have the potential for mass audience appeal.

The winner will be determined at the Aacta Pitch: Elevate Live Final in Sydney in late August. Up to eight finalists will be selected to participate in the event where they will have the opportunity to pitch their idea in front of a live audience, including the Aacta Pitch judging panel, which includes:

Carly Heaton, drama development executive at Foxtel; Stephen Corvini, drama development executive and producer at Matchbox Pictures Tracey Robertson, CEO Hoodlum Entertainment; Billy Bowring, development manager at Fremantle Australia.

The winner of Aacta Pitch: Elevate will receive a $5,000 cash prize as well as invaluable feedback from the judging panel and guidance on the development of...

Aacta Pitch: Forever Unexpected judges Damon Herriman, Victoria Wharfe McIntyre, Alexandra Blue and Derin Seale with joint winner Loani Arman (Photo credit: Molly Hanrahan).

Loani Arman and Kelly Hucker’s short film concept Our Greatest Escape won the Aacta Pitch: Forever Unexpected competition in Sydney last night.

Drawing from Arman’s experience in caring for a loved one with dementia, the plot follows a young advertising executive who gets back to her creative roots when she takes her mum on ‘one last ride.’

Their prizes include $5,000 cash; up to $15,000 towards the production of their short film from Mini; post-production support from Spectrum Films worth $2,500; tickets to the 2019 Aacta Awards; and feedback and mentoring opportunities with the judging panel.

The panel included actor Damon Herriman, short film producer Alexandra Blue, writer and producer Victoria Wharfe McIntyre and Oscar nominated director Derin Seale.

“Big congrats to Loani and Kelly on a very touching script and emotive pitch.

The five finalists for Aacta’s national short film pitching competition, Aacta Pitch: Forever Unexpected presented by Mini, have been announced.

The finalists are the creative teams behind Lachie and John, Our Greatest Escape, Special Delivery, The Rockstar and To the Rescue.

Each team will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in Sydney on June 3, competing for the grand prize which includes $5,000 cash; $15,000 towards the production of their short film; post-production support from Spectrum Films worth $2,500; tickets to the 2019 Aacta Awards; and feedback and mentoring opportunities with the judging panel.

Lachie and John Dan Haberfield

When John’s wife leaves unexpectedly, his young son Lachie helps him see how he can become a better man in this light-hearted comedy exploring the expectations put upon family members and the importance of stepping up to share responsibilities.

Our Greatest Escape Loani Arman, Kelly Hucker

A young advertising executive gets back...