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In the enchanted kingdom of motherhood, it’s easy to see why the arrival of a newborn is cause for celebration. Soft, tiny, wrinkled creatures who must take on the Herculean task of adapting to our world, babies are truly magical beings. They are the chosen ones, wholly deserving of the best that Hogwarts has to offer.

Naturally, then, new mothers are the Hagrids of this kingdom.

Moody in mind and appearance, loved by children but a tad bit feared by adults (particularly men); with hearts of gold but considered outcasts amongst their more ‘esteemed’ peers for having to perform manual labor as part of their syllabus. Misunderstood misfits (except when in the rare company of other Hagrids), they are mostly left to themselves, tending to the needs of the wildlings in their care.

Two years ago I had the privilege of becoming Hagrid the Hormonal to not one but two little magical beings.

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order for a US adaptation of Porchlight Films comedy 'Laid', with 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' star Stephanie Hsu attached to take on the role previously held by Alison Bell.

The post ‘We’re really excited it’s found a home’: Peacock moves forward with ‘Laid’ adaptation appeared first on If Magazine.

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to the comedy “Laid” with Stephanie Hsu attached to star, Variety has learned.

The series was first reported as being in development in June 2022. It hails from Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna. Based on the Australian series of the same name, the official logline for “Laid” states, “A woman finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back through her sex timeline to confront her past in order to move forward.”

Khan and Bradford McKenna serve as writers and executive producers, with Hsu also executive producing. Khan executive produces along with Jennifer Carreras under their Fierce Baby Productions banner. John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment also executive produce, as do Marieke Hardy, Kirsty Fisher, and Liz Watts for Porchlight Films. All3Media International is also an executive producer. Universal Television is the studio behind the series.

Hsu...

Bluey's creator shares details about his R-rated script for Peppa Pig. Much like Bluey, which has garnered critical acclaim and an international audience, Peppa Pig is known for its gentle touch. The preschool animated series follows the titular anthropomorphic female piglet, her family, and other animals as well. It has grown into an entire franchise that includes theme parks, books, and video games.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bluey creator Joe Brumm had his own unique take on Peppa Pig. Asked about whether he considered making a cartoon for adults, Brumm shares that he "always thought it would be kind of funny to do an R-rated Peppa Pig." In the quote below, Brumm shares how he wrote a script about parenthood that would have delved deep into the realities of parenthood but that he was beaten to the idea by the Australian live-action show The Letdown:...

Peacock is developing Laid, a comedy based on the Australian series of the same name, from Young Rock and Fresh Off The Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan, Son of Zorn showrunner Sally Bradford McKenna, Davis Entertainment (The Blacklist) and Universal TV, where Khan and Davis Entertainment are under deals.

Written by Khan and Bradford McKenna, in Laid, when a woman finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways, she must come to terms with her complicated past.

Khan and Bradford McKenna executive produce with John Davis and John Fox for Davis Entertainment, Liz Watts, Marieke Hardy and Kirsty Fisher for Porchlight Films and Jennifer Carreras for Fierce Baby. Universal TV, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio, with Davis Entertainment, Khan’s Fierce Baby Productions, Porchlight Films and All3Media International as the production companies.

The Australian comedy series Laid, written by Marieke Hardy and Kirsty Fisher, premiered...

Peacock is developing an American adaptation of the Australian comedy series “Laid” with Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna.

Khan and Bradford McKenna will serve as writers and executive producers on the project. It follows a woman who finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways. In investigating their deaths, she must come to terms with her complicated past.

Khan executive produces the show via Fierce Baby Productions along with Jennifer Carreras. John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment also executive produce along with Liz Watts, Marieke Hardy and Kirsty Fisher of Porchlight Films. Hardy and Fisher co-created the original series, with Watts producing. All3Media International will also produce. Universal Television is the studio. Fierce Baby is currently under a TV overall deal at Utv, as is Davis Entertainment.

The original “Laid” aired on Australia’s ABC1 from 2011-2012. It aired two seasons and 12 episodes. The show starred Alison Bell,...

Competition

Universal Pictures‘ “Jurassic World Dominion” stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard have launched a competition for young U.K. fans of the dino franchise to design a British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) black card. The black card is the card that has the film’s rating and BBFC approval for cinematic screenings.

“This is your moment to put your mark on a piece of film history 65 million years in the making,” Pratt says in a short video released to accompany the competition launch while Howard suggests: “Get as creative as you want.”

As well as seeing their design on the big screen, the winner will also get a goody bag, a framed copy of the black card and the chance to take three people to a special screening of their film. The winning design will be shown before all screenings of “Jurassic World Dominion” which opens in the U.

Director Corrie Chen has hit a stride in her career where she is able to make projects she really believes in.

Tonight is the premiere of one such example in Sbs/Goalpost Television’s New Gold Mountain, with Chen having directed all four episodes.

Set in 1857 Ballarat, the mini-series looks at the gold rush from the perspective of Chinese miners, with the story unravelling around a murder mystery. The stellar ensemble cast includes Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, Mabel Li, Leonie Whyman, Sam Wang, Rhys Muldoon, Alison Bell, Chris Masters Mah and Travis Cotton.

Sbs director of content Marshall Heald has called New Gold Mountain the broadcaster’s “most ambitious drama yet”, with producer Kylie du Fresne noting it draws inspiration from Deadwood. The series is dense in detail in terms of costuming and production design, and boasts a diverse cast of around 65 speaking roles, all in multiple languages,...

In Goalpost Pictures’ gold rush drama New Gold Mountain, Alyssa Sutherland plays a widow who overcomes the trauma of an abusive marriage and embarks on a quest for greater independence in 1850s Australia.

While it may be easy to classify her turn as Belle Roberts as a strong female character, the actress told If it was a description she was hoping to avoid.

“I like the attention we put on having much more well-rounded female characters but I get a little bee in my bonnet sometimes when all this focus gets put on these ‘strong female characters’,” she said.

“Women are just strong – that’s how it is.

“All the women in my life are very interesting and compelling people – it’s just taken a while to see the same thing on screen.”

Filmed at Sovereign Hill and around Melbourne and regional Victoria last year, New Gold Mountain follows the...

New Gold Mountain brings to the screen the untold story of the Chinese miners who arrived in the Victorian Goldfields in their thousands in the 1850s to try to make their fortune. Using inspired-by-real-life characters and shining a light on forgotten events, this revisionist Western is based in the harsh wild west era of the Australian gold rush and unearths a murder mystery.

Filmed in Sovereign Hill and around Melbourne and regional Victoria, the epic four-part series from Goalpost Television will air over two weeks, starting October 13 at 9.30pm on Sbs and Sbs On Demand.

Directed by Corrie Chen, New Gold Mountain stars Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, Mabel Li, Leonie Whyman, Sam Wang, Rhys Muldoon, Alison Bell, Chris Masters Mah and Travis Cotton.

The mini-series is created and written by Peter Cox and produced by Kylie du Fresne and Elisa Argenzio. Writers include Yolanda Ramke,...

Foxtel has made its first commission specifically for streaming service Binge: six-part drama Love Me from Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia.

Currently shooting across Melbourne and regional Victoria, the adaptation of Swedish series Älska mig looks at modern love experienced by different family members at three distinct times of life.

Leading the cast is Hugo Weaving, acting alongside his co-star in The Tourist, Shalom Brune-Franklin, as well as Bojana Novakovic, Bob Morley, Heather Mitchell, Sarah Peirse, Celia Pacquola, William Lodder, and Mitzi Ruhlmann.

The series marks Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia’s first TV drama production, to be made in association with Aquarius Films. Emma Freeman will direct, while Alison Bell is the lead writer with Leon Ford, Adele Vuko and Blake Ayshford.

Aquarius’ Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford produce, with WB’s Michael Brooks and Hamish Lewis executive producing. Foxtel Group EPs are Brian Walsh, Alison Hurbert-Burns and Lana Greenhalgh.

Hugo Weaving heads the diverse cast of “Love Me,” a romantic drama series that is now in production in Melbourne, Australia.

The show explores modern love as experienced by different family members at different stages of life. It is adapted from the Swedish series “Älska Mig,” created by Josephine Bornebusch.

To be presented as a six-part series with 43-minute episodes, the show is directed by celebrated Australian director Emma Freeman with lead writer Alison Bell, and writers Leon Ford, Adele Vuko and Blake Ayshford.

“Love Me” is a Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia production in association with Aquarius Films for the Foxtel Group’s streaming service Binge. Major production investment came from Screen Australia in association with Film Victoria.

Binge is an SVOD service launched in May last year by Foxtel, the News Corp. Australia and Telstra-owned pay-tv service in Australia. It offers on-demand and live entertainment across the lifestyle,...

Ben Lawrence and Beatrix Christian’s Hearts and Bones was named best original feature film screenplay at the Australian Writers’ Guild’s annual Awgie Awards yesterday evening, while Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps took home the adaptation prize for Penguin Bloom.

Two of 2019’s top dramas, The Hunting, written by Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack, and Total Control (Episode 3), by Pip Karmel, were recognised in the television categories, while The Heights, lauded for its depiction of contemporary Australia, won Peter Mattessi the Awgie in the television serial category, ending a run of 16-straight years for Neighbours and Home and Away.

Playwright Suzie Miller’s critically acclaimed one-woman play Prima Facie took out the evening’s highest honours, winning the 2020 Major Award, the David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre, and in the stage category.

The one-woman play holds a mirror up to the Australian legal system, exposing...

Sbs unveiled its largest ever local drama slate at its upfronts today, including a new four-part crime series from Bunya Productions and Caama, Copping it Black, to be directed by Erica Glynn and Steven McGregor.

Next year will also see the broadcaster air a hefty roster of local unscripted projects, including the seven one-off docs produced via the Australia Uncovered initiative, and landmark factual series covering off on topics such as domestic violence, adult literacy, disability, ageism and obesity.

Goalpost’s gold rush drama New Gold Mountain, delayed due to Covid-19, is now underway in Victoria, with Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, and Mabel Li toplining the cast.

Set in the Bendigo Goldfields in 1855, it follows the charismatic headman of the Chinese mining camp who suddenly finds himself struggling to maintain the fragile harmony between Chinese and European diggers and authorities when a murdered European woman...

Coeli Cutcliffe.

Coeli Cutcliffe has joined Jude Troy and Richard Finlayson’s Wooden Horse, where she will serve as development manager.

Most recently Cutcliffe was a development executive at Porchlight Films, where she worked for three years until the company closure in June 2020. Prior to this she was an executive at Southern Star, where she worked with John Edwards for almost a decade on shows such as The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way.

At Wooden Horse, Cutcliffe will be responsible for working with established and emerging creatives, and developing Australian stories for global audiences. The company currently has projects in development with Stan, ABC, and Sbs.

Joint CEOs Finlayson and Troy said: “We are thrilled to have Coeli join the Wooden Horse family. She is highly regarded within the creative community and her development skills a great asset as we continue to expand our slate of distinctive and diverse stories.

Niki Aken at Charlie’s in La

Like the rest of the crew and cast, Niki Aken was gutted when the production of the ABC comedy Why Are You Like This was shut down with two weeks filming to go.

Aken is the script producer on the six-part show created and written by Naomi Higgins, Humyara Mahbub and Aunty Donna’s Mark Samual Bonanno, produced by Sarah Freeman for the directors Jessie Oldfield and Adam Murfet’s production company Ckol.

A spin-off of the pilot funded by the Screen Australia/ABC Fresh Blood initiative, the series follows best friends Mia (Olivia Junkeer) and Penny (Higgins) and Penny’s aloof housemate Austin (Wil King).

“Obviously it was the the right call, but gutting for the cast and crew,” Niki says. “It was a normal, human response to an unprecedented situation.

“I am one of the lucky ones as an in-demand writer...

Alison Bell and Mike Jones.

Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox’s Every Cloud Productions is ramping up its development slate after hiring screenwriter/story editor Mike Jones.

Jones, who was story producer on Every Cloud’s ABC iview series Deadlock, is working as head of content and development.

“Mike brings a complementary skill set, which allows Deb to focus on her role as creative director/producer and both of us as executive producers,” Eagger tells If.

Jones spent four years as story editor and script developer at Vicki Madden’s Sweet Potato Films, working on The Gloaming and The Kettering Incident.

He also did script development of the anthology horror series Deadhouse Dark produced by Enzo Tedeschi and Rachele Wiggins with funding from Screen Australia and Screen Queensland.

Of his new role he said: “It’s a big change that has left me both thrilled and daunted equally as I...

Alison Bell with Sarah Scheller at Charlie’s (Photo: Costa Vakas).

Victorian College of the Arts (Vca) film and television alumni will have the opportunity to work in Los Angeles thanks to a new partnership between Australians in Film (AiF) and the University of Melbourne.

The $92,000 three-year partnership is the first of its type between AiF and a university and will allow mid-career film and TV graduates to apply for a hot desk at Charlie’s on the Raleigh Studios lot.

Concurrently, the University also announced today the creation of the Melbourne Screen Fund, which aims to raise $5 million in donations to support current Vca students and alumni.

Explaining the rationale for the fund, Vca head of film and television Sandra Sciberras said: “We are all aware of the difficulty of financing films and the vital need for gap finance to support ambitious work that might not otherwise get produced.

“I...

Richard Finlayson and Jude Troy.

Former director of ABC television Richard Finlayson has joined Jude Troy’s Wooden Horse as director and joint CEO.

The duo is developing a raft of projects including an adaptation of Jp Pomare’s novel In the Clearing, a psychological thriller about two women who belong to a cult in rural Victoria, inspired by the infamous Australian cult The Family.

Troy and Finlayson plan to meet with the Kiwi-born, Victorian-based Pomare next week and are yet to attach a writer.

The slate includes a UK-Australian co-production created by Giula Sandler and projects scripted by Jane Allen, Sarah Lambert, Tim Lee, James O’Loghlin, Alison Bell, Tristram Baumber and Natesha Somasundaram.

Founded in 2018 by Troy, the former executive VP of TV production and acquisitions for eOne Australia, Wooden Horse co-produced with Aquarius Films the second series of Matt Okine’s comedy The Other Guy for Stan.

The...

‘Butch’.

Screen Australia has announced almost $750,000 of story development funding for nine feature films, 11 television series and two online projects.

The slate includes an Imogen Banks-produced musical dramedy, composed by Kate Miller-Heidke; a television adaptation of Melanie Cheng book Australia Day; and a feature film from Helpmann Award-winning playwright S. Shakthidharan.

Screen Australia’s head of development Nerida Moore said, “We are looking for projects that are distinctive in the market, have a very specific audience in mind and reflect a range of Australian experiences. As such, it’s fantastic to be able to support the development of these 22 productions, which give an exciting glimpse into the diversity of stories, formats and genres we will hopefully see on our screens in the coming years.”

“I’m particularly pleased Screen Australia is able to support creators to expand their skill sets and take creative risks, including actors Lucy Durack and...

‘The Nightingale’.

Last night’s Aacta Awards saw a trifecta for Jennifer Kent, who took home Best Film, Best Direction and Best Screenplay for The Nightingale, with star Aisling Franciosi also winning Best Lead Actress.

Set in 1825, The Nightingale follows a young, female Irish convict (Franciosi) who chases a British officer through the Tasmanian wilderness bent on revenge after he committed an act of violence against her family, and who along the way enlists the help of an Aboriginal tracker. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2018, with Kent the only female director in competition. It won the Special Jury Prize and Baykali Ganambarr the Marcello Mastroiaani Award for his debut performance.

Produced by Causeway Films’ Kristina Ceyton, Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky, and Kent, the period tale beat out The King, Judy & Punch, Hearts and Bones, Ride Like A Girl and Top End Wedding for the Best Film prize.

Jennifer Kent’s thriller The Nightingale has taken home a trio of prizes at the 2019 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards in Sydney.

Kent’s period piece won Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Best Film, making Kent, who also produced, the first woman to receive awards across all three categories for the same film in the same year. The film’s female lead, Aisling Franciosi, received the Best Lead Actress prize.

The Nightingale follows a young Irish convict who chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family.

Bong Joon Ho’s lauded Cannes winner Parasite scored the Aacta Award for Best Asian Film. The award was presented to the South Korean film’s producer Kwak Sin-ae by Simu Liu, star of Marvel Comics’ upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend Of The Ten Rings,...

‘Lambs of God’.

Lingo Pictures’ four-part TV drama Lambs of God has collected an unprecedented 18 Aacta Award nominations, while Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale leads in film with 15 nods.

The Australian Academy revealed the full list of nominees for the annual awards today, with almost 60 to be presented across two events in Sydney in six weeks time.

Some 15 films are up for awards, though four dominate almost every category: Kent’s revenge tale, Anthony Maras’ debut feature Hotel Mumbai and David Michôd’s Netflix-backed The King, which each received 13 nominations, and Mirrah Foulkes’ dark comedy Judy & Punch, which earned nine. Each is nominated for Best Film alongside Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like A Girl and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding.

Up in the Best Indie Film category (budgeted under $2 million) are Thomas M. Wright’s Acute Misfortune, Heath Davis’ Book Week, Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy, Imogen Thomas’ Emu...

Leon Ford in ‘The Letdown’ (Photo credit: Tony Mott).

Admirers of Leon Ford who enjoyed his work as Ruben in the ABC’s The Letdown and other shows should savour his performance in Jeremy Sims’ upcoming movie Rams because after that he will be off screen for a while.

The actor-writer moved to Los Angeles last year with his wife Alice Bell and their three young children as Alice serves as the writer/creator and co-showrunner on The Expatriates, a 10-part Amazon series produced by Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films.

Based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel, the series centres on a group of close-knit American women and their lives as outsiders in Hong Kong and is yet to go into production.

“I would like to find a happy medium that a lot people have where they can go and back forth and do jobs,” he tells If during a family vacation in Australia.

Rick Kalowski.

ABC head of comedy Rick Kalowski has a ready answer when producers complain they can’t get a show funded because they have been unable to land an international financier or co-producer.

“If you can’t co-finance your scripted show internationally it’s not because it’s too local, it’s because it’s not good enough,” he tells If.

“There is so much hunger out there for scripted content that if you can’t finance it, it’s not a conspiracy. Many good Australian producers have had a lot of success selling their shows internationally.”

Most ABC scripted comedies are now co-financed internationally by streaming platforms or cable broadcasters such as Sky TV. “One of the few good things about the budget cuts in the past few years is that they have forced us to think internationally about our financing,” he says.

“Since I started in September 2013, I,...

Duncan Fellows and Alison Bell.

Fans of ABC TV’s The Letdown who enjoy watching Duncan Fellows as Jeremy, partner and foil of Alison Bell’s oft-stressed Audrey, can look forward to his next series Fam Time.

Fellows is playing John, aka ‘Handy Andy’, second husband of Michala Banas’ Belinda Box, matriarch of a dysfunctional blended family in the Seven Studios’ narrative comedy.

Created by Michael Horrocks and scripted by Erica Harrison and Jack Yabsley, the sitcom features Benson Jack Anthony as Belinda’s son Rylan, Karina Banno as her step-daughter Tahnee, Chloe De Los Santos as her adopted half-Filipino daughter Cherry, Rhonda Burchmore as grandma Viv and Tainui Tukiwaho as handyman Bill.

While everyone else in the family is obsessed with the online world, Handy Andy prefers fixing and inventing things, although he’s not very good at either.

There are some similarities between the two characters. “Neither is...

ABC Studios International has teamed up with Endemol Shine to produce an adaptation of Holly Throsby’s novel Goodwood for Australian broadcaster ABC. It marks the first collaboration between the two nascent sibling companies.

The pair are producing the mystery, coming-of-age love story, which is written by Alison Bell and Sarah Scheller, the team behind the ABC comedy, The Letdown. Goodwood is set in a small town which is torn apart when two of its residents go missing.

The series will be produced by Alice Bell and Claudia Karvan with Imogen Banks executive producing under her Endemol Shine Banks banner and Keli Lee exec producing through ABC Studios International.

Throsby said, “One of the central themes of Goodwood is the relationships between people, especially between strong women. It is so fitting, and an absolute dream for me, to have such an incredible group of women in charge of bringing my book to life on screen.

Holly Throsby.

The Letdown‘s Alison Bell and Sarah Scheller are adapting Holly Throsby’s debut novel Goodwood into a series for the ABC and Disney’s ABC Studios International.

Goodwood is a part mystery, part coming-of-age love story, set in a small town that is torn apart when two of its residents go missing.

The series will be produced by Alice Bell and Claudia Karvan, with Imogen Banks executive producing under her Endemol Shine Banks banner together with ABC head of drama, comedy and Indigenous Sally Riley and ABC Studios International managing director, international content, platforms and talent, Keli Lee.

Throsby says: “One of the central themes of Goodwood is the relationships between people, especially between strong women. It is so fitting, and an absolute dream for me, to have such an incredible group of women in charge of bringing my book to life on screen.”

Bell says: “Holly...

‘Diary of an Uber Driver.’

Sally Riley is bemused when people use this line when they are pitching projects to her: “This is definitely an ABC show.”

The ABC’s head of scripted production, Riley usually replies: “What is that? What is an ABC show?”

Interviewed in her Ultimo office for a two-part story, she tells If: “If it’s a great show, we’ll do it. I don’t think it must fit in the parameters of what is supposed to be an ABC show.

“We want to not only hold our audiences but also bring in new and younger audiences and we have a broad slate to try to meet both. We will definitely take a calculated risk when we believe in a show.”

As an example of a program which she thinks most people would not expect to see on the public broadcaster, she points to Les Norton,...

Clockwise L-r: Luke Davies, Jacob Elordi, Eva Orner and Dion Beebe.

Australians in Film (AiF) is partnering with Amazon Studios to stage industry panels, roundtable conversations and Q&As designed to foster partnerships between Australian and Hollywood creatives and decision makers.

Dop Dion Beebe, filmmakers Eva Orner and Alethea Jones, producer Tracey Robertson and writers Luke Davies, Alice Bell, Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell will be among the speakers at the AiF Hollywood Sessions presented by Amazon Studios.

Among other industry luminaries who will take part in the sessions at Charlie’s on the Raleigh lot in Hollywood are co-executive producer and writer Aaron Ginsburg, actor Jacob Elordi (Euphoria), director Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), Columbia Pictures director of creative development Jiao Chen, Made Up Stories’ Casey Haver and Truant Pictures’ Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.

The partnership came about through AiF chair Simonne Overend’s business relationship with Amazon Studios,...

Alison Bell, Kodie Bedford and Niki Aken.

Screen Australia has announced it will support a delegation of 13 creatives to travel to New York in March to attend the Australian International Screen Forum and participate in professional development and networking opportunities.

“There is an increasing appetite for Australian stories in the USA, most recently evident at the Sundance Film Festival where our films were making substantial sales,” said Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason.

“Talent USA is an important opportunity to showcase and promote some of our best creative talent to the North American market and help elevate their projects to be in the best position to compete and be seen internationally.

“Attending the Screen Forum will give these delegates an opportunity to hear from key Us players on latest trends, challenges and opportunities in the current global market. This year the Talent USA delegation will also benefit from the Forum’s ambassadors Deborra-Lee Furness,...

‘Jirga’ won the Aacta for Best Indie Film.

Director Benjamin Gilmour’s Jirga took home the inaugural Aacta Award for Best Indie Film – designed to honour films made under $2 million – at the Aacta Industry Luncheon in Sydney yesterday.

The film, produced by John Maynard, beat out Strange Colours, Brothers’ Nest, West of Sunshine and The Second. Starring Sam Smith as a former Australian soldier who returns to Afghanistan seeking forgiveness, Jirga is also Australia’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards.

Some 35 awards were given away at yesterday’s Aacta event, hosted by actress Kat Stewart and comedian Nazeem Hussain. Other key feature film winners were Sweet Country and Ladies in Black, which each took home three gongs.

David Tranter and Steven McGregor won Best Original Screenplay for Sweet Country, while film’s director and Dop Warwick Thornton was honoured with the award for Best...

In April, Netflix debuted The Letdown, which is actually an Australian series that originally aired on the country's ABC channel in 2017. The show reveals what it's actually like to be a new mother, with a realistic storyline that has mothers (and non-mothers) nodding in agreement.

The Letdown was created by Sarah Scheller and focuses on Audrey (played by Alison Bell), a mother of a 2-month-old daughter named Stevie. She has to adjust to life as a mom, manage her hot mess of a husband, and deal with friends who have no idea what it's like to be her. The upside? She's a part of a mommy support group that keeps her sanity in check.

Throughout the first season - seven episodes - you get depth, laughs, and realistic takes on motherhood and life in general. It's like watching a funnier version of your own life. Despite being a pretty realistic...

'The Letdown'..

The Letdown was one of six pilots aired last year on the ABC via the broadcaster's and Screen Australia.s Comedy Showroom initiative, and the episode went on to pick up an Aacta Award for Best Screenplay in Television.

Now production is underway on a full six-part series for the ABC and Netflix..

Netflix has international distribution rights, but will also make the series available on its Australian platform after it initially airs on Abctv and iview..

A Giant Dwarf production, created and written by Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell, The Letdown follows a mother.s group thrown together through the circumstance of timing..

"We are thrilled to be working with the ABC and Netflix on a full series of The Letdown. We've learned that making a TV show is actually not unlike motherhood... floods of tears, bursts of love and unhinged hormonal meltdowns - all in the name of comedy,...

Mel Gibson on the set of Hacksaw Ridge.. . Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge cleaned up at the 6th Aacta Awards ceremony last night, taking home five awards, including Best Film and Best Original Screenplay. . Gibson was honoured for Best Direction, while Andrew Garfield won Best Lead Actor and Hugo Weaving nabbed Best Supporting Actor. . .I need to thank Australia for making this film,. said Gibson in his acceptance speech. . He praised the "homegrown" film.s cast and crew, .the calibre of which is as good or better than anywhere in the world.. . .I.m not the only one who wants to make films here all the time, Ridley Scott said the same thing,. Gibson said. .I.m honoured to receive this.. . . The five awards add to the four Hacksaw Ridge already picked up earlier this week at the Aacta Industry Luncheon. The film was nominated in 13 categories overall. . Odessa Young...

Mel Gibson on the set of Hacksaw Ridge.. . Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge cleaned up at the 6th Aacta Awards ceremony last night, taking home five awards, including Best Film and Best Original Screenplay. . Gibson was honoured for Best Direction, while Andrew Garfield won Best Lead Actor and Hugo Weaving nabbed Best Supporting Actor. . .I need to thank Australia for making this film,. said Gibson in his acceptance speech. . He praised the "homegrown" film.s cast and crew, .the calibre of which is as good or better than anywhere in the world.. . .I.m not the only one who wants to make films here all the time, Ridley Scott said the same thing,. Gibson said. .I.m honoured to receive this.. . . The five awards add to the four Hacksaw Ridge already picked up earlier this week at the Aacta Industry Luncheon. The film was nominated in 13 categories overall. . Odessa Young...

A 2015 Meet the Nominees event.

Aacta has unveiled the full schedule for its Meet the Nominees series: nine events featuring Aacta nominees presented by Aftrs.

"We.re thrilled to be partnering with Aacta to present the 2016 Meet the Nominees events; an exclusive opportunity to hear the inside stories from Australia.s leading film, television and documentary makers," Aftrs CEO Neil Peplow said..

This year.s events will feature nominated editor Veronika Jenet Ase (The Daughter); editor Andrew Cooke (Hitting Home); sound designer Liam Egan Assg (The Daughter); editor Steven Robinson Ase (In The Shadow of the Hill); and sound designers Yulia Akerholt Assg (The Daughter) and Robert Mackenzie (Hacksaw Ridge).

Director Rosemary Myers (Girl Asleep) will feature on the panel for The Directors event, alongside Bentley Dean Adg and Martin Butler Adg, whose film Tanna was recently announced as Australia.s foreign language Oscars entry.

Bentley Dean Adg will also...

Jessica Marais in 'Love Child'..

Screen Nsw has announced it will invest in 20 new Australian film and television projects..

These will include seven TV dramas to be funded under the $20 million Made in Nsw Fund, announced by the Nsw Government earlier this year..

Among the Made in Nsw fund projects are Monkey, a family action-adventure series based on the Chinese legend 'Journey to The West', to be produced by See-Saw Films; Fighting Season, about Australian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, from the producers of The Sapphires and Cleverman; and Friday on My Mind, the story of legendary Australian rock band The Easybeats from the producers of Love Child and The Code. Love Child has also been funded for a further season.

Nash Edgerton is set to make his TV debut, directing Jungle.s Mr In Between, the story of a charismatic yet volatile hitman. Michelle Bennett will produce.

Tomorrow When the War Began, the series based on John Marsden's novels, premieres April 23 at 7:30pm on ABC3.

The six-part adventure series tells the story of a group of young Australian friends on the run from a foreign invasion force.

The unsuspecting Australian military is quickly overwhelmed and none of Australia.s allies are willing to risk possible nuclear war to come to our aid.

Veterans Sibylla Budd, Deborah Mailman, James Stewart and Alison Bell are joined by relative newcomers Molly Daniels, Narek Arman, Jon Prasida, Madeleine Clunies-Ross, Madeleine Madden, Andrew Creer, Fantine Banulski and Keith Purcell.

Daniels plays Ellie, the heroine of the books. The young actor starred in two seasons of ABC3's You're Skitting Me, as well as Very Small Business, Party Tricks and The Librarians.

An Ambience Entertainment Production in association with ABC3, Screen Australia and FilmVictoria, the show is produced by Michael Boughen...

Tomorrow When The War Began has finished filming at Dockland Studios and is scheduled for ABC viewing next year.

John Marsden.s popular stories of teenagers, who return from a camping trip to learn that their country has been invaded by a foreign power, will star Molly Daniels (You.re Skitting Me, The Librarians) as Ellie and Jon Prasida (Hiding) as Lee..

They will be joined by Deborah Mailman, Sibylla Budd, James Stewart and Alison Bell.

Also shot at Docklands Studios, Aquarius Film.s The Berlin Syndrome, is now in post-production..

The film, directed by Cate Shortland and based on the novel of the same name by Australian writer Melanie Joosten, was shot at the Studios following a period on location in Berlin..

A psychological thriller, The Berlin Syndrome examines the themes of obsession, captivity and truth as a young Australian photojournalist, Clare (Teresa Palmer) meets a charismatic stranger, Andi...

This article originally appeared in If Magazine #144 (Dec-Jan 2012).

Kirsty Fisher I haven.t marked my calendar but I guess I met Marieke when I script edited her on a kids show many, many years ago . probably almost ten years ago . and then we worked together really closely on Last Man Standing.

I was a script editor and she was basically everything else and we realised in working together on that show that we shared a lot in common and we loved working with each other.

So when that show didn.t go ahead to a second series we got together... and came up with a whole lot of stories, ideas and concepts and one of those was . well it was called Like a Virgin but it.s the show that became Laid.

It doesn.t feel like work at all, it.s great fun. It.s very harmonious . there.s very little tension.

The Hunter has lead the Aacta Awards with 14 nominations including best film.

The film, by Daniel Nettheim, is also up for best direction, adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound, production design, costume, original music score, and visual effects. Meanwhile, Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill and Morgana Davies are all up for acting awards.

The film has currently made just over $1m at the local box office.

It’s the first year for the re-launched AACTAs, formerly the AFI awards.

The technical awards will be given out at a luncheon on 15 January at the Sydney Opera House, with an evening ceremony for the more ‘public-friendly’ awards held at the Opera House on 31 January.

Running against The Hunter for best film is Red Dog, Mad Bastards, The Eye of the Storm, Snowtown and Oranges and Sunshine.

The Eye of the Storm, was second in the nominations race with 12, of which six are...

Red Dog, Oranges and Sunshine, Face to Face and The Eye of the Storm have received nominations for Best Feature Film at this year’s If Awards.

Red Dog won the most nominations, appearing in nine categories, with Oranges and Sunshine nominated in eight and Face to Face in six categories.

Nominated in the Best Direction category is Michael Rymer for Face to Face, Kriv Stenders for Red Dog and Justin Kurzel for Snowtown while Best Script nominees are Michael Rymer for Face to Face, Rona Munro for Oranges and Sunshine and Daniel Taplitz for Red Dog.

Best Documentary nominees are Mrs Carey’s Concert directed by Bob Connolly, I Am Eleven directed by Genevieve Bailey and Orchids: My Intersex Adventure directed by Phoebe Hart.

With its strong ensemble cast the Face to Face actors are up against David Wenham for Oranges and Sunshine, Josh Lucas for Red Dog and...

ABC black romantic comedy Laid has gone south for series two, with shooting starting today in Melbourne. After filming in Sydney for the first series in July last year, the.six-part.production . created and written by.Marieke Hardy and Kirsty Fisher . has moved due to several cast and creatives already being based in Melbourne. Financial assistance was also provided from Film Victoria. The series will again explore the .robustly comical motifs of sex and death., Hardy says. Reprising their roles include Alison Bell (as Roo), Celia Pacquola (as Ej), Toby Truslove (as Ej.s on again, off again boyfriend Zach), Graeme Blundell and Tracy Mann (as Roo.s parents Graham and Marion), and Shaun Micallef as G-Bomb (Roo.s gyno with the...

Animal Kingdom producer Liz Watts has made her TV series debut with the black comedy Laid. Aravind Balasubramaniam reports from the set in Sydney.

Set to debut on ABC1 on February 9, Laid is the brainchild of Marieke Hardy and Kirsty Fisher. Its death-related premise – about Roo, a young woman (Alison Bell) whose previous sexual partners begin to mysteriously die off, making her think she’s cursed – provides the black comedic tone to the series.

Inspiration came to Hardy from a story she saw in the newspaper, about “a handsome boy” around her age, who died while during a holiday.

“I started to imagine, what if I had dated him and it ended up being a horrible relationship, would I be supposed to attend his funeral? What are your responsibilities to the ex lovers you had a very bad time with?” explained Hardy. “It wasn’t really about a fascination with death,...