The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) and Stan have partnered to launch a new matched development fund to boost the creation of new and original South Australian scripted series.
Announced today, the Stan and SAFC Development Fund is a joint initiative between the South Australian state screen agency and local streaming service to support South Australian creative teams to generate scripted series for exhibition on the Stan platform.
The initiative will focus on the development of bold, distinctive ideas with complex characters set in unusual worlds or situations that merit high production values, resulting in scripted series of world-class scope and scale.
The projects must be original, serialised, returnable, and intended for production and post-production in South Australia.
Commencing from today (13 May, 2021), the Stan and SAFC Development Fund will accept applications for the first round of development, taking selected projects from concept to pitch-ready stage. Following pitching to Stan, two of the projects will then be selected for a further round of development and commissioning consideration from Stan.
Minister for innovation and skills The Hon. David Pisoni MP said: “This exciting new initiative will further cement South Australia’s reputation as a hub of screen creative excellence by providing fresh opportunities for local talent to create ambitious new works for a national platform. I look forward to seeing what exciting new series develop as a result.”
Stan’s chief content officer, Cailah Scobie said “As Australia’s unrivalled home of original productions, we are very pleased to partner with SAFC on this new development initiative. Supporting our talented local industry by bringing uniquely Australian stories to the screen is a core focus of our business and the launch of this new fund represents a great opportunity for Stan to discover the stories South Australian creatives have to tell.”
CEO of the SAFC Kate Croser said: “South Australia has been producing some of the most ground-breaking episodic content in the country in recent times including critically acclaimed hits like Aftertaste, Stateless, The Hunting and First Day.
“This exciting initiative opens up new opportunities for South Australian producers and writers to create even more bold, innovative and unique series for audiences across Australia.
“The SAFC is delighted to continue our successful partnership with Stan which has already seen great production outcomes in series such as Wolf Creek series one and two, and The Tourist currently underway, as well as Stan Original films A Sunburnt Christmas and Gold”.
The Stan and SAFC Development Fund will open for applications from Thursday 13 May, 2021.