SBS, NITV and Screen Australia have revealed the ten projects progressing to the first round of the 2024 Digital Originals initiative.
Now in its fifth year, Digital Originals aims to develop ‘exciting, innovative and risk-taking’ short-form drama projects to premiere on SBS On Demand, SBS VICELAND and NITV. It is an initiative particularly focused on spotlighting emerging screen creatives who are under-represented in the screen industry.
The ten teams selected are attending an exclusive workshop in Sydney hosted by SBS, NITV and Screen Australia and featuring industry guest presenters Dylan River, Corrie Chen, Julie Kalceff, Clare Atkins, Mohini Herse, Taofia Pelesasa and Nicole Coventry.
The workshop will help each team develop their screen projects and general narrative-writing skills. Following the workshop, each team will pitch their projects to SBS, NITV and Screen Australia, after which five projects will be chosen to receive further funding. Of these, up to three will be chosen for production funding and commissioning with SBS, NITV and Screen Australia.
‘We’re delighted to welcome this phenomenally talented cohort of storytellers to a brand new round of Digital Originals,’ said SBS Head of Scripted, Nakul Legha. ‘The Digital Originals initiative is the only one of its kind in the world and remains unmatched in the ambition, impact and quality of the stories and storytellers that emerge from it. Selected from over 150 applicants, we’re thrilled to back these 10 teams with the resources, industry expertise and support to create stories that will surprise and delight audiences everywhere.’
‘Digital Originals plays a significant role in developing and elevating First Nations voices,’ said NITV Head of Indigenous Commissioning and Production, Dena Curtis. ‘We are thrilled to see three First Nations projects take part in this year’s program and we look forward to supporting this new generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers, fortifying their experience in the industry.’
‘We’re excited to welcome these ten talented teams to the Digital Originals cohort. This highly competitive initiative continues to attract top creators, with recent success stories like Appetite, Latecomers and Night Bloomers,’ said Screen Australia Head of Online and Games, Lee Naimo. ‘It’s clear that Digital Originals is a powerful launchpad for emerging talent. Now in its fifth year, this program, in partnership with SBS and NITV, remains to be a one-of-a-kind initiative – giving teams a unique opportunity to receive this level funding and support to develop their projects and skills.’
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The 10 shortlisted SBS Digital Originals are:
Banana Milkshake!
When budding high school filmmaker Oliver Zhang and his older cousin Alan ‘Juicy’ Yan discover their teacher’s affair, they hatch a plan to blackmail them for ransom using their filmmaking know-how, only to find themselves entangled in a web of deceit and danger that puts their futures at risk.
Team: David Ma, Johnathan Lo, Georgia Noe.
Front of House
A young Tunisian man immigrates to Australia and finds himself enticed by the underworld of the Melbourne hospitality industry.
Team: Sarah Ben-m’rad, Kay Lawrence.
Hardly a Wallflower
When a totally-blind romance novelist with writer’s block is forced to run her best friend’s flower shop in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, she learns the only way to get her writing back on track is to open herself up to love.
Team: Jessica Smith, Olivia Muscat, Scarlett Koehne.
In Her Body
Two unfulfilled immigrant women – corporate lawyer Vanessa Li and her house cleaner Thelma Alfonso – switch bodies and are forced to work together to figure out how to change back.
Team: Rae Choi, Rachel Maxine Anderson.
Mangrove Mansion
When her estranged activist dad refuses urgent medical care, legal-aid lawyer Sunny and fiancé Alex commandeer his houseboat to get him to the mainland. Crashing into a stinking mess of mud and mangroves, they must figure out how to survive and get unstuck.
Team: Rhianna Malezer, Mary Duong.
Nailing It!
When a culturally estranged Aboriginal woman’s new nail salon becomes a gateway for ancient spirits, she must master the art of spiritual cleansing alongside cuticle care – or risk unleashing supernatural chaos on her unsuspecting clients while confronting her own cultural identity.
Team: Takani Clark, Kartanya Maynard.
Rejecting Elle
When chronically ill people pleaser Elle Cotton is faced with the agonising choice of whether to live or die, the real question is whether the life she has is one that’s worth fighting for.
Team: Lauren Rowe, Steve Anthopoulos, Mansoor Noor, Belinda Dean.
Staying Late
It’s a Melbourne heatwave but Kira and Lane’s love life is on the fritz (like their aircon). So when Lane succumbs to temptation and Kira’s new job takes a sinister turn, their crumbling rental becomes a pressure cooker of secrets.
Team: Isaac Elliot, Reilly Archer-Whelan, Chanel Bowen.
Tantrum
Varsha told best friend Jeev her gig was career-defining. Jeev brought their toddler anyway. When the kid’s meltdown ruins the show, Varsha loses it in a public outburst that goes viral. Soon the two friends are locked in a life-changing feud that has them questioning whether found family really is forever.
Team: Vidya Rajan, Jemma Cotter, Sunanda Sachatrakul.
Thirdwheel
A professional and perfectionist’s first date goes hilariously off-script when an unexpected guest forces her to embrace the chaos and discover that sometimes when things go wrong, they end up right.
Team: Douglas Watkin, Shontell Leah Ketchell.
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Previously successful series commissioned by the Digital Originals initiative include Night Bloomers (2023) which won the 2024 Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) Award for Best Web Series; Appetite (2023) which premiered at the Canneseries TV festival; Latecomers (2022) which also premiered at Canneseries and went on to win the 2024 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards for Best Online Drama or Comedy and the 2023 Casting Guild Australia Awards for Achievement in Casting; the AACTA award winning series A Beginner’s Guide to Grief (2022) and Robbie Hood (2019); and the AACTA nominated series Iggy and Ace (2021), The Tailings (2021), and Homecoming Queens (2018).
Alumni of the initiative have also gone on to become key creatives in the industry, including: Appetite Writer and Director Mohini Herse who went on to become the set-up director of SBS Original drama, Four Years Later; Latecomers’ Producer Liam Heyen and Director Madeleine Gottlieb who reprised these roles on the SBS anthology series Erotic Stories, The Tailings Director Stevie Cruz-Martin who went on to Safe Home; filmmaker Dylan River (Thou Shalt Not Steal, Mystery Road: Origin) who directed Robbie Hood; and Corrie Chen (New Gold Mountain, Bad Behaviour) who directed and executive produced Homecoming Queens .
More information about SBS Digital Originals is available in the initiative guidelines available on the Screen Australia website here.
