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Stars: Joshua Brennan, Charlotte Best, Goran D. Kleut, Kelly Paterniti, Ric Herbert | Written by Nik Kacevski, Tess Meyer | Directed by Nik Kacevski

Skinford was shot and released in its native Australia and apparently nowhere else, in 2017. A sequel, Skinford: Chapter Two followed in 2018. So, when I saw the title Skinford: Death Sentence pop up on my radar I naturally enough thought it was a third film in the franchise.

Then I noticed the plot and crew credits were the same as the original film with just a couple of differences in the cast. A quick check of the copyright date confirmed this is not a new film. As near as I can guess new sales agent/distributor Black Mandala saw its potential as a cult film and picked it up; they must have some faith in it as IMDb has an entry for Skinford 2: The Curse which bears a...

Two animated children’s projects and two live-action series will share in $3.2 million of production funding from Screen Australia.

Northern Pictures’ Tom Weekly Versus… and Werner Film Productions’ Surviving Summer are being made for ViacomCBS and Netflix, respectively, while animation offerings 100% Wolf: The Book of Hath from Flying Bark Productions and Kangaroo Beach Summer Special from Cheeky Little Media will both appear on the ABC.

Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said the funding reflected Screen Australia’s commitment to supporting quality Australian screen stories for young audiences.

“It’s important that Australian kids can see their stories and experiences reflected on screen and families around the country will be in for a treat with these new projects,” she said.

“Northern Pictures are going from strength to strength – building on the success of Hardball, they are now set to bring popular book series Tom Weekly to the screen.

Fin Edquist.

Fin Edquist is perhaps best known for animated adventures aimed at children and families – but the screenwriter finds equal satisfaction in creating adult-themed dramas.

Reflecting that diversity, his upcoming slate includes an Alice Springs-set series to be produced by Brindle Films’ Rachel Clements; a feature film spin-off of On the Edge, a planned TV animated children’s series; and a dark thriller/horror.

“My natural inclination is to the darker stuff,” says Edquist, whose writing credits include McLeod’s Daughters and House Husbands; he also co-created The Secret Daughter with Sam Meikle, Justin Monjo and Kristen Dunphy but didn’t get the chance to work on the Screentime/Seven Network show.

“The kids stuff is something I discovered later on in my career. I enjoy them equally and am glad I can work in both. They present different challenges and requirements and different forms of escape.

“I have four children.

Victorian producer Sal Balharrie will participate in Spa's Ones To Watch mentoring program this year..

Screen Producers Australia has announced the 19 emerging producers who will participate in its Ones To Watch mentoring program this year..

The participants include: Michael O'Neill (Tas), Joshua Gilbert (Wa), Georgina Isles (Wa), Nicole Miller (Sa), Ben Whimpey (Vic), Joel Kohn (Vic), Paul Andersen (Vic), Jonathon Dutton (Vic), Sal Balharrie (Vic), Drew Macdonald (Qld), Ann Megalla (Qld), Kate Paul (Qld), Ross Howden (Nsw), Abi Tabone (Nsw), Hawanatu Bangura (Nsw), Tina A.Wake (Nsw), Rebecca Ingram (Nsw), Tess Meyer(Nsw) and Tom Slater (Nsw).

The Ones to Watch program, which runs for six months, .focuses on providing one-on-one mentoring and career guidance from seasoned producers. Sbs and Screen Australia are key partners in the program, which is sponsored by YouTube..

This year, Sbs will award one of the 19 producers a $15,000 .Sbs First Look Grant. to assist in...