Umbrella, AACTA announce $30,000 Wake In Fright Development Initiative for horror/thriller scripts

It’s been more than 50 years since schoolteacher John Grant’s descent into the dregs of the fictional outback mining town Bundanyabba first lit up the screen in Cannes, helping to change the course of Australian cinema as a defining work of the New Wave movement.

Not only did Ted Kotcheff’s adaptation of Kenneth Cook’s 1961 novel leave the likes of Martin Scorsese speechless, but it demonstrated an innovative approach to independent horror that the country’s industry has maintained through Wolf Creek, the Saw franchise, and The Babadook, right through to Talk To Me, Late Night with the Devil, The Moogai and the upcoming Together.

With this in mind, Wake in Fright Trust has teamed up with Umbrella Entertainment, Sanctuary Pictures, and AACTA to launch the Wake in Fright Development Initiative, a national program offering $30,000 of funding and hands-on development support to bring a thriller or genre horror script to life.

Entries open to writers across Australia from July 1, with Frontieres executive director Annick Mahnert, WME agent Jonah Rabb, and No Coincidence Media CEO Mitch Stanley on board to assess the scripts.

Umbrella general manager and Sanctuary Pictures producer Ari Harrison said they tried to keep the program “relatively open”, with only a pitch and treatment required to be eligible.

“I understand how tough the development funding side can be, and that road can be really time consuming if you get knocked back,” he said.

Read the full article on Inside Film.