Screen NSW investing over $1 million in developing outstanding NSW screen stories

Writers, directors and producers are being supported to take their fiction and unscripted projects to the next stage of development through a program designed to nurture talent and strengthen the local screen industry.

Through Screen NSW’s Development Program, 47 projects will share in $1.1. million of funding from the NSW Government supporting the development of an exciting pipeline of distinct and ambitious screen stories across numerous genres and formats.

The projects supported by Screen NSW this year include 22 feature films, 9 documentary features, 11 fiction series, 2 children’s series and 3 documentary series.

The funded projects showcase the depth of talent and creative talent in NSW. Feature projects funded for further development include Jahvis Loveday’s feature length screenwriting and directorial debut, Ngimbalyen, produced by Kath Shelper, and Isabel Darling will direct and produce observational documentary The Last of the Locals, a documentary about NSW town Thredbo, joined by producer Tom Zubrycki.

Series projects which are slated to reach the next stage of development include Songbird Studio’s first scripted series, Gen Z legal drama Judge, created by Xavier Hazard and Mehhma Malhi; Kingdom of the Crocodile, the latest blue chip natural history documentary series from Emmy-Award winning Wild Pacific Media;  and animated children’s series Anvi’s Animals, produced by regionally-based Rolla Entertainment.

Screen NSW’s Development Program provides funding of up to $50,000 per project, depending on the project type and level of market interest. Funding can be used for the development of a project, including vital fees for writers’ rooms, writer fees for creative material, character and environment design work for animation, research and strategic shooting for documentary projects. Funding can also be used to secure market attachment for production finance, to help projects reach full scale production. Applications for the project can be received at any time.

Visit the Screen NSW website for more information and to apply.

Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth said: 

“It is important we support the NSW screen industry to develop original IP, and through this program we will ensure a continued pipeline of fresh and engaging stories are in development which reflect communities right across the state.

“The projects we have supported in 2025 so far, speak to the amazing talent we have in our state, which spans genres, formats and generations, and ensures we will continue to see NSW stories on our screens.

“When stories are developed with authenticity and strategic support at every stage, from development, through to production, we know they resonate with audiences locally and travel globally. This funding ensures NSW key creatives are supported at the vital development stage of their Australian projects and can work on stories driven out of the state.”

 

Projects funded for development to date in 2025 include:  

Project title: Anvi's Animals

Format / Genre: Children’s series / Family, Science & Environment

Key Creatives: Ray Boseley (writer), David Wild (producer), Dean Bates (producer), and Mark Alston (Director)

Synopsis: Anvi’s Animals follows inquisitive Anvi and her bestie Gulp, a talking gecko, as they have fun and adventures solving everyday problems with inspiration from the animal world.

 

Project title: Judge

Format / Genre: Fiction series / Drama

Key Creatives: Xavier Hazard (creator), Mehhma Malhi (creator), Louise Smith (producer), and Luke Mazzaferro (executive producer)

Synopsis: A group of ambitious legal graduates navigate the halls of justice as the personal staff to Supreme Court judges. Generations collide in open court and behind closed doors as the associates grapple with their newfound power, influence and complicity, ultimately questioning: who are they to judge?

 

Project title: Kingdom of the Crocodile

Format / Genre: Documentary series / Blue Chip Natural History

Key Creatives: Nick Robinson (writer / director / producer), Peta Ayers (writer / producer), Electra Manikakis (producer) and Mark Coles-Smith (writer)

Synopsis: Over one dramatic year on a wild Australian river, the secret lives of saltwater crocodiles are revealed - from fierce rivalries to unexpected alliances - as they navigate a rich ecosystem teeming with wallabies, dingoes, sea eagles, and more.

 

Project title: Ngimbalyen

Format / Genre: Feature film / Action Adventure, Comedy, Mystery, Contemporary and Social Issues, History & Identity

Key Creatives: Jahvis Loveday (writer / director) and Kath Shelper (producer)

Synopsis: Four Bundjalung cousins thought they were chasing a record deal - now they’re knee-deep in cursed artefacts, family lore, and a heist that might tear open more than just the past.

 

Project title: The Last of the Locals

Format/ Genre: Documentary Feature / Contemporary and Social Issues including social history

Key Creatives: Isabel Darling (director / producer) and Tom Zubrycki (producer)

Synopsis: In a ski town built by European post-war immigrants, change is in the air. Locals who've called Thredbo home for 60 years grapple with commercialisation and progress, while yearning for a bygone era, but the newer residents see opportunity by pushing the village into the 21st century. Caught in the middle is resort General Manager Stuart Diver, whose tragic past in the Thredbo landslide leaves him torn between preserving tradition and embracing the future.

 

Full details of all Development Program recipients are available here.

Image: Kingdom of the Crocodile. Supplied by Wild Pacific Media.