$1.1 million funding in Screen NSW Development Program | Television tonight

Screen NSW has announced $1.1 million in funding for new scripted and unscripted projects through its program Development program.

This year, 47 projects will share in the financing, including 22 feature films, 9 documentaries, 11 fiction series, 2 children’s series and 3 documentary series.

Series projects expected to reach the next stage of development include Songbird Studio’s first scripted series, the Gen Z legal drama Rightcreated by Xavier Hazard and Mehhma Malhi; Kingdom of the Crocodile, the latest blue chip natural history documentary series from Wild Pacific Media; and animated children’s series Anvi’s animals, produced by regionally based Rolla Entertainment.

Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth said: “It is important that we support the NSW screen industry to develop original IP, and through this program we will ensure there is a continued pipeline of new and compelling stories in development that reflect communities across the state.

“The projects we have supported so far in 2025 speak to the amazing talent we have in our state, spanning 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 local audiences and travel around the world. This funding will ensure NSW’s leading creatives are supported at the crucial development stage of their Australian projects and can work on stories that have been displaced from the state.”

Projects funded for development so far 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 curious Anvi and her best friend Gulp, a talking gecko, as they have fun and adventure 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 law graduates navigate the courtrooms as the personal staff of the Supreme Court justices. Generations clash in open court and behind closed doors as the collaborators grapple with their new power, influence and complicity, ultimately asking themselves: 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: During a 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.

Stone: Ns cluns
Format/Genre: Feature/Action-Adventure, Comedy, Mystery, Contemporary & 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 deep into cursed artifacts, family lore and a heist that may open up more than just the past.

Project title: The Last of the Locals
Format/ Genre: Documentary film / Contemporary and social issues, including social history
Key Creatives: Isabel Darling (Director/Producer) and Tom Zubrycki (Producer)
Synopsis: In a ski town built by post-war European immigrants, change is in the air. The locals who have called Thredbo home for 60 years struggle with commercialization and progress, longing for a bygone era, but newer residents see opportunity in pushing the village into the 21st century. In the middle is the resort’s general manager, Stuart Diver, whose tragic past in the Thredbo landslide leaves him torn between preserving tradition and embracing the future.

View NSW’s development program offers financing up to $50,000 per project, depending on project type and level of market interest. Funding can be used for the development of a project, including essential writers’ room fees, writers’ fees for creative materials, character and environment design for animation, research and strategic shooting for documentary projects. Financing can also be used to secure market ties for production financing, to help projects reach full production. Applications for the project can be received at any time.