Back row: Pete Ninos, mentor Louise Gough, Lucy Campbell, Bettina Hamilton, Matt Vesely. Front row: Georgia Humphries, Madeleine Parry, Peta Bulsara (Astbury).

South Australia’s bold and ambitious Film Lab: New Voices feature film skills development program is set to foster a new generation of diverse South Australian filmmakers as the first three successful teams are announced today, with round two applications open from August. The initiative from the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) and Adelaide Film Festival in collaboration with Mercury CX also welcomes the support of Screen Australia in delivering the development phase of this inaugural round of the program which gives three South Australian creative teams industry mentoring with highly credentialed screen story development mentor Louise Gough across a 12-month period, to develop a low-budget feature film script. One project will be selected to move into production, to be wholly produced and postproduced in South Australia, and the final film will premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2022.

The three selected teams for 2021 are:
–  Writer/director Peter Ninos and producer Georgia Humphreys,
– Writer Lucy Campbell, producer Bettina Hamilton and director Matt Vesely, and
– Writer/director Madeleine Parry and producer Peta Bulsara (Astbury).

The program will open again for round two applications in August 2021, with the final film to be delivered in time for Adelaide Film Festival 2024. 

Mercury CX plays a key role in supporting professional development, removing barriers to entry and cultivating unique, authentic stories from diverse creatives. Our professional development programs create a pipeline of talent into such initiatives as Film Lab: New Voices, which provides a unique opportunity to gain an invaluable feature film credit through the South Australian Film Corporation and the rich experience of connecting with an audience through a screening at the Adelaide Film Festival. The coordinated pathways through these organisations is quite special and is set to benefit South Australian practitioners enormously. – Karena Slaninka, CEO Mercury CX