by FilmInk Staff
Screen Queensland has today announced a major new program in partnership with Brisbane production powerhouse Like A Photon Creative (LAPC), the Escalate: Feature Focus Writers Initiative.
The initiative will give six Queensland screenwriters the opportunity to write animated feature films for international family audiences.
Selected writers will work inside LAPC’s development process through a series of mentored writers’ rooms to progress from treatment to commercially viable, polished first-draft scripts.
LAPC is one of Australia’s most productive production companies with internationally successful films including adaptations of best-selling stories such as The Pout-Pout Fish voiced by Nick Offerman and Scarygirl, as well as The Tales from Sanctuary City franchise, which includes Combat Wombat, Daisy Quokka, The Lost Tiger and The Sloth Lane.
Screen Queensland’s Julie Eckersley, Executive Director of Screen Content said the Escalate: Feature Focus Writers Initiative strengthens a Queensland industry that is already competing internationally.
“Queensland is fast becoming a centre for excellence in animation. This initiative builds that capability by giving six Queensland writers direct experience inside a working studio, developing scripts that are shaped for the market from day one.
“Like A Photon Creative has a real track record of backing distinctive voices, with The Lost Tiger, directed and co-written by Chantelle Murray, the first Australian animated feature written and directed by an Indigenous woman. With the world’s attention turning to Queensland as we approach 2032, this is the moment to grow the writers who will tell our stories to a global audience.”
Like A Photon Creative’s Kristen Souvlis, Co-founder and CEO said “As a home-grown Queensland business, we are thrilled to be partnering with Screen Queensland to mentor the next generation of feature animation writers. As international demand for LAPC’s family focused feature films grows, LAPC is forming a studio-style writers’ cohort to bring a slate of six features to life.
“Screen Queensland has been a keystone in LAPC’s success, and we understand the importance of creating opportunities for practitioners in our home state. By working directly with Screen Queensland to deliver this program, Like A Photon Creative can continue to invest in Queensland’s creative and technical talent and export Queensland voices to the world.”
Applications for the Escalate: Feature Focus Writers Initiative are open until Thursday 29 October, with the writers’ room program commencing mid-February 2027.
Selected writers will be paid for their work on the initiative and may also have the opportunity to continue developing their script beyond the program. If their script proceeds to production, they will receive a screen credit in line with Australian Writers’ Guild guidelines.
Queensland is home to a host of animation specialists including Cosmic Dino Studio, Fade In Studio, Hooligan Animation, Like A Photon Creative, Ludo Studio, Pixel Zoo and Sad Man Studio, with Screen Queensland funding supporting productions from development right through to post-production.
More information is available at screenqueensland.com.au.
Image: The Pout-Pout Fish, courtesy of Like A Photon Creative and supported by Screen Queensland’s Post, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) Incentive.
