The programming team at Series Mania commended the comedy and nostalgia of Videoland and connected with the themes of the series. They also acknowledged the importance of queer cultural heritage and the impact of finding common ground to build community
Set in video store in the ’90s, Videoland follows 17-year-old employee, Hayley, who needs help figuring out what being a lesbian entails. Naturally, she turns to the movies, but finding meaningful representations proves challenging. Without any positive role models for her on screen, Hayley must find a way to be herself, embrace her sexuality and impress the girl of her dreams.
Videoland was supported by Screen Australia and VicScreen. The team wrapped principal photography for the short form romantic-comedy in regional Victoria last year and in January they were awarded completion funding from Queer Screen who called the project “world-class”.
This one-to-watch company was formed by Scarlett Koehne and Jessica Smith, who met working in the production management team on Netflix’s Clickbait. Their shared values on equity and diversity made for an obvious partnership, and their new company is dedicated to promoting representation and inclusion.
Videoland’s writer and director, Jessica Smith, is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, and is dedicated to promoting inclusion & increasing visibility on screen by producing engaging and relatable queer & female-focused stories.
“We’re incredibly proud of this series and the hard work the entire cast and crew put in to bring the vision to life. To be selected for Series Mania is truly an honour and to know our message about the importance of representation is both clear and appreciated is genuinely a dream come true. We couldn’t be more thrilled.”
As well as being the producer of Videoland and co-owner of Pikelet Pictures, Scarlett Koehne is the mother of two children under three, with her eldest son being totally blind. She is committed to creating opportunities for people with disabilities to be represented on screen and is forging a pathway for women and caregivers to have fulfilling careers in the entertainment sector.
“We believe in our work, but to have it recognised by such a distinguished festival alongside such experienced and well-established filmmakers, it’s nice to know that we’re not alone.” said Scarlett. “We never dreamed of achieving this level of success with our first series, it’s a really exciting sign of things to come”.
Since its inception in 2010, Series Mania is now recognised as one of the key events in the global TV calendar, premiering the likes of HBO’s Succession in 2018, and Drops of God (Apple TV+) in 2023.
Previously, Australian entry Fisk (ABC) took out the prize for Best Comedy in 2021 , the same year that The Unusual Suspects (SBS) and Wakefield (ABC) appeared in the International competition.
Series Mania Festival runs March 15 – 22 in Lille, France.
For updates about Videoland including release news, follow the team at www.instagram.com/videolandseries
