by Abhi Parasher
The world of storytelling has endured a major adjustment period over the last decade. Where once moving images were relegated to the big screen, now we find the majority repositioned onto streaming services. The movement doesn’t stop there either. Our stories are beginning to take on a shorter format through Youtube, Instagram and TikTok.
TikTok series are becoming the norm, with Screen Australia acknowledging this through their Every Voice initiative. In 2021, we had the first Film Victoria and Screen Australia funded TikTok series, Scattered. Since then, dozens of new shows have been introduced to audiences through the platform.
The latest is The Curse of Baba Yaga, Perth’s first teen horror TikTok series, which hits the small screens of smartphones worldwide from Friday 7th April.
@filminkTHE CURSE OF BABA YAGA trailer
A found footage series following two high school boys, James and Luca, as they navigate a string of disappearances in their quiet suburban town, The Curse of Baba Yaga is from first time writer/director Christopher Colley (who also stars as James) and producer Matt Hodgkinson.
With hardly a second to grab your audience’s attention, TikTok creators are forced to be exceedingly efficient and diligent with their storytelling while maintaining worldclass creativity.
Producer Matt Hodgkinson has worked across short and long format feature films and high end TVCs, including The Wolverine, I, Frankenstein, Paper Planes and H is for Happiness.
“Developing a series for TikTok has been a totally different beast,” he says. “Vertical image, super short and punchy episodes – it’s a very different way of doing things, but what a massive and exciting opportunity to explore how stories can reach so many viewers all over the world. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a filmmaker.”
Coming from a background in acting, 27-year-old Christopher Colley [above] has pivoted to writing/directing with the aim to push the possibilities of queer characters on screen, exploring nuanced stories that reflect his own lived experience.
Speaking of The Curse of Baba Yaga he says, “coming from a Croatian background, I was inspired to revisit some traditional folklore stories; stories of witches and monsters, but telling them through a queer lens. Inspired by my love of horror movies, the painfully awkward romances and my strange obsession with witches, The Curse of Baba Yaga was born.”
The series was financed through Screen Australia and Screenwest’s initiative, Out Now, which aims to focus on LGBQTIA+ stories that highlight diversity.
