Screen Australia Appoints Head of Scripted

Screen Australia has named Christopher Sharp, former investment and development manager, to the newly created role of head of scripted.

In the post, he will manage the agency’s funding programs across feature film, general television drama and children’s drama.

Sharp joined Screen Australia again in 2020 and has managed titles such as New Gold Mountain, The Newsreader, Love Me and Crazy Fun Park.

Screen Australia’s head of content, Grainne Brunsdon, to whom Sharp will report, said, “Christopher has an incredibly strong and varied background in development and production and is a natural fit to oversee our scripted funding programs. I look forward to working with him in this new role.”

Sharp said, “I’m excited at the task of working with producers to finance their projects in this competitive market and to support them in bringing compelling Australian stories to our screens, big and small. The team at Screen Australia is particularly focused on being proactive to ensure the long-term sustainably of our sector, whilst also ensuring we fund projects and storytellers that reflect the rich diversity within our culture, and support the emergence of the next generation of storytellers coming through.”

In other changes to the Screen Australia Scripted team, Investment Manager Cristina Pozzan will be returning to her career as a producer and will be departing the agency in April, while Lucy Hill will be starting parental leave, also in April. Recruitment for a new investment manager for scripted will begin shortly.

Brunsdon said, “Cristina has been an invaluable team member at Screen Australia during her four years here and will be hugely missed. We wish her all the best as she heads back into producing, and we also give our best wishes to Lucy as she goes on parental leave for the next 12 months.”

“It’s wonderful to have Seph McKenna now on board, who many in the industry will know from his distinguished career as head of Australian production at Roadshow and CEO of Screenwest, and we look forward to a new Investment Manager joining the team soon.”