Blackfella Films Hires Head of Scripted

Blackfella Films has tapped Netflix alum Penny Smallacombe as head of scripted.

Smallacombe most recently worked at Netflix as the Grow Creative manager for Australia and New Zealand and was the creative lead on the series Desert King. Prior to that, she was head of the First Nations department at Screen Australia.

At Screen Australia, she oversaw a slate that included Total Control, Spear, She Who Must Be Loved, Sweet Country, We Don’t Need a Map, Grace Beside Me, Mystery Road, Sweet As, We Are Still Here and Little J and Big Cuz. She also created numerous special initiatives that have provided development opportunities.

Smallacombe also previously worked with Bunya Productions. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Indigenous programs unit at the ABC, producing for Message Sticks, Landline and researching for Australian Story, and worked as a senior programmer for NITV, National Indigenous Television, a division of SBS.

“Penny is an outstanding creative executive who brings an invaluable depth of experience in development and production across film and television,” said Darren Dale, managing director of Blackfella Films. “As a First Nations woman, Penny also brings a deep understanding of the storytelling Blackfella Films has been championing for over 25 years, and I am so thrilled we will be working together across an exciting and growing slate of projects.”

Smallacombe said, “I’m so grateful to be joining the award-winning team at Blackfella Films. I’ve admired the work, leadership and passion of Darren Dale since meeting him many years ago. Titles like Redfern Now, Mabo, Total Control, First Australians, First Wars and numerous other scripted and factual shows have broken new ground in the Australian screen industry, and to have an opportunity to build on these successes at this time in my career is a great privilege. I can’t wait to see what we can do together. Stay tuned!”