New Australian Initiative to Stimulate Kids’ Live-Action Series

MELBOURNE: Film Victoria, the ABC and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation have aligned in a new initiative to boost the production of live-action children’s series for multiple platforms.

Dubbed Eureka, the initiative is calling on content creators from Victoria to submit their ideas for short-form, live-action series aimed at kids 8 to 12. The selected submissions will receive up to A$30,000 to create three- to five-minute “proof of concept” projects. The concepts will screen on ABC iview, ABC3’s YouTube channel and, possibly, ABC3.

Martin Foley, Victoria's Minister for Creative Industries, said: “This initiative is about supporting local talent to create great new content for children that they can identify with and enjoy. It also reinforces the Andrews Labor Government’s continued commitment to new ideas being generated out of Victoria, and to cementing our place as Australia’s creative capital.”

Jenni Tosi, the CEO of Film Victoria, commented, “It’s essential that iconic series with Australian children at their heart continue to be created for future generations, following in the great tradition of Round The Twist, Thunderstone, Dance Academy and, more recently, Little Lunch.”

Chris Rose, the commissioning editor for ABC Children’s Television, added: “ABC Children’s Television is proud to partner with Film Victoria and the ACTF to nurture new talent and ideas from across Victoria. This is a unique opportunity to introduce new concepts to our audience.”

Jenny Buckland, the CEO of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, said, “We’re delighted to be involved in an initiative that puts the spotlight on live action children’s drama, which is so well loved by kids and their families.”