Red Arrow International drama “Cleverman” has been selected for a Special Series screening at the forthcoming Berlinale Internationale Filmfestspiele in Berlin.
The drama was selected by Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick and his team, as part of their curated selection of high-quality series presented within the framework of Berlinale Special Series at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
“Cleverman” (6 x 1 hour) is an epic new genre drama featuring an ensemble cast led by Scottish actor Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Golden Globe® nominee Frances O’Connor (The Missing), Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires), Hunter Page-Lochard (The Sapphires), Rob Collins (The Lion King) and Stef Dawson (The Hunger Games).
The drama is produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures for ABC TV Australia in co-production with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International, with the assistance of Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.
“Cleverman” will also be screened as part of the “Drama Series Days” (15 – 16 February 2016), which is a joint initiative for TV series content by the European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents.
Red Arrow International is distributing “Cleverman” worldwide.
Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV, said: “We’re extremely proud that Cleverman has been selected for a special series screening at Berlinale, and are excited to welcome it to SundanceTV later this year. Cleverman is a wonderfully original piece of indigenous storytelling that will appeal to a very broad audience, and has a lot to say about the world we live in.”
Henrik Pabst, Managing Director, Red Arrow International, said: ‘Everyone at Red Arrow is thrilled that this bold and ambitious project, which is very timely and relevant in its themes, is getting the international attention it deserves. ‘Cleverman’ has been an exciting journey from the very beginning, and we are delighted to work alongside such great partners as SundanceTV, ABC TV Australia, Goalpost Pictures and Pukeko Pictures.’
Rosemary Blight, producer of ‘Cleverman’ for Goalpost Pictures, said: “It’s a great honour to be chosen to screen at the Berlinale Special Series. We are very proud of this series and it is thrilling to be sharing it with the rest of the world.’
More about “Cleverman”
Set in the near future, ‘Cleverman’ (6 x 1 hour) is a smart, sexy and startlingly original drama that sees a group of non-humans battling for survival in a world where humans feel increasingly inferior to them, and want to silence, exploit and kill them. Central to the drama is the story of two estranged Indigenous brothers who are forced together to fight for their own survival. Otherworldly creatures also emerge into this fragile and dangerous place, in this action-packed new series.
Oscar®-winning, world-renowned Weta Workshop (Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, King Kong, Avatar, The Amazing Spider-Man 3, Godzilla), through their association with Pukeko Pictures, together with Jacob Nash (Bangarra Dance Company) are providing the creature design. Park Road Post Production (The Hobbit films) is providing picture, visual effects and sound post production services.
Wayne Blair, director of the Australian box office hit The Sapphires and upcoming film Septembers of Shiraz, is lead director, with acclaimed director, writer, actress and performer Leah Purcell also directing.
“Cleverman” is based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen. Michael Miller is script producer and writers are Michael Miller, Jon Bell and Jane Allen. Producers are Rosemary Blight and Lauren Edwards for Goalpost Pictures, Ryan Griffen, and, for Pukeko Pictures, Angela Littlejohn, with executive producers Sally Riley, Kylie du Fresne, Ben Grant, Martin Baynton, Adam Fratto, Jan David Frouman, Amelie Kienlin and Irina Ignatiew.
About SundanceTV
SundanceTV is making and celebrating television as distinctive as the best independent films. Working with today’s most remarkable talent, SundanceTV is attracting viewer and critical acclaim for its original scripted and unscripted series. Launched in 1996 and owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc., SundanceTV delivers on the spirit of founder Robert Redford’s mission to celebrate creativity. www.sundance.tv
About Goalpost Pictures
Goalpost Pictures is one of Australia’s leading independent film & television production companies. Credits include the hit film The Sapphires, directed by Wayne Blair selected for official selection at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival; the BAFTA nominated series Lockie Leonard; the Emmy award winning Scorched. In 2103 Goalpost Pictures produced the feature film Felony, with director Matthew Saville starring Joel Edgerton alongside Tom Wilkinson, Jai Courtney and Melissa George. Goalpost Pictures has just completed the feature film Holding The Man with director Neil Armfield, starring Ryan Corr, Guy Pearce, Kerry Fox & Anthony La Paglia.
About Pukeko Pictures
Pukeko Pictures is an independent entertainment production company focused on the development and production of excellent quality multi-platform entertainment for a global audience. Pukeko Pictures was formed in 2008 by Sir Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Martin Baynton, and is located in Wellington, New Zealand. With a connection to the world famous Weta Workshop (Avatar, King Kong, Lord of the Rings), Pukeko Pictures is uniquely positioned in the creation of world-leading entertainment, harnessing the best in global talent and world-class production processes.
About Red Arrow International
Red Arrow International is a world-leading TV distributor of scripted, factual and formatted shows from a global network of in-house production companies, outstanding third-party producers and digital-content partners.
Red Arrow International is a major co-producer of global entertainment, providing substantial production financing for scripted and non-scripted projects. Recent international highlights include: “Bosch” (Amazon) and “Married at First Sight” (A&E/FYI).
With offices in Munich, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, Red Arrow International has a truly global reach and distributes acclaimed, quality content to over 200 territories worldwide.
Led by Henrik Pabst, Red Arrow International is part of Red Arrow Entertainment Group, made up of 13 production companies across 6 countries; the Los Angeles based digital media company Ripple Entertainment and multi-channel network Collective Digital Studio (CDS); and creative partnerships and joint ventures with STV, Sync Media and The Imaginarium Studios.
Red Arrow Entertainment Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, one of Europe’s leading media groups.