The HIVE FUND was instigated in 2011 alongside the HIVE LAB to commission ambitious and audacious arts projects to premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival and for prime time broadcast on ABC TV. This funding initiative is for one-off, stand-alone films, either fiction or documentary, half hour, one hour or feature length projects.

The HIVE FUND partners are the Adelaide Film Festival, ABC TV Arts, Screen Australia and the Australia Council for the Arts.

Film is a way that so many people choose to tell their stories- and telling stories is an important part of preserving our culture. By supporting these artists and these projects, the Adelaide Film Festival is also helping to maintain the strong South Australian tradition of innovation.
– The Hon Jay Weatherill, Premier of South Australia

This is a unique Australian initiative with the funding partners committed to exploring new production models for artists to contribute to our national screen culture.
– Amanda Duthie, Adelaide Film Festival Director and CEO

The three projects funded through the HIVE FUND #1 (2011) premiered at the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival in October, then appeared on ABC TV (2014).

Girl Asleep

GIRL ASLEEP (feature film)

Director: Rosemary Myers (Windmill Theatre Artistic Director)
Writer: Matthew Whittet
Producer: Jo Dyer (Lucky Miles, The Boy Castaways)

Following Windmill Theatre’s critically acclaimed theatrical productions Fugitive and School Dance, Girl Asleep forms the third work in a unique trilogy of rites-of-passage stories. Chronically shy and privately falling apart, Greta Driscoll is frozen in the spotlight of her fifteenth birthday party when an uninvited guest arrives and steals her most treasured possession. Now she must step into the dark unknown to get it back.

Spear

SPEAR (feature film)

Director: Stephen Page (Bangarra Dance Theatre Director and Choreographer)
Executive Producer: Robert Connolly
Producer: John Harvey

Two Aboriginal clans from urban and remote communities live in an apocalyptic world and must decide who will be the new leader for the next 100 year cycle. Spear explores what this means to Indigenous men through dance, physical movement, spoken word, hip hop, traditional song and story.

The Boy Castaways

THE BOY CASTAWAYS (85 mins rock musical dramatic feature film)

Director: Michael Kantor (Ex Malthouse Theatre Artistic Director)
Producer: Jo Dyer (Lucky Miles and Sydney Theatre Company EP)
Producer: Stephen Armstrong (Ex Malthouse EP)
Executive Producer: Robert Connolly (Romulus My Father, The Boys)

The Boy Castaways is a metaphysical thriller that sees four men drawn into a grand cabaret of the soul. Four drifters find themselves lured into a vast playhouse, deep in the heart of the city. Taken in hand by the enigmatic leading lady, the men are plunged ever deeper into a labyrinth of jealousy, betrayal, violence and sex, dissolving the lines between desire and death.

Populated with Australia’s brightest lights of theatre, music and film and a remarkable score that recalls the songs of the present and the past, Kantor’s film is a haunting ode to the magic of the stage and the visceral power of music.

At the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival opening night, Premier Jay Weatherill announced two new HIVE projects commissioned out of the second HIVE FUND, which premiered at the 2015 Adelaide Film Festival.

Tender

TENDER (75min documentary)

Director: Lynette Wallworth (visual artist)
Producer: Kath Shelper (Samson and Delilah)
Awards: David and Joan Williams Documentary Fellowship 2014; Best Documentary- ATOM Awards 2014; Winner, Best Documentary Television Program; AACTA; Winner, Best Documentary Television Program By Foxtel Movies

Set against the stunning backdrop of the industrial seaside town of Port Kembla, a feisty and resilient community group have determined to take back the responsibility that most of us leave to someone else – to care for their own dead.

Lynette Wallworth’s achievement in covering multiple personal stories…with both sensitivity and humour is singular and done with great skill. The film is authentic, powerful and ultimately true to its title – Tender.
– Sydney Film Festival 2014 Doc Jury

I Want To Dance Better At Parties

I WANT TO DANCE BETTER AT PARTIES (26min docu/drama)

Creative Director: Gideon Obazarnek (ex Chunky Move Artistic Director)
Director: Matthew Bate (Shut Up Little Man)
Producer: Rebecca Summerton (Closer Productions)
Awards:  Sydney- Dendy Competition- Best Live Action Short

Recovering from the tragic death of his wife, Phillip Rose finds himself in middle age both a single parent and a single man. After a clumsy episode on a dance floor at a house warming party, he begins private dance classes with Melissa, a young instructor. Over a number of lessons their friendships evolves, and Phillip confronts his loneliness and isolation while learning a variety of Latin dances.

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