What’s on for the ACTF in 2024 (and beyond)

As 2024 fast approaches, it's shaping up to be another big year for the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, with exciting new shows in production or development. As always, the ACTF is involved in a large and varied range of projects, including live-action comedy/drama, animated series and feature films.

Here are some of the projects currently under way.

Windcatcher, the first film to be made as part of a landmark partnership between Australian SVOD platform Stan and the ACTF, is in production and due for delivery in March 2024.

From writer Boyd Quakawoot, director Tanith Glynn-Maloney and produced by Meg O’Connell and Drew Grove, Windcatcher is now filming in Victoria, with major production investment from Screen Australia and the ACTF, in association with VicScreen.

Featuring a talented cast which includes award-winning singer, songwriter and actress Jessica Mauboy, Windcatcher is set in the small country town of Herbertson, and follows the unlikely friendship between Percy Boy, a fast and resourceful Aboriginal boy, newcomer Keithy Cobb, and the spirited Daisy Hawkins, as they band together to take home the sports day title from the hands of the “Wolf Pack,” a group of grade five bullies. But as Percy Boy trains with the help of his friends, he is surprised to discover an ability to see Lost Souls - a gift passed down from his grandfather. And as the sports day approaches, there’s a much bigger problem for his family and the town. In the face of adversity, Percy Boy must lean on his friends, family and community to overcome his fears, prove his resilience and become a force to be reckoned with. For Percy, catching the wind is only the beginning.

The hit animated series Kangaroo Beach will return for a third season, with more action-packed adventure from Australia’s favourite lifeguard cadets. The new season, produced by Cheeky Little Media for the ABC, has commenced production and is due for delivery in early 2025.

Series 3 will see our beloved cadets returning for another summer stacked with fun, adventure and friendship, surfing and scuba diving around the beautiful reef, as well as up in the mountains in a new lake location, surrounded by gum trees and connected by a river to Kangaroo Beach. While our cadets are well versed in surf beach safety, they’re unfamiliar with inland waterways and have lots to learn, so there will be plenty of new adventure in store with each story empowering young viewers with an imperative message about water safety.

A television adaptation of Shaun Tan’s bestselling illustrated anthology Tales from Outer Suburbia is in production, thanks to major production support from the ACTF and Screen Australia in association with the ABC. Delivery is scheduled for July 2025.

The Oscar-winning team behind The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and producer Sophie Byrne (Highly Spirited), has joined forces with Barbara Stephen and Alexia Gates-Foale from leading animation studio Flying Bark Productions to produce a 10 x 22-minute animated series.

Director Noel Cleary will lead a stunning recreation of the world established in the internationally acclaimed anthology, with a cutting-edge CGI animation with a handcrafted stop-motion look and feel. Shaun Tan will oversee the series as Creative Director, with Sophie Byrne (Highly Spirited) and Alexia Gates-Foale (Flying Bark) as Producers.

The series begins when ‘almost thirteen-year-old’ Klara and her six-year-old brother Pim move to Outer Suburbia with their newly single mother Lucy. The siblings' summer holiday turns into a series of unexpected and surreal adventures. The family goes on a rollercoaster ride of emotion, encountering weird and miraculous phenomena as they adapt to their new reality. 

For more information about these new projects, contact the ACTF sales team at Sales@actf.com.au.