Finalists revealed for AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes in partnership with Screenworks.

Finalists revealed for AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes in partnership with Screenworks.

Three bold stories spanning gothic horror on Bundjalung Country in the Northern Rivers, an animated family adventure across the dramatic escarpments of the Blue Mountains, and a wildly original feminist superhero comedy set against the backdrop of an alternate version of Newcastle have been selected as the finalists for the 2026 AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes initiative in partnership with Screenworks.

Now in its seventh year, the initiative supports regionally based screenwriters through an intensive feature film development program, connecting finalists with acclaimed industry mentors to strengthen scripts, refine projects for the market and help bridge the gap from concept to production.

This year’s finalists Theo Clarke (Good Bones), Agatha Ozdowska (Happy) and Ang Collins and Adam Deusien (The Grub) will participate in an extended series of one-on-one development sessions, culminating in a script development workshop at AACTA Festival 2027 for the winning project.

Joining the panel for the first time is AACTA Award-winning producer Sam Jennings, co-founder of Causeway Films alongside Kristina Ceyton. Causeway Films recently received the 2026 AACTA Byron Kennedy Award and is behind globally recognised Australian films including The Babadook, The Nightingale, Talk to Me and Bring Her Back.

Returning to the judging panel is acclaimed screenwriter and producer Deb Cox, co-founder of Every Cloud Productions and CoxKnight Productions, whose credits include SeaChange, The Gods of Wheat Street, East of Everything, After the Deluge and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

Also joining the judging panel is filmmaker Heath Davis, whose distinctive body of work includes Broke, Christmess, Book Week and Locusts. Davis’s films have screened at major international festivals including Tribeca, Telluride, Austin, Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals, with Christmess earning an AACTA Award nomination for Best Indie Film.

Judge and producer Sam Jennings said “The quality and originality of these projects highlight the strength of regional Australia's contribution to our national screen culture. I'm eager to see where these writers take their work next.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with AACTA on this program that continues to unearth extraordinary storytelling talent from across regional Australia. This year's top three finalists have each brought something unique - original concepts that showcase the heart, spirit and diversity of regional landscapes and the stories only those places can inspire. 

Congratulations to our finalists, we’re excited to see their projects develop through this process, and to see regional Australia play such a vital role as the backdrop and setting for these stories.” Said Screenworks Interim CEO, Rodney Cambridge.

“Very excited for Theo, Agatha and Angela who combined have given us 3 incredibly diverse stories for our mentors to get stuck into. The Regional Landscapes initiative has always presented an incredible and rare opportunity for emerging screenwriters from regional Australia to be guided by some of Australia’s best screen creatives, and this year we’re incredibly honoured to have screen powerhouses Sam Jennings and Heath Davis join the inimitable Deb Cox on the panel” Said Ivan Vukusic, AACTA’s Awards and Industry Development Manager.

This year’s finalists are:

Good Bones — Theo Clarke
A young Aboriginal couple purchases their first home on the outskirts of South Lismore, only to uncover a colonial history that forces them to question everything.

Set on Bundjalung Country in the NSW Northern Rivers region, the project draws on the liminal industrial fringes of South Lismore — a place of open paddocks, overgrown grass and distant hills where people pass through but rarely stay, yet one deeply grounded in community, culture and Aboriginal history.

Happy — Agatha Ozdowska
When an albino joey runs away to prove he’s ready to leave his mother’s pouch, he joins forces with a fugitive boxing kangaroo to cross the deadly Blue Mountains, forcing both to confront the trauma and secrets they’ve been hiding.

The Blue Mountains landscape becomes central to the story itself — a vast World Heritage-listed region defined by dramatic sandstone escarpments, deep valleys, dense eucalyptus forests and isolated canyon systems.

The Grub — Ang Collins, Adam Deusien
After accidentally swallowing a multicoloured moth before a radiation session for breast cancer, 20-year-old Ruby Gordon wakes up with strange symptoms-slash-superpowers and sets out to take on both her illness and the corporate criminals threatening her regional town.

Set in an alternate version of Newcastle, The Grub draws on the city’s post-industrial identity, sparkling coastline and evolving cultural landscape following the closure of the steelworks.

The recipient of the 2026 AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes initiative will receive a comprehensive development package, including:

• Development support for their screenplay and industry pitch

• $5,000 in prize funding, including $1,000 cash and $4,000 toward development

• Industry connections through the Australian Writers’ Guild Pathways program

• Professional script development sessions with expert guidance

• Mentorship and feedback from a panel of industry judges

• Annual memberships to AACTA, Screenworks and the Australian Writers’ Guild

• Two tickets to the Screenworks Regional to Global Screen Forum

• One-on-one meetings with industry professionals at Screenworks Regional to Global

• Two tickets to the 2026 AACTA Awards Ceremony, including a discounted accommodation package

For more information about AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes, click here.