Goalpost Pictures and Pukeko Pictures' CLEVERMAN goes into production for Australia's ABC Television, distributed by Red Arrow International

Production has begun in Sydney, Australia on CLEVERMAN, a six-part high concept genre drama, with a superb ensemble cast including 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). A smart, sexy and dangerous drama set in the near future, CLEVERMAN 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 'real world' dystopian landscape, in this startlingly original, action-packed genre series. CLEVERMAN is an official Australian/New Zealand co-production between Goalpost Pictures Australia and Pukeko Pictures. 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) will be providing the otherworldly creature design. Park Road Post Production will provide picture, visual effects and sound post production services for the Cleverman project.  Recent shows completed at Park Road include The Hobbit films, New Zealand hits The Dark Horse, and What We Do In The Shadows. The standout cast also includes Ryan Corr (The Water Diviner), Tasma Walton (Mystery Road), Rarriwuy Hick (Redfern Now), Tony Briggs (The Slap), Australian stage and screen legend Robyn Nevin (Top of the Lake), Lynette Curran (Wentworth Prison) and veteran Indigenous actor Jack Charles (Gods of Wheat Street.) Wayne Blair, director of the Australian box office hit The Sapphires, also produced by Goalpost Pictures, and the upcoming film Septembers of Shiraz with Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek, is lead director, with acclaimed director/writer/actress/performer Leah Purcell also directing. The epic series (6x1 hour) will screen on ABC TV in Australia, with Red Arrow International distributing the drama worldwide, and eOne Australia attached for domestic sales. The series is an original concept commissioned by the ABC TV Indigenous Department and produced in association with Screen Australia, Screen NSW and Red Arrow International. It is based on an original concept by Ryan Griffen. Michael Miller is script producer and writers are Michael Miller and Jon Bell. 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 and Amelie Kienlin. Sally Riley, Executive Producer and head of ABC TV's Indigenous Department said: "CLEVERMAN is set to be a major drama highlight for ABC TV in 2016. Many years of hard work, collaboration and exceptional talent have brought about this exciting opportunity to invite Australian and international audiences into a bold new world where Aboriginal stories and legends meet high concept genre drama." Amelie Kienlin, Executive Producer and VP Scripted Acquisitions at Red Arrow, said: "CLEVERMAN is a particularly bold and ambitious project, and must be one of the most original genre drama series to be currently in production anywhere in the world. We are delighted to be distributing this new show to broadcasters internationally." About Goalpost Pictures
Goalpost Pictures are among Australia's leading independent producers, partners are Rosemary Blight, Kylie du Fresne, Ben Grant and Cass O'Connor. Credits include The Sapphires, directed by Wayne Blair which was in official selection at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival; Clubland directed by Cherie Nowlan; Julien Temple's Rose d'Or winner The Eternity Man; the BAFTA nominated series Lockie Leonard Series; the Emmy award winning Scorched and the telefeature The Accidental Soldier. 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 is in post production of the feature film Holding The Man with director Neil Armfield, starring Ryan Corr with 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 Red Arrow's global group of 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), Lilyhammer (Netflix); Married at First Sight (FYI); and The Taste (ABC). 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 7 countries; the Los Angeles based MCN, Collective Digital Studios; and creative partnerships and joint ventures with STV, Sync Media and United Artists Media Group (Mark Burnett / Hearst). Red Arrow Entertainment Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, one of Europe's leading media group. Media enquiries: For ABC Television:
Bridget Stenhouse: Ph:  +61 2 8333 3847 or stenhouse.bridget@abc.net.au For Red Arrow International:
Paul Raven: Ph: +44 (0) 20 3667 6261 or Paul.Raven@redarrowinternational.tv For Goalpost Pictures:
Tracey Mair: Ph: +61 419 221 493 or traceym@tmpublicity.com For Pukeko Pictures:
Aimee Norman (international): Ph: +44 (0) 208 985 4708 or aimee@ddablueprint.com
Adele Feletto (NZ): Ph: +61 413 489 292 E: adele@adelefelettopublicity.com.au