Videoland will make its Australian debut at Queer Screen Film Festival on August 30 before landing on Netflix ANZ on September 1.
Originally produced for independent release on YouTube, it recently won Best Series in the Comedy Competition at the prestigious Series Mania festival in France.
Set in the 90s, Videoland follows Hayley, a 17-year-old video store employee, as she awkwardly navigates her new sexual identity by searching for queer inspiration in film.
“We knew we had a great show on our hands, but to have that verified by the Series Mania win and the Netflix acquisition has been career-defining. We’ve had so much positive feedback so far and can’t wait to hear how the Australian public reacts.” said producer, Scarlett Koehne.
“It’s still incredibly surreal for me,” added Smith. “To debut as a writer/director with a series on Netflix, that’s just not something I ever imagined would happen.”
Smith recently completed traineeships on iconic Aussie soap Neighbours and the US feature film Ricky Stanicky, shadowing Academy Award winning director Peter Farrelly, before taking the helm of her own show. It is also the first project from Pikelet Pictures, the Melbourne-based production company co-founded by Smith and Koehne.
The series, which received production funding from Screen Australia and further support from Vicscreen, features a talented cast, including Emmanuelle Mattana (Trophy Boys, Surviving Summer, Mustangs FC), Chi Nguyen (Class of ‘07, The Wilds), Tahlee Fereday (Erotic Stories, Triple Oh!, Blue Canaries), and Toby Blome (The Twelve).
Mattana, who is best known for playing the lead role of Marnie in three seasons of the International Emmy Kids® nominated tween series Mustangs FC and has received recent acclaim for her play Trophy Boys, was drawn to the project despite having been born well after the show is set.
“I may not have been alive in the 90s,” Mattana mused, “but Videoland is a series about the timeless journey of finding yourself, coming of age and coming out. It’s such a joy to work on a project that celebrates the rich history of sapphic cinema, whilst joining the cannon itself, and doing it all with playful, heart-warming, pastel-hued nostalgic charm. It has been an honour to work with an immensely talented cast and crew to bring to life a work so close to my heart.”
In anticipation of the release, Pikelet Pictures has dropped the first trailer for the series on social media. The 30 second preview offers a deliciously nostalgic glimpse of Mattana’s Hayley as she is joined on her quest of self-discovery by bestie Tanya (Nguyen), crush Jennifer (Fereday) and coworker Daniel (Blome).
Sunday September 1 on Netflix.
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