Australian-UK company See-Saw Films has produced international titles including Heartstopper, Slow Horses, The Essex Serpent, Sweetpea and Aussie productions The End, The Power of the Dog, Royal Hotel and the upcoming Apple Cider Vinegar.
Producer Liz Watts discusses the local slate here.
Production company name?
See-Saw Films
When was the company founded?
2008
Where are you based and which states did you film in for 22 / 23 / 24 productions?
We have offices in Sydney and London. Our Australian productions have filmed in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia (and New Zealand) over the past three years. We have post produced many times in NSW. Additionally, our productions have filmed in the UK and across Europe over the same time period.
How many full-time equivalent staff and how many does it expand to during production?
In Australia we have 20 full time staff; with another 30 in the UK office.
What is your ownership model and who are key principals?
See-Saw is an independent production company – its two principals are co-founders Emile Sherman and Iain Canning.
Describe the genres you specialise in for production?
We are a mix of predominantly television and also feature films. On our slate we range from dark comedy, to a bank robbery tale, to an erotic mystery, to a crime comedy, to a large scale adventure epic feature film in early prep.
What have been some of your notable credits and with which broadcasters / streamers?
From our Australian slate – The End/Foxtel; The Power of the Dog/Netflix; Apple Cider Vinegar/Netflix; Foe/Prime Video; The Royal Hotel/Binge
What’s coming up on your slate and how many projects are in active development?
Referring to our Australian slate only, we are looking forward to the launch of Apple Cider Vinegar, which we’ve produced with our joint venture company Picking Scabs with Samantha Strauss; the film Tenzing is in early prep to shoot next year for Apple……Also here in Australia, we have in development shows with Apple TV, SBS, Netflix and Amazon. We are in discussions with other platforms and broadcasters on others- so we have a really exciting dynamic slate.
Do you receive unsolicited material, what are you looking for, how should people pitch projects?
We don’t receive unsolicited material, we are looking for distinctive projects with fresh ideas on relatable genres. We do love receiving scripts and ideas but these need to come via an agent.
What change would you most like to see when it comes to commissions?
The commissioners here are on the whole brave and chasing what we all want- entertaining and compelling shows! I would say that it does feel like there is a slight slowing in the development speed on projects and we’d love to be turning around into production at a greater pace. We’re always keen to get projects green lit as soon as they are ready!
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