Matchbox, ABC shows take Oz awards

Australian prodco Matchbox Pictures has won two key prizes at the 15th annual Screen Producers Australia awards.

ABC action-adventure drama Nowhere Boys

The NBCUniversal-owned prodco was named media super production business of the year at the Screen Forever conference in Melbourne.

Season two of Nowhere Boys, the firm’s action-adventure for pubcaster ABC, was named best children’s television production.

Four other ABC commissions were recognised. Playmaker Media’s The Code took the TV drama production award while Ruby Entertainment’s The Secret River won best telemovie or miniseries. Season two of Guesswork TV’s Please Like Me was declared best comedy and High Wire Films’ Agony best light entertainment.

Go Back To Where You Came From, CJZ’s three-part series for pubcaster SBS, received the award for TV documentary while Madman Production’s That Sugar Film was best feature doc.

Season five of FremantleMedia Australia’s The X Factor (Seven Network) won the reality TV production gong.

The interactive and online production prize was shared by the Project Factory’s Sherlock: The Network, the app of the hit BBC detective series, and Jason Byrne Productions’ How To Talk Australians, which parodies Indian migrants’ attempts to assimilate among Australia’s bogan stereotypes.

Indigenous prodco Brindle Films, whose first series was 8MMM Aboriginal Radio, a six-part drama for ABC coproduced with Princess Pictures, was named breakthrough business of the year.