Screen Australia appoints Christopher Sharp new head of scripted

Screen Australia has appointed former investment and development manager, Christopher Sharp, as head of scripted, where he will manage the agency’s funding programs across feature film, general television drama and children’s drama.

Sharp will report to the head of content Grainne Brunsdon, and will oversee the content department’s team of investment and development managers.

With a career spanning 18 years of experience in the screen industry, Sharp has worked as a story developer and producer in Australia, the UK and the US. He has held senior development roles for production companies at Thumper Pictures and RevLover, as well as at government funding bodies including being the director of development at Screen Queensland.

After a previous stint at Screen Australia as a development executive in 2010, he rejoined the company in 2020.

Brunsdon said, “Christopher has an incredibly strong and varied background in development and production and is a natural fit to oversee our scripted funding programs. I look forward to working with him in this new role.”

Sharp added: “I’m excited at the task of working with producers to finance their projects in this competitive market, and to support them in bringing compelling Australian stories to our screens, big and small. The team at Screen Australia is particularly focused on being proactive to ensure the long term sustainably of our sector, whilst also ensuring we fund projects and storytellers that reflect the rich diversity within our culture, and support the emergence of the next generation of storytellers coming through.”