Industry good news story
by: Raena Lea-Shannon

Screen Hub
Friday 17 December, 2004

Brisbane Brisbane based owners and operators of the independent Australian production company 4mats Pty Limited, Mark and Cathy Overett, recently shook hands on a Joint Venture with IdtV Film Holland, (Godforsaken, Family, the Oscar nominated Twin Sisters).

The deal will immediately greenlight development no less than ten film and television projects, with the projected aim of producing a minimum of two films and one telemovie per year. The joint venture will launch as New Holland Pictures.

The first feature film production, Afghan Bride (working title) is already 70% financed. Afghan Bride will be directed by Peter Duncan (Children of the Revolution, A Little Bit of Soul, Passion) who is also writing the script, adapted from the 1998 Dutch Film, Polish Bride.

Principal photography is intended to commence in Queensland in 2005.

"There will be enough capital injection and we already have the projects to make New Holland Pictures a serious new player in the Australian film and TV production industry," said Mark Overett.

Other projects include Dive Under a road movie thriller, and Kaw-Lah written by Cathy Overett, a psychological drama concerning backpackers who are taken hostage by Burmese rebels in Thailand.

"Just when the industry is really bottoming out we think this could not have come at a better time", said Cathy Overett, "The whole thing did not exactly fall in our laps though".

The Overett story began in 1982 as Mark Overett Productions. At its peak, Mark Overett Productions had offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and was running the Federal Government's multi-million dollar school leaver ad campaign.

From there a chance meeting with some Englishmen at MIP led to being commissioned by ITV/LWT UK to produce a pilot for the In the Dark game show. Seven years and over 400 programs in some 24 countries later Cathy and Mark Overett spawned a business relationship with IdtV Film co-owner Anton Smit that has culminated in New Holland Pictures.

IdtV is part of the ALL3MEDIA group, (an international group of production companies from the across the UK, The Netherlands, New Zealand, the USA.)