Wastelander Panda: Exile To Premiere

August 30, 2014 Dave Aaron Schuppan, Brendan Cowell, Christopher Gist, Kirsty Stark, Lily Pearl, Matt Vesely, Mike Jones, Nick Batzias, Rebecca Heap, Richard Harris, Victoria Cocks, Wastelander Panda, Wastelander Panda: Exile

Madman is proud to announce WASTELANDER PANDA: EXILE, a post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi western commissioned especially for ABC iview, will have its Australian premiere on Saturday September 20 on iview and international premiere at Fantastic Fest, Austin TX, September 18-25. This will be followed by a digital download to own and DVD release in November and December, respectively.

WASTELANDER PANDA: EXILE is the first drama program to be commissioned by ABC iview and is a co-production between Madman Productions and Epic Films. It is the post-apocalyptic tale of the humanoid panda Isaac, who is banished to the Wasteland after the violent death of a young girl, and sets out to find a replacement to reinstate his family into the Tribe of Legion.

Rebecca Heap, Head of ABC TV Strategy and Digital Products said; “We’re extremely excited to see our first drama commission for iview, WASTELANDER PANDA, come to screens in partnership with Epic Films, Madman, Screen Australia and the SAFC. This will be another ABC binge event for fans of local drama. Though our continued investment in emerging Australia content makers and our strategy to develop new content formats for online, iview audiences have the opportunity to discover and engage with unique entertainment not available anywhere else”.

This series of WASTELANDER PANDA follows an earlier series of webisodes created by Epic Films that have reached cult status with both festivals (SXSW, Vancouver Webfest, LA Webfest, Adelaide Film Festival, Burning Man Australia) and fans.

Fans of fantasy and pop culture will also get a chance to catch a sneak peak at the new series when it features at Sydney’s Oz Comic-Con (Sept 13-14). A graphic novel tie-in from Gestalt Publishing will also be available in the near future.

Producer Kirsty Stark, said; “Having developed WASTELANDER PANDA as an independent online project over the past few years, it was an amazing opportunity to team up with Madman Production Company and create this new series for ABC iview. We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved and are excited to be showcasing WASTELANDER PANDA on ABC iview, at Fantastic Fest and online internationally all in the same week”.

“I am really proud of WASTELANDER PANDA. It’s been a fantastic collaboration with Epic Films and it was a pleasure to have an adventure in the Wasteland with our partners across development and production, namely the ABC, SAFC and Screen Australia. To be commissioned by ABC iview as a Web/TV Series and then to be selected for a film festival is very rewarding for all concerned”, producer, Nick Batzias said.

Richard Harris, CEO of the SAFC said: “The SAFC is hugely proud of the WASTELANDER PANDA team and Fantastic Fest is the perfect place for the Series to have its international premiere. We can’t wait for it to hit the screen.”

WASTELANDER PANDA stars Aaron Schuppan (Isaac), Brendan Cowell (voice of Isaac) and Lily Pearl (Rose). It is directed by Victoria Cocks (Epic Films) and Produced by Kirsty Stark (Epic Films) and Nick Batzias (Madman), written by Victoria Cocks, Matt Vesely and Mike Jones. ABC Executive Producer, Christopher Gist.

WASTELANDER PANDA is co-production between an Epic Films and Madman Production Company with the support of Australian Broadcasting Commission, Screen Australia and the SAFC.