Indigenous screen company Resonant Films, founded by Caden Pearson in Gimuy (Cairns), has secured support from Screen Queensland's NQ Enterprise initiative to scale its operations.
The company is one of four Far North Queensland businesses to receive a share in $220,000 through the initiative, alongside BioQuest Studios, Blue Octopus Films and Platinum Talent Management.
Screen Queensland's North Queensland Regional Program is a multi-year strategy designed to grow the region's creative community by funding local screen businesses, building skills and fostering industry connections.
Mr Pearson said the funding will allow Resonant Films to grow from a sole trader model into a sustainable screenwriting business.
"Journalism taught me discipline, especially the craft of sitting down and writing, day in and day out," he said.
"It also sharpened my ability to interrogate the world and think critically about the ethics of storytelling."
The Bagarrmugu and Kuku Yalanji man returned to filmmaking after several years in journalism, joining Screen Queensland's Film Intensive Script to Screen (FISS) program earlier this year to refresh his skills for scripted content.
"When I joined FISS, I was preparing to direct six episodes of 'Lakefield,' a short-form mystery series, so I really needed that re-immersion into how scripted sets operate, especially after spending four years in journalism during the pandemic.," he said.
He said the FISS initiative provided practical learning and a peer network that directly fed into 'Lakefield'.
"Many of the crew I hired for 'Lakefield' came from FISS - they're a talented, committed group of creatives based in Cairns, and they helped the series punch well above its weight," he said.
'Lakefield,' supported through Screen Queensland's Online Production Grants, follows a journalist returning to her Cape York hometown after a distressing call from a friend.
She soon finds herself drawn into a local mystery involving community grief, buried secrets and unresolved trauma.
"The main character is a journalist, and her journey reflects some of the same values I held in the newsroom: accuracy, honesty, and being aware of your biases," Mr Pearson said.
"The seed for 'Lakefield' was planted over a decade ago when I found myself in a hospital room with someone involved in a high-profile murder trial.
"'Lakefield' became a story with themes around child safety and the grief that ripples through a tight-knit community when something terrible happens."
Mr Pearson said building a sustainable screen career in regional Queensland is now more viable than it once was.
"The biggest challenge is access. In regional areas, you have to create your own opportunities," he said.
"When I finished school in 2004, I had to move to Brisbane to study film because there were no local options then, but that's changed recently with CQU now offering tertiary-level film studies here in Cairns."
Mr Pearson sees digital platforms as a key to bypassing traditional barriers.
"Online is a huge opportunity for people like me who don't want to be boxed into the expected. When you publish directly to audience, you can bypass those filters. You can tell the stories you want, in the way you want," he said.
The NQ Enterprise funding is part of Screen Queensland's multi-year strategy to support regional screen businesses and build career pathways in Far North Queensland.