Venetian Media Group and Double Woo unite for first grant in pilot program to catalyse Aussie creatives

Independent fame agency Double Woo and Venetian Media Group have announced a joint strategic, one-off investment in ToneLock Films to help greenlight the upcoming short film, ‘One Shot’.

Directed by AACTA-nominated Australian filmmaker Tony Gardiner ACS (pictured), the dark comedy/thriller explores the absurd and crushing nature of trying to make it as a creative. It will be shot in a single continuous take on 16mm film on location in California.

The catalyst investment acts as the final piece of ignition capital to officially push the project into production in Los Angeles later this year, ahead of release in 2027.

Says Nick Vindin, Co-Founder, Double Woo: “We aren’t pretending to be Screen Australia, this is an experiment to see if an agency can play a direct role in accelerating culture. Sometimes the speed of capital matters far more than the size of the cheque. While creativity in corporate environments is too often stymied by playing it safe, creativity in culture is more often blocked by funding friction. We want to clear a roadblock so artists can focus their passion on pure craft. If that inspires marketers to see what fearless creativity can bring to brand storytelling, that’s a huge win.”

The two Sydney-headquartered agencies combined for the financial injection, which operates as a no-strings-attached amplifier, ensuring ToneLock Films retains 100% intellectual property, ownership and creative control of the project. The two businesses have aspirations of recruiting other agencies to support a repeat push in early 2027.

Says Michael Fishwick, CEO, Venetian Media Group: “Teaming up with independent fame agency Double Woo to co-invest in ‘One Shot’ was a no-brainer. Traditional funding channels are like old school holding companies – they move at a crawl. This partnership proves that when independent media and creative practices join forces to have a crack at globally ambitious art, we can bypass the red tape to help elite Aussie creators make noise.”

ToneLock Films continues Gardiner’s partnership with AWGIE-nominated screenwriter Lachlan Marks. ‘One Shot’ stars Australian acting talent including Claire Lovering (‘The Season’, ‘Play Dirty’, ‘Class of ‘07’) and Alexander England (‘Mr. Irrelevant’, ‘My Brilliant Career’, ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’).

Lovering previously starred in Gardiner’s AACTA-nominated dark comedy crime thriller short ‘DIY’ alongside Damon Herriman (‘Justified’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, ‘Mr Inbetween’), which screened at over 20 international festivals, including official selections at the Academy-qualifying Sydney Film Festival and Flickerfest.

After screening at genre festivals including Frightfest London and Screamfest LA, ‘DIY’ was part of the invitation-only Stellar Short Film Festival and was later paired with Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’ at the Travelling Film Festival throughout regional Australia.

Says Channa Goonasekara, Co-Founder, Double Woo: “Tony is someone Nick, Michael and I deeply admire for his obsession with craft in both commercial and independent work. When we learned he was shooting a single-shot thriller on century-old technology to tell a contemporary story, it was exactly the kind of unhinged, high-craft ambition we wanted to champion.

“We want to prove that when conviction is high, you don’t need a committee, you can make executive decisions to back brave artists who are poised to move the cultural needle. We’re confident other agencies will see the merit in supporting artists with a no strings attached mentality.”

While structured as an agile, one-off pilot, the two agencies have agreed to evaluate the investment as a framework for future creative backing across the arts landscape. Double Woo and Venetian Media Group plan to refine the model to deploy fast capital and strategic leverage directly to creators working across film, design, fine art, street culture and digital media again in 2027.

Says Tony Gardiner, Director, ‘One Shot’: “Having agencies like Double Woo and VMG step up with immediate, zero-bureaucracy backing gives us the exact momentum we need to take a high-wire technical concept like this and execute it without compromise. Having these two Aussie agencies championing analogue creativity outside of ad land and with no strings attached is a bloody good thing.”

‘One Shot’ is now in pre-production, with filming set to commence in Los Angeles this November.

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