Press release from TM Publicity
With an Australian on-air date of December 4 on ABC1 and ABC 2 confirmed, dirtgirlworld, the ground breaking new television series for children aged 4 to 7, is about to be seen by audiences on three continents.
The series – a distinctive blend of live action and animation with photomontage and illustration – launched recently on C Beebies in the UK and on CBC in Canada. It was developed by Australia’s mememe productions and is a co-production with Canada’s DECODE Entertainment.
Targeting the 4-7 year old market, dirtgirlworld is a celebration of life in the big world outside. The musicentric series has a contemporary, underlying environmental message – to explore the natural world – inviting the audience to “go get grubby” with dirtgirl, a gumboot-wearing girl who grows awesome tomatoes, knows cloud names and drives a big orange tractor.
With the motto “from viewing to doing”, the television series – 52 x 11 minute episodes – will be supported internationally by dirtgirlworld online content which, like the series, is groundbreaking in its delivery of meaningful and engaging content to children.
dirtgirlworld is created by writer/producer Cate McQuillen and composer/writer Hewey Eustace, who developed the series from their idyllic home near the ‘rainbow country’ of northern New South Wales in Australia.
Cate and Hewey also executive produce along with Jenny Lalor and Daniel Besen in Australia and Steven Denure and Beth Stevenson for DECODE Entertainment. dirtgirlworld’s distinctive animation style and design has been pioneered by James Hackett and Jean Camden of Hackett Films.
This is the first production for Cate McQuillen and Hewey Eustace from mememe productions. “This is very much a story from our hearts. dirtgirlworld is entertainment with an environmental focus that invites children to be involved in a world where nature first is second nature,” Cate says.
“When dreaming about dirtgirlworld, Hewey and I always envisaged something truly beautiful.
A world that blends the real with the unreal, a world inhabited by characters who celebrate life outside and connect with children in a profound way.”
dirtgirlworld began life as a music album. It won the 2002 Dolphin Awards’ Album of the Year (and the hip-hop category) and was nominated for an ARIA (Australia Record Industry Award) in 2003. Cate and Hewey’s dream, however, was to adapt the concept for multiple platforms. Television quickly became a reality after they won pitching competitions locally, then at the Screen Producers Association of Australia annual Conference and at KidsScreen in New York just two years ago, where its immediate appeal prompted commission/acquisition by CBeebies (UK), ABC (Australia) and CBC (Canada).
The dirtgirlworld team is committed to pursuing the best possible environmental business practices to reduce dirtgirlworld’s eco-footprint. A percentage of production costs has already been reserved to establish the dirtgirlworld foundation, which will be added to partners’ carbon offsetting contributions to fund local projects that support children to live more environmentally sustainable lives.
In Australia, where mememe productions hold the rights, proposals are currently being considered for music and home entertainment and Melbourne-based licensing agent Merchantwise has been appointed to manage a publishing and retail licensing program.
On a global landscape, BBC Worldwide holds all UK rights. For the rest of the world, DECODE Enterprises holds all TV, home entertainment and digital rights and DHX Licensing manages licensing and merchandising.