Paddington producer Belinda Dean lands TV gig of a lifetime
The talented creative is working on a secret project that will hopefully hit our screens in the coming months.
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As a kid Belinda Dean was deeply frustrated by the fact cans (and certain bottles) could be redeemed for a whopping 5 cents in South Australia, but not here in her native New South Wales.
Here, cans and bottles went straight into the recycle bin and that was that.
It might not sound a huge deal. Five cents is not exactly a grand amount but 20 plus years ago a handful of those little guys was the equivalent of gold to the average eight year old.
“I used to look at the cans and be crazy about the fact they were worth money in South Australia but not here,” says Belinda, of Paddington.
“I thought why can the kids there get money for these cans but not me? It bothered me so much.”
Belinda grew up of course and her fixation with recyclables and the funds that went with them receded. But some eight years ago she suddenly recalled her childhood fixation and it struck her – there’s a story in there somewhere.
“It was just a kernel of an idea,” she says.
“But I felt there was something in it … that a kid can make a fortune perhaps or be able to afford to buy something they really want if they can just collect enough cans and convert them to money.”
The idea percolated with Belinda and over the months her main protagonist did too. It would be a child with a disability, a kid who had certain limitations but was willing to rise above – or at least have a sold crack at it.
“I knew if the main character had a disability it would escalating the stake in some ways,” she explains.
“In story telling you want make everything that little bit harder for them … it keeps things interesting. And I also thought there was something quite lovely about a child in that position being entrepreneurial.”
The concept was almost fully fledged but Belinda put it aside and focused on other projects. But when Screen Australia and SBS announced the Digital Originals initiative, a platform created to provide opportunities and support to writers from backgrounds that are currently under-represented in the screen sector, Belinda knew what she had to do.
She applied to be involved and the rest as they say is history.
Freewheelers is an adventure comedy centred on Abe Walker, a teenager with cerebral palsy, his terminally ill grandmother Jude and his best friend Sally.
In a bid to establish Abe’s independence, the trio concoct a plan to exchange thousands of cans for the cash needed to get him to school camp. But what starts as a simple journey to the local recycling centre, becomes a last hurrah to remember.
Belinda has teamed up with Sydney writer Emily Dash and the duo is now waiting to see if their project will make it to the small screen.
They spent four days in the writing room working alongside two other creative teams. Only one of the projects is likely to make it to the screen. Belinda has her fingers crossed that it will be Freewheelers.
But even if she does miss out at the last moment she will remain thrilled to have gone so far in the process and to see her nugget of an idea transform and grow.
“By this stage we have all become good mates and we’re very supportive of one another,” says Belinda.
“All of the projects are terrific and we are in great company.”
Belinda and her fellow writers and producers were delighted simply to be in a creative environment, especially during the difficulties of COVID-19.
“This is the perfect time to develop those projects you’ve never had time to get to in the past,” she says.
“It’s a tricky time but I think we all know, deep down, that we will bounce back.”