The Bookkeeper

Locked into the forbidden books rooms of a mystical library, a 13 year old orphan must do the impossible to end his punishment - undo the centuries of curses that riddle every page of the ancient collection.

SHORT FILM - 10 MIN

MAGICAL REALISM - PERIOD - COMING OF AGE

SYNOPSIS

Alternative universe of the Victorian colony of Australia, 1900. A cosmopolitan society, brimming with cultural fusion and an embrace of the mystical... and a severe class divide. In a world where misfortunes, mishaps and misdeeds are blamed on curses that must be written in word, books have become a societal hazard despite all attempts by the colony's elite to open the common folk to the marvel of cultural and intellectual enlightenment.

And where should curses linger most, if not on the shelves, among the pages, and in the common space of libraries? With the grand Melbourne Library being riddled day-in-day-out with jinxes, love curses and accidental hexes of misfortune, the founders must find a way to maintain the presence and grandiosity of the 'people's university'. It's unfortunate indeed that nobody wants to do the menial, oft-hazardous task of 'bookkeeping'; De-cursing books using careful methods of magic.

CONCEPT ART

Raised in an orphanage that trains bookkeepers to fill the growing void of the thankless work at the library, RANSOM SHAH is everything that 13-year-old boys are- inventive, curious, and impervious to rules. When his mischievous antics land him the punishment of being locked in the Forbidden Books Section, unable to get out until he de-curses the entire collection, Ransom finally gets the chance to bookkeeping his way. That is to say, the fun way.

However, he is not ready for the life-threatening curses, vexatious jinns and accidentally-placed evil eyes that haunt the collections of Persian poetry and Ottoman annals. As Ransom un-jinxes his way through the stiff-spined, dusty volumes, he uncovers the lives of the Victorian colony's elite, and the treacherous efforts of the anti-federalists whose efforts to prevent the federation have landed them - and the colony - in the snares of a hairy curse. A whimsical story of the people's library, mythical lore, and the ambitions men who will make - or break - a nation.

EXT. LIBRARY - Concept Drawing by Brittany Hellivek

INT. LIBRARY - Concept Drawing by Brittany Hellivek

RANSOM, DIMA & BEANSPROUT - Concept Drawings by Brittany Hellivek

KEY CREATIVES

NAZLI SEVINC
Writer / Creator

Creator Nazli Sevinc is a screenwriter who writes to pay the excitement of storytelling forward, and across mediums and genres to capture the emotional capacity of the human imagination. She’s worked with production companies/distributors over the last 4yrs to develop their slate, such as Roadshow Films, ABC, SBS, TAP, Beyond Entertainment and Princess Pictures. As a writer, she’s turned her hand to new media. She’s the co-writer of SBS comedy Meet the Changs, executive producer of mockumentary No Waiting, and writer of the popular TikTok romcom #Matched, Australia’s first project funded by TikTok (1.7mill+ views).

Recognising the global appetite for vibrant, culturally-resonant stories that cross borders, she aims to introduce Australian genre-bending storytelling to international audiences.

She’s the recipient of several screenwriting acknowledgements, including: Sustaining Creative Workers Fund; Screencraft Virtual Pitch Competition; Screen Forever Competition; Penguin Random House Fellowship; Queensland Writers Centre Scriptable Competition; Brian Robinson Memorial Script Award.

BARIS ULUSOY
Producer

Building working relationships with a range of emerging and diverse filmmakers in Naarm (Melbourne) led to Bariş founding Near Dark, an independent micro production company He has established an independent slate of work that has engaged with national and international film festivals, as well as enabled further development and production opportunities for a diverse collective of creators and technicians.

With credits working on ABC, SBS, DISNEY+, STAN and network commissioned content, Bariş is currently working across development and production management roles, expanding his understanding of the financing and commissioning pipeline. He continues to develop drama and factual content with the view to capture the changing face of the Australian identity, through creative and compelling storytelling.