Fragments of Friday
Logline: Fragments of Friday is a 12 part bite-sized comedy that follows the friendship of 20somethings Alex (Kacie Anning), Sophie (Sarah Armanious) and Maddie (Madeleine Jones) as they herald the arrival of the weekend, only to spend the rest of it wondering what happened.
Length: Approx 1.5 hours
Director: Kacie Anning
Producer: Courtney Wise & Michael Horrocks (Executive Producer)
About the director and producer: Kacie Anning is an Australian writer / director / performer who works in comedy and drama. She is the creator of the female comedy series Fragments of Friday, as well as the satirical web series Minister For Men featuring Gretel Killeen.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): distribution platforms
Funders: Series 1 – crowfunded through Pozible, Series 2 – funded by Screen Australia’s Multiplatform initiative.
Made in association with: Screen Australia
Release date: October 2015
Congratulations! Why did you make your web series?
I was straight out of film school and feeling disillusioned with short films and pressure on them to go to high profile festivals and create a pathway from there. Web series were a burgeoning format at the time and I saw it as a way to shake off the ‘seriousness’ of short films and just make something that felt like a mini-sitcom. Four years later, Fragments continues to roll on.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this web series?
Fragments of Friday resonates with an authentic texture that looks and feels like real female friendships. If you want a show that reminds you of your own hijinks, we’re it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your web series?
Fragments has always been a love letter to female friendship – we’re finding that basic premise is allowing the series to travel internationally and hit the same chord with audiences anywhere in the world.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
It’s been a long road! I crowd-funded Series 1 and made it on a paltry $6000 dollars with a very, very small crew (like, five of us). The first series was designed to be contained and achievable – most of it plays out in the girls’ apartment and was about finding comedy in something immediate.
From there, even before I finished editing, we were picked up by a major Australian production company and went through a year or so of pitching to networks but ultimately finding that a show about three young females was too ‘niche’.
We did another 180 back to the web for the freedom it allowed and we were successful in receiving production funding for Series 2 from Screen Australia. That budget was much, much more healthy than the first series and allowed us to get out into the world and create television-quality episodes within a 10 minute per episode structure.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Only good things! We’re playing in festivals all over the world right now and continue to develop the Fragments world beyond Series 2. We’re obviously very popular with women and we love it when people stumble upon our show and reach out to us on social media to tell us they love it. That direct conversation is really great.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not really, it’s all going according to plan.
What are you looking to achieve by having your web series more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Just more eyeballs on our series, really – there’s an hour and a half worth of content to binge in one hit.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify the web series’s message?
We haven’t launched in the US yet (for a few different reasons) so if there’s any digital platforms out there looking for narrative content, hit us up!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this web series to have?
I think web series in general are already creating a shift away from the short film as the be all and end all of calling cards. We’re seeing a lot of web series in Australia transition into broadcast opportunities and development deals so I’d like to think we’re part of a generation of filmmakers who took up the format early and helped turn it into a viable type of content through high production values and solid storytelling.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this web series?
Which of your friends can you count on to hold your hair back?
Would you like to add anything else?
We’re free and available to watch any time your heart desires: www.fragmentsoffriday.com/watch
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’ve just wrapped my first television broadcast directing gig on a sketch show for ABC3 (an opportunity that came directly out of Fragments) and Courtney and I continue to cook up ideas for lots of other things. More comedy!