Chips and Gravy Films are proud to announce the release of their new mockumentary series The Power of the Dream, to coincide with the world’s greatest sporting challenge, the Olympics! The Power of the Dream is the second short-form comedy series from the creators of the ABC iView hit The Housemate. All six episodes of The Power of the Dream will launch on The Power of the Dream Instagram and Facebook pages on July 14.
Written and created by Alexandra Keddie and Bobbie-Jean Henning, The Power Of The Dream is about two women who desperately want to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. The only problem is – they have no sporting skill to speak of. The series follows “cousin-best-friends” Amy and Brooke Bland as they trial various Olympic sports to see which one will take them all the way to the podium.
“It’s lighthearted, funny and uplifting”, says Henning. “It’s about female friendship, celebrating women in sport and giving things a go. You don’t have to be the best at something to enjoy it!”. The series features eight-time Olympic champion Susie O’Neill as the hero athlete, who boosts the morale of the protagonists at the end of the series. Keddie added, “We were so thrilled that Susie agreed to come onboard. She has been so fantastic to work with and has been such a good sport (sorry, couldn’t help myself)”.
The Power Of The Dream is directed by Meg Ham, who has worked extensively in reality television and documentaries. She says she has used this experience to bring The Power Of The Dream to life. “It was a lot of fun for me to create the documentary-style for The Power Of The Dream. We wanted it to feel as real as possible, whilst featuring two characters who are, let’s be honest, hilariously deluded”, says Ham. The show’s producer is Helpmann Award-winning actor and founder of Oriel Entertainment Group Elise McCann.
“It has been a joy to work with this incredible team of female creatives,” McCann said. “We aimed to find dedicated, forward-thinking and generous team players (sports puns are inevitable here) and that culminated in a crew that was over 80% female-identifying as well as all our Heads of Department and development creatives being female. It was a really exciting, fresh and collaborative set”, she says. In addition to Susie O’Neill, The Power of The Dream features an impressive star-studded cast, including Helpmann Award winners Christina O’Neill (Avenue Q) and Bert LaBonte (An Officer And A Gentleman), Sydney Theatre Award winner Thomas Campbell (HMS Pinafore, Three Sisters) Tahlee Fereday (Because of The Night, Astroman), Tim Kano (Neighbours), Julian Haig (Riverdale) and child stars Stephanie Kipnis (School of Rock) and River Mardesic (Billy Elliot).
The Power of the Dream is presented by Chips & Gravy Films, produced by Elise McCann, written and created by Alexandra Keddie and actor Bobbie-Jean Henning, directed by Meg Ham and funded by Screen Australia.