The Cry indie Synchronicity Films has announced plans to launch a dedicated Australian office based in Melbourne. Synchronicity Australia will be headed by former BBC Drama Development Producer Ruth Underwood. The first project for Synchronicity Australia is a TV adaptation of of Helen FitzGerald’s upcoming novel Ash Mountain, which is set to be published later this month in the UK and next March in Australia. 
The Cry indie Synchronicity Films has named industry veteran Mark Young as their first Chairman. His appointment comes after he has served as a consultant and non-executive director for the company. As Chairman, Young will work closely with Claire Mundell, Synchronicity’s founder and creative director, and to help develop the indie's business. With the appointment, Mark Young also becomes a full director of the business. 
In a heated situation with multiple parties bidding, The Cry indie Synchronicity Films has secured the rights to Heather Morris’ novel The Tattooist Of Auschwitz, with plans to adapt it as a "high-end" international drama series. The indie has already set Jacquelin Perske, who was behind their adaptation of The Cry, to adapt The Tattooist Of Auschwitz for television. The series is planned to be ready for broadcast in January 2020, to tie in with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. 
More news out of the Edinburgh International TV Festival. BBC Director of Content Charlotte Moore, during her Meet The Controller session, announced a trio of new drama commissions for BBC One. The corporation's flagship channel has ordered three part drama The Barking Murders, a factual drama from Jeff Pope that explores the crimes of Stephen Port from the point of view of the families of his victims; and a pair of new drama that will be set and shot in Scotland - The Victim and The Cry.