
Tony Ayres
Production
Biography
Tony Ayres is a highly admired writer and director, whose work as ‘showrunner’ on programs such as ‘The Slap’ (2011), adapted from the novel by Christos Tsiolkas, ‘Bogan Pride’ (2008) starring Rebel Wilson, ‘Nowhere Boys’ (2014) and ‘Glitch’ (2015), directed by fellow VCA alumnus Emma Freeman, have put Ayres at the centre of the Australian screen industry and made him one its most influential leaders. He is a founding partner of Matchbox Pictures.
Known For

A police officer and a doctor face an emotionally charged mystery when seven local residents inexplicably return from the dead in peak physical form.
Glitch

Four teenage boys get lost in the forest and discover, when they return home, that they are in an alternate world identical to theirs except for one startling difference - they were never born.
Nowhere Boys

Two complete strangers, Lola and Chelsea, intervene in a fatal carjacking while waiting at a suburban bus stop, and are subsequently thrust into a chase from authorities across Australia with a vehicle filled with cash. The strangers must rely solely on each other while on the run.
Wanted

Hector and his wife Aisha plan a party for family and friends, but the day doesn't turn out as they expected when Hector's hot-headed cousin Harry slaps a misbehaving child. The party ends abruptly with the child's parents threatening legal action, and a chain of events is ignited that will uncover secrets, challenge core values, and leave the party guests and hosts forever changed.
The Slap

When family man Nick Brewer is abducted in a crime with a sinister online twist, those closest to him race to uncover who is behind it and why.
Clickbait

Fifteen years ago, the loss of three young people tore this sleepy seaside town apart. Now, the mysterious death of a young woman dredges up the past.
The Survivors

Inspired by true events, the story of everyday Australians at the front line of the devastating fires of the 2019-2020 Australian summer.
Fires

Four strangers — a flight attendant escaping a suburban cult, an Afghan refugee fleeing persecution, a young Australian father escaping a dead-end job, and a bureaucrat caught up in a national scandal — are stuck in an immigration detention center in the Australian desert. Inspired by true events.
Stateless

Ted McCabe, a retired cop, and Lennie Cahill a retired crim, get together to solve crimes, unravel scams and make some cash, while avoiding the wrath of the police and the underworld.
Old School

Set among the turquoise waters and lethal wildlife of Australia’s Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait, The Straits is an exotic, darkly humorous crime drama. The Montebellos are not your average Australian family. Modern day smugglers, their family business is transporting drugs into Australia and guns and exotic wildlife out, making use of ties of blood and loyalty in the Torres Strait Islands.
The Straits

At an Australian backyard BBQ, amongst alcohol, friendship and a children's cricket game, a man slaps a child who is not his son. The party comes to a sudden halt. The child's parents are so affronted they vow to take the man to court. The police become involved and friends and family are forced to take sides.
The Slap

The shifting perspective of six characters following a complicated chain of events triggered when a child is taken and relationships are thrown into crisis.
Seven Types of Ambiguity

Through the eyes of 14-year-old Benjamin, and set over the course of a long, hot, Queensland summer, the Law family navigate a series of sometimes disastrous events which become memorable milestones, and serve as a reminder that at the end of the day family can sometimes feel more like a sentence than a choice.
The Family Law

Melbourne 1996. The Golden Age of Australian swimming is beginning and a scholarship to an exclusive boys school brings 16-year-old Danny Kelly one step closer to his ultimate goal - winning Olympic gold. Initially, Danny struggles to find his place in the prestigious social circles of the private boys school. However under the charge of highly regarded coach Frank Torma and a friendship/rivalry with teammate Martin Taylor, Danny is soon on track to become Australia’s youngest swimming champion, the unstoppable 'Barracuda'.
Barracuda

The year is 1988. It is 35 years after the events of Fred Schepisi’s classic film, The Devil’s Playground. Tom Allen, now in his 40s and recently widowed, is a respected Sydney psychiatrist and father of two children. A practicing Catholic, Tom accepts an offer by the Bishop of Sydney to become a counselor of priests. During these sessions, he will uncover a scandal and become embroiled in the Church’s attempts to cover it up. Tom’s quest for justice will push him to his limits, and reveal a side of Church power and official corruption he could never have imagined.
Devil's Playground

Seventeen talented Australian directors from diverse artistic disciplines each create a chapter of the hauntingly beautiful novel by multi award-winning author Tim Winton. The linking and overlapping stories explore the extraordinary turning points in ordinary people’s lives in a stunning portrait of a small coastal community. As characters face second thoughts and regret, relationships irretrievably alter, resolves are made or broken, and lives change direction forever.
The Turning

The advocate for a young Iranian refugee held in detention. Amir Ali claims to be an Iranian student persecuted by the government but the Department of Immigration dispute his identity. When Julia meets Amir, he is severely depressed and close to deportation. Julia throws herself obsessively into Amir's case, causing friction between Julia and her husband, Peter. Julia eventually frees Amir and the young Iranian man moves in with Peter and Julia. As Julia helps Amir adjust to ordinary life, she finds herself increasingly attracted to this handsome, damaged young man. But she also starts to see the subtle cracks in Amir's story. Is he really who he claims he is? Or does he have a darker, more dangerous history?
Saved

A glamorous Hong Kong performer struggles to make a home in suburban 1960s Australia.
The Home Song Stories

Spooky Files is a fun, spooky, adventure-filled series that tackles kids' relationships with fear - with buckets of scares and truckloads of laughs along the way.
Spooky Files

The Violent Earth is a 1998 French-Australian mini series set in New Caledonia from 1888 to 1977.