Tony Ayres

Production

Tony Ayres

Born July 16, 1961 · Macau, China (age 65)

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 lead…

Known For

The Home Song StoriesThe Home Song Stories · 2007
The Home Song Stories
6.12007
MovieDrama
A glamorous Hong Kong performer struggles to make a home in suburban 1960s Australia.
The RoosterThe Rooster · 2024
The Rooster
5.32024
MovieDramaMystery
When the body of his oldest friend is found buried in a shallow grave, Dan, a small-town cop, seeks answers from a volatile hermit who was the last person to see his friend alive. As Dan gets closer to the truth, he must confront his own personal demons and he discovers that hope can be found in unlikely places.
He Died with a Felafel in His HandHe Died with a Felafel in His Hand · 2001
He Died with a Felafel in His Hand
7.02001
MovieComedy
A search for love, meaning and bathroom solitude. Danny goes through a series of shared housing experiences in a succession of cities on the east coast of Australia. Together these vignettes form a narrative that is surprisingly reflective.
The TurningThe Turning · 2013
The Turning
5.72013
MovieDrama
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.
Nowhere Boys: The Book of ShadowsNowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows · 2016
Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows
5.62016
MovieScience Fiction
A year after the boys crossed dimensions, discovered magic and battled the restoring demon, they are back home in Bremin and are struggling with everyday teenage life. Felix has high hopes for the four heroes. He wants them to push the limits of their magical ability, working as a team to become masters of the arcane. But although he's unwilling to admit it, the boys have grown apart. The boys, once in perfect magical and elemental alignment, are a tangle of rivalry and distrust. On the verge of separating, the Nowhere Boys are drawn together for one last spell when Felix discovers a magically sealed 'Book of Shadows'. Unwittingly this releases a powerful force of chaos, and the gang is reluctantly drawn into a showdown that threatens their world and all they love...
Cut SnakeCut Snake · 2015
Cut Snake
6.12015
MovieDramaCrime
Set in Melbourne in the mid-1970s is the story of Sparra Farrell, a very private man in his twenties who is trying to make a life for himself in a new city. He has found honest work and becomes engaged to the beautiful Paula. But the prospect of his new life is challenged when the charismatic Pommie tracks him down. Sparra finds himself drawn back into a world that he thought he had left behind.
SavedSaved · 2009
Saved
4.02009
MovieDrama
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?
China DollsChina Dolls · 1997
China Dolls
3.81997
MovieDocumentary
Aussie boys of Asian descent candidly discuss their status as a "minority within a minority".

Filmography

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Nowhere Boys: The Book of ShadowsNowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows · 2016
Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows
5.62016
MovieScience Fiction
A year after the boys crossed dimensions, discovered magic and battled the restoring demon, they are back home in Bremin and are struggling with everyday teenage life. Felix has high hopes for the four heroes. He wants them to push the limits of their magical ability, working as a team to become masters of the arcane. But although he's unwilling to admit it, the boys have grown apart. The boys, once in perfect magical and elemental alignment, are a tangle of rivalry and distrust. On the verge of separating, the Nowhere Boys are drawn together for one last spell when Felix discovers a magically sealed 'Book of Shadows'. Unwittingly this releases a powerful force of chaos, and the gang is reluctantly drawn into a showdown that threatens their world and all they love...

Executive Producer

Soft FruitSoft Fruit · 1999
Soft Fruit
5.01999
MovieComedyDrama
For the first time in 15 years, all four siblings in a family show up to care for their dying mother, who is only given a couple of weeks to live. One comes from America with her two children. A divorced sister also comes with her child and sneaks off regularly to meet a mystery man who may be her ex-husband. The third & youngest daughter is an unmarried nurse aware of her ticking biological clock. The only son chases after his grumpy father who seems to not care a whit about his wife's circumstances. The four are also faced my their mother's dreams to accomplish a few things before she dies - to visit a beach she had visited in the past, to see her youngest married, and to visit Paris. She also wants to be embalmed and be honored with a 21 gun salute. Thus the whole group has to set off in the quest to fulfill their mother's wishes.

Script Editor

MallboyMallboy · 2001
Mallboy
5.32001
MovieDrama
A boy climbs an unsteady path to adulthood under difficult circumstances in this drama from Australia. Shaun (Kane McNay) is a teenager growing up in a run-down suburb of Melbourne. His father Sam (Brett Swain) is in prison, while his mother Jenny (Nell Feeney) is too lost in her problems with alcohol to provide much guidance for her children. Left to his own devices, Shaun commits petty theft, smokes pot, and deals drugs to his friends as they hang out at the nearby shopping mall. Shaun seems unable to reach out to anyone, not even his girlfriend (Lauren Hawker) or Darren (Brett Tucker), a social worker eager to help him. When his father is released from prison and brings his mistress to the "Welcome Home" party Jenny throws for him, Shaun comes to realize that if he is ever to resolve his problems, he will have to do it without the help of his family. Mallboy marked the feature film debut for writer/director Vincent Giarrusso.

Script Editor