Tony Ayres

This article is about the director. For the darts player, see Tony Ayres (darts player).
Tony Ayres
Born 16 July 1961
Macau, China
Years active 1992 - present
Awards AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series'
2013 Nowhere Boys
Inside Film Award for Best Director
2007 The Home Song Stories
Berlinale "Teddy" for Best Feature Film
2002 Walking on Water

Tony Ayres (born 16 July 1961) is a Chinese-born Australian showrunner, screenwriter, director in television and feature film. He is most notable for his films Walking on Water and The Home Song Stories, as well his work in television, including working as the showrunner on The Slap and teen adventure series Nowhere Boys.

Early life

Ayres was born in Macau, China.[1] His mother was a nightclub singer who committed suicide in 1972, when Ayres was 11 years old.[2][3] Before her death, his mother married an Australian sailor and migrated with her family to Perth, Western Australia in 1964.[2] Ayres' stepfather died of a heart attack three years after the death of his wife, and two days before he was due to remarry.[2] Ayres and his older sister briefly lived with their stepfather's former fiancee, before being placed in the care of Ayres' history teacher.[2] They then moved to Canberra, Australian Capital Territory with their guardian, whom Ayres' sister later married.[2] Ayres' 2007 film The Home Song Stories is loosely based on this early period of his life.[3]

Ayres studied photography and printmaking at the Australian National University in Canberra, before working as an exhibition curator.[1] He later completed postgraduate studies in film and video at the Swinburne Film and Television School (now the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film and Television) in Melbourne, Victoria.[1]

He is openly gay.[2]

Career

In feature films, Ayres' first feature Walking on Water won the "Teddy Award" at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002 and won 5 AFI awards. His second feature film, The Home Song Stories, also premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and won 24 Australian and international awards including 8 AFI Awards.

Ayres was the showrunner and director of the 8 x 1 hour miniseries The Slap which won five AACTA Awards, including Best Miniseries or TV Movie, and was nominated for a BAFTA and International Emmy. His other credits include producing the comedy series Bogan Pride with Rebel Wilson and directing the telemovie Saved. Ayres was the showrunner for the ABC3 show Nowhere Boys, as well as Executive Producer on Old School and Devil's Playground.

Filmography

Writer:

  • Double Trouble (1992)
  • Under the Skin, episode The Long Ride (1993) (AACTA Award)
  • Naked Story of Men (Episode: "Ghost Story") (1996)
  • Mrs. Craddock's Complaint (1997)
  • The Violent Earth (1998)
  • The Home Song Stories (2007)

Director:

Showrunner:

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Prints and Printmaking, Australia entry for Tony Ayres
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Going beyond the pale". The Age, 4 April 2003.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Writer and director Tony Ayres". ABC Queensland, 10 August 2007.

External links