Tony Ayres (born 16 July 1961) is an Australian showrunner,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, 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 ''Nowhere Boys'' is an Australian teen drama television series created by Tony Ayres. It was first broadcast on ABC3 (which is now officially named ABCME) on 7 November 2013. The first two series follow the adventures of four mismatched teenag ...

''.

Early life

On 16 July 1961, Ayres was born in

Portuguese Macau Portuguese Macau (officially the Province of Macau until 1976, and then the Autonomous Region of Macau from 1976 to 1999) was a Portuguese colony that existed from the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 to the end of colonial rul ...

(now in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

).Prints and Printmaking, Australia entry for Tony Ayres
/ref> In 1964, Ayres' mother married an Australian sailor and migrated her family to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. In 1972, when Ayres was 11 years old, his mother died by suicide. She was a nightclub singer."Going beyond the pale"
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 4 April 2003."Writer and director Tony Ayres"

ABC Queensland ABC Television in Brisbane comprises national programming on the ABC television network in or from Brisbane, Queensland which broadcasts on a number of channels under the ABC call sign. There is some local programming from the Brisbane studio ...

, 10 August 2007. Ayres' stepfather died of a heart attack four years after the death of his wife, and two days before he was due to remarry. Ayres and his older sister briefly lived with their stepfather's former fiancée, before being placed in the care of Ayres' history teacher. They then moved to Canberra, ACT with their guardian, whom Ayres' sister later married. Ayres' 2007 film '' The Home Song Stories'' is loosely based on this early period of his life.

Education

Ayres attended Ardross Primary School and Applecross Senior High School, later studying photography and printmaking at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in Canberra, before working as an exhibition curator. He later completed postgraduate studies in film and video at the Swinburne Film and Television School (now the University of Melbourne Faculty of VCA and MCM School of Film and Television) in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, Victoria.

Career

In feature films, Ayres' first feature '' Walking on Water'' won the "Teddy Award" at the Berlin International 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 eight episode miniseries '' The Slap'', which won five AACTA Awards, including Best Miniseries or TV Movie, and was nominated for a BAFTA and

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sci ...

. 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 ''

'', as well as executive producer on ''Old School'' and '' Devil's Playground''.

Personal life

He is openly gay.

Filmography

Film

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Executive producer-only

Producer-only

Awards

Tony Ayres won the award of Best Dramatic Feature at the 2015

Byron Bay International Film Festival The Byron Bay Film Festival is a popular AACTA Awards accredited independent awards-based film event held in the late Australian summer at the Byron Community & Cultural Centre, in the coastal town of Byron Bay. The festival was established in ...

for the film ''Cut Snake''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, Tony 1961 births Living people Australian film directors Australian film producers Australian people of Macanese descent Macau emigrants to Australia Chinese emigrants to Australia Chinese LGBT writers Australian screenwriters Australian television producers Australian television writers Australian LGBT writers LGBT film directors Gay screenwriters Australian male television writers People from Perth, Western Australia People educated at Applecross Senior High School LGBT television directors Australian television directors Showrunners