TONY AYRES PRODUCTIONS’ FIRES FINDS HOME IN VICTORIA

Two of Australia’s brightest stars in Hollywood, Sam Worthington and Eliza Scanlen, are part of a strong ensemble cast alongside Hunter Page-Lochard on Fires, an anthology drama about the catastrophic Australian fire season of 2019 and 2020.

Inspired by real accounts from people who survived the fires, the television series is currently in production in Victoria, where all six episodes will be filmed. The state’s diverse locations will see Victoria double for neighbouring New South Wales and Queensland.

Victoria’s locations are the most accessible in Australia, with beaches, deserts, mountains, forests, wineries and small towns all found within an hour’s drive of Melbourne’s CBD. The state’s mix of historic and modern architecture can service any storyline, and Melbourne has the flexibility to double for almost any city in the world.
 

Hunter Page-Lochard. Photo Ben King

Fires is co-created by Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko for the ABC and NBCUniversal/Matchbox Pictures-backed Tony Ayres Productions, the Victorian creators behind soon-to-be released Netflix series Clickbait starring Adrian Grenier and Zoe Kazan, which was also filmed in Melbourne.

Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!), Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings), Anna Torv (Fringe), Daniel Henshall (Snowtown), Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom) and Noni Hazlehurst (Candy) are joining Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation), Scanlen (Babyteeth, Little Women) and Page-Lochard (Cleverman) to bring these incredible true stories to the screen.

Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher said, “Creating and producing a television drama that tells the story of the catastrophic 2019 bushfires and the impact it had and still has on our people, communities, emergency workers and the environment requires extraordinary creative and technical competence and sensitivity. This story is in very safe hands with the highly credentialed and trusted team at Tony Ayres Productions.”

Fires is supported by Film Victoria through the Victorian Screen Incentive and Regional Location Assistance Fund.

For more information about Victoria’s screen incentives, contact Joe Brinkmann, Manager - Production Attraction & Support, Film Victoria, at joe.brinkmann@film.vic.gov.au