# Tony Ayres

Tony Ayres (born 16 July 1961) is an 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

On 16 July 1961, Ayres was born in Portuguese Macau (now in China). In 1964, Ayres' mother married an Australian sailor and migrated her family to Perth, Western Australia.
In 1972, when Ayres was 11 years old, his mother died by suicide. She was a nightclub singer.
Ayres' stepfather died of a heart attack three 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 (whom his sister would later end up marrying). Ayres temporarily relocated to Canberra, ACT, to study, before moving back to help care for the teacher and his children. 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 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, 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. 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.
On 31 January 2025, it was announced that Netflix series The Survivors had been announced in the 2025 Australian drama slate, Ayres would produce and write for the show. Ayres alongside Matchbox Pictures would be heavily involved with the production when it was first announced in 2023.

## Other activities

In 2018 after departing Matchbox Pictures, Ayres created his production company Tony Ayres Productions (TAP).
On May 16 2023, Ayres was honoured with a honorary degree with a Doctor of Arts, film and television from AFTRS.
In 2020 Ayres was appointed as a member and he served on the board of the South Australian Film Corporation for three years until his departure in 2023.

## Personal life

He is openly gay.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Notes |
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
| 1992 | Double Trouble | Yes | No | Yes | Documentary short film |
| 1997 | Exposed | Yes | No | No | Short film |
| 1998 | Mrs. Craddock's Complaint | Yes | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1998 | China Dolls | Yes | No | Yes | Documentary film |
| 1999 | Sadness | Yes | No | No | Documentary film |
| 2002 | Walking on Water | Yes | No | No | |
| 2007 | The Home Song Stories | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2010 | Lou | No | Yes | No | |
| 2011 | Miss South Sudan Australia | No | Yes | Yes | Documentary film |
| 2013 | The Turning | Yes | No | No | Segment: "Cockleshell" |
| 2013 | Spine | No | No | based on an idea | Short film |
| 2014 | Cut Snake | Yes | No | No | |
| 2016 | Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows | No | executive | Yes | |
| 2017 | Ali's Wedding | No | executive | No | |

### Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.
| Year | Title | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Network | Notes |
| Year | Title | Creator | Director | Writer | Executive producer | Network | Notes |
| 1992 | Six Pack | No | No | Yes (1) | No | SBS TV | Anthology series |
| 1994 | Under the Skin | No | No | Yes (1) | No | SBS TV | Anthology series |
| 1996 | Naked: Stories of Men | No | No | Yes (1) | No | ABC | Anthology series |
| 1998 | The Violent Earth | No | No | Yes (3) | No | Nine Network | Miniseries |
| 2009 | Saved | No | Yes | No | No | SBS TV | Television film |
| 2011 | The Slap | No | Yes (2) | No | No | ABC1 | Producer |
| 2013–18 | Nowhere Boys | Yes | No | No | Yes | ABC3 ABC Me | Producer (series 1) Executive producer (series 2–4) |
| 2015–19 | Glitch | Yes | No | No | Yes | ABC TV | |
| 2020 | Stateless | Yes | No | No | Yes | ABC TV | |
| 2021 | Clickbait | Yes | No | Yes (5) | Yes | Netflix | Limited series |
| 2021 | Fires | Yes | No | No | Yes | ABC TV | Anthology series |
| 2025 | The Survivors | | | | | Netflix | |
Key :
| † | Denotes television series that have not yet been aired |

#### Executive producer-only

| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
| 2005 | The Last Valley | ABC | Documentary film |
| 2008 | Two Men & Two Babies | SBS TV | Documentary film |
| 2009–13 | Anatomy | ABC1 | Docuseries Producer (series 1–2) Executive producer (series 3: 1 episode, series 4) |
| 2012 | The Straits | ABC1 | |
| 2012 | Underground: The Julian Assange Story | Network Ten | Television film |
| 2013 | Next Stop Hollywood | ABC1 | |
| 2014 | Old School | ABC1 | |
| 2014 | Devil's Playground | Showcase | |
| 2015 | The Slap | NBC | Miniseries |
| 2015 | Maximum Choppage | ABC2 | |
| 2016–17 | The Family Law | SBS | Series 1–2 |
| 2016–18 | Wanted | Seven Network | |
| 2017 | Seven Types of Ambiguity | ABC TV | |
| 2021 | Creamerie | TVNZ OnDemand | Web series |

#### Producer-only

| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
| 2008 | Bogan Pride | SBS TV | |
| 2016 | Barracuda | ABC TV | Miniseries |
| 2023 | The Spooky Files | ABC TV | TV series |

## Awards

Tony Ayres won the award of Best Dramatic Feature at the 2015 Byron Bay International Film Festival for the film Cut Snake.