The cast of ANZAC Girls includes Georgia Flood (House Husbands, Wentworth, Tangle), Antonia Prebble (Outrageous Fortune, The Blue Rose, Super City), Laura Brent (A Few Best Men, Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader), Anna McGahan (House Husbands, Mystery of a Hansom Cab, Underbelly: Razor) and Caroline Craig (Underbelly, Dangerous Remedy, Blue Heelers).
Produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, for ABC TV, ANZAC Girls tells the remarkable true story of five extraordinary young military nurses from Australia and New Zealand, who experienced horror, heartbreak and triumph caring for the original ANZACS at both Gallipoli and the Western Front.
To be filmed in South Australia, the six part mini-series is based on the book The Other Anzacs by Peter Rees, which draws on the diaries, letters, photographs and historical achievements of five women who witnessed the brutality of war, and through shocking hardship formed lasting bonds of love and friendship. ANZAC Girls honours the Centenary of World War I with the unique and rarely told history of the war through the nurses who served amidst bombing raids, poison gas and terrible disease – saving lives and transforming the spirits of the soldiers.
The landmark series has been written by Felicity Packard and Niki Aken, and is being series produced by Lisa Scott and produced by Felicity Packard. ANZAC Girls is to be directed by Ken Cameron (Dangerous Remedy, Brides of Christ, Bangkok Hilton) and Ian Watson (Janet King, Killing Time, Love My Way), with cinematography by Geoffrey Hall (Drift, Red Dog, Chopper) and production design by Scott Bird (as production designer – Janet King, Nim’s Island II and Emmy Award winning art director of The Pacific). Screentime’s Des Monaghan and Greg Haddrick are executive producers with the ABC’s Carole Sklan and David Ogilvy.
ABC TV Head of Fiction Carole Sklan said, “Reaching across one hundred years the story of these young women and their friendship, courage, romance and achievement touches us with a shocking immediacy. Their voices are as delightful as their story is inspiring.”
Executive Producer Des Monaghan said, “It is a privilege to bring to the screen the story of these remarkable women who are in many ways the unsung heroes of the ANZAC story.”
ANZAC Girls is produced with the support of the South Australian Film Corporation and Screen Australia. “The SAFC is thrilled ANZAC Girls is being shot in South Australia. It’s a superb opportunity to showcase our state’s capability around such a high profile project,” said SAFC Chair, Judy Potter.