When Tehran-born writer-director Noora Niasari told producer Vincent Sheehan about the time she spent living in a women's shelter during her childhood, on which her film 'Shayda' was to be based, he realised he was being told a "distinctly Australian" story, but one he had never seen on the screen before.
'Oppenheimer' leads the film race for February's AACTA International Awards, while 'Succession' has earned the most nominations in television.
Warwick Thornton's cinematography on 'The New Boy' has seen him pick up another international accolade, this time the Spotlight prize at the American Society of Cinematographers Awards.