CREATIVE PRODUCER, WRITER and DIRECTOR, AQUARIUS FILMS

Polly Staniford is an award-winning creative producer, writer and director and co-founder of film and TV production company Aquarius Films. Polly is currently in post-production on Berlin Syndrome, written by Shaun Grant (Snowtown) and directed by award-winning filmmaker Cate Shortland. The film stars Teresa Palmer and Max Riemelt and was financed by Screen Australia, Film Victoria, eOne, Memento, DDP Studios and Fulcrum Media Finance.
Polly has produced 8 award-winning short films, which all sold internationally and have screened in high profile film festivals all over the world including Venice, Berlin and Sundance.
Prior to establishing Aquarius Films, Polly worked in many areas of the Film and Television industry for a variety of companies including Fremantle Media, and Inside Film. Employed for nearly 3 years by award-winning production company Matchbox Pictures, Polly worked on a number of film and television projects with internationally renowned producers Tony Ayres and Michael McMahon. Whilst working with Matchbox Pictures, Polly also produced 4 documentaries for the ABC including the second series of Anatomy and Miss South Sudan Australia.
Polly was one of the writers on Nowhere Boys, the AACTA and Logie-winning children’s drama series produced by Matchbox Pictures for ABC3 and she also wrote and directed Brain, a 30-minute documentary for ABC1 about Jamie and Andrew Daddo (part of the fourth series of Anatomy). Most recently she wrote a one-hour documentary for the ABC about internationally acclaimed architecture firm Denton Corker Marshall called The Diplomat, The Artist and The Suit.
Along with business partners Angie Fielder and Cecilia Ritchie, she is currently developing a slate of feature films including romantic comedies The Post Office written by Lou Sanz and The Assistant written by Tristram Baumber as well as three TV series, Night Games written by Tom Holloway with director Samantha Lang which is being developed with support from Screen NSW and two projects supported by Screen Tasmania – a 13 part gothic/ thriller TV series, Vera Gray and crime thriller The Parcel.
Polly is a Masters graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film & TV in Melbourne and has also participated in the internationally acclaimed Berlin Talent Campus.