WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: MONICA ZANETTI

RUNNING TIME: 82 Mins

17 year old Ellie is struggling to find the courage to ask her classmate, Abbie, to the formal. Luckily her Aunt Tara, a lesbian who died in the 80’s has shown up as a “Fairy Godmother” to dish out advice, whether Ellie wants it or not

Ellie & Abbie (And Ellie’s Dead Aunt) is a Queer Rom-Com about young love and coming of age. School captain Ellie (Sophie Hawkshaw) has a serious crush on her classmate Abbie (Zoe Terakes), and is angsting over inviting her to the Year 12 formal. When Ellie accidentally spills the beans to her mum (Marta Dusseldorp) and outs herself in the process, things start to get complicated, and a little bit spooky. Enter her deceased aunt Tara (Julia Billington), a lesbian activist from the ’80s who returns from the dead to act as a kind of fairy godmother to Ellie, guiding her through the trials and tribulations of her first love.

Award-winning Writer and director Monica Zanetti(Skin deep, Tonightly, While The Men Are Away) , who makes her feature filmmaking debut with Ellie & Abbie (And Ellie’s Dead Aunt). Produced by AACTA award-winning producers MahVeen Shahraki and Patrick James.

The film featured as a program highlight in Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and the New Zealand International Film Festival. Ellie and Abbie is the first Australian film to open the 2020 Mardi Gras Film Festival in its 27-year history and went on to win the coveted Audience Award, as well as the 2021 AACTA Award for Best Indie Film. MahVeen brokered a distribution deal which secured a strong marketplace for the film locally and internationally.

Australian & Nz Distributor
This Is Arcadia
Produced for
Brazen Lot, Clever Rabbit