Stevie Cruz-Martin is directing a new thriller that will air on SBS. Safe Home is currently filming in Melbourne and is set to air on SBS in 2023.
The director, who started her career in Perth before heading east, has previously directed the short episode series The Tailings for SBS. She’s also has worked closely with actor Daniel Monks, the pair have created several short films and the award winning independent feature Pulse.
The cast of the new series is lead by Aisha Dee, who Perth audiences recently saw in Sissy, the camp-horror film that opened the Revelation Perth International Film Festival. Dee has also appeared in the long running The Bold Type.
Also in the cast is recent Logie-nominee Mabel Li (New Gold Mountain, The Tailings), Virginia Gay (Judy & Punch, Winners and Losers), Thomas Cocquerel (The Gilded Age, Red Dog) and Antonia Prebble (Westside, Outrageous Fortune).
The supporting cast includes Hal Cumpston (The Walking Dead), Chenoa Deemal (Troppo), David Roberts (Total Control), Janet Andrewartha (Neighbours), Mark Mitchinson (The Hobbit), Tegan Stimson (Irreverent), Katlyn Wong (Mystic), Nicholas Burton (Barons) and Yuchen Wang (Hungry Ghosts).
Safe Home follows Phoebe (Aisha Dee) a twenty-something professional who leaves her job at a prominent law firm to work at a struggling family violence legal centre. As interconnecting stories unfold, relationships are tested and the pressure mounts to save the centre. With so much at stake, Phoebe must navigate a path that isn’t always clear, and people aren’t always as they appear.
The new show comes from the award-winning producer behind Offspring, Puberty Blues and RFDS. Safe Home will be Imogen Banks’ first series under her new production company Kindling Pictures. The series is created by acclaimed playwright Anna Barnes and was inspired by Anna’s time working at a family legal centre in Melbourne.
Barnes shared how her personal experiences of working in the realm of family violence inspired the script.
“Working in the sector, I became aware of the important role the media played in telling stories about family violence. The often sensational news stories significantly influence a lot of the general public’s understanding of this complex issue. In creating Safe Home, we have worked with professionals in the field – so while fictional, its rooted in authenticity and the real-life processes of the legal services.”
Imogen Banks said one of the goals of her new company was to create a space to support new talent, and she was excited about the collaboration.
“In setting up Kindling Pictures, one of my major goals was to find more opportunity for emerging creatives and on Safe Home, with the support of SBS, we have been able to build a hugely exciting team of emerging uber talents, starting with Anna Barnes, who has created a beautifully written smart and complex drama, through to our extraordinary director, the undeniably talented Stevie Cruz-Martin. I could not have asked for a better launch project.” Banks said.
OIP Staff
You can support our work by subscribing to our Patreon
or contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.
