Ellie & Abbie is a heartfelt and hilarious queer teen rom-com from Sydney-based writer-director Monica Zanetti, who is known for her first feature film Skin Deep which picked up awards and accolades at film festivals. Ellie & Abbie looks set on the same path, already winning over audiences at film festivals all over the world including winning the Audience Award for best narrative at Mardi Gras 2020.
The film is a fresh take on the ‘coming of age, first love story’ and alongside it a nod to the LGBTQI+ activist history in Australia; celebrating the massive inroads to equality made over time. Fifty percent of the cast are LGBTQI+
School captain Ellie has a serious crush on her classmate Abbie, and is worrying over inviting her to the Year 12 formal. When Ellie accidentally spills the beans to her mum and outs herself in the process, things start to get complicated and a little bit spooky. Enter her deceased aunt Tara, 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.
Sophie Hawkshaw (Puberty Blues, Riz) plays Ellie and non-binary actor Zoe Terakes, is Abbie (ABC’s Janet King). Julia Billington is Aunt Tara (Home & Away, Janet King) and Marta Dusseldorp is Erica, Ellie’s mother. Marta is one of Australia’s most recognised actresses, having won an AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a TV Drama for Janet King. Rachel House rounds out the cast as Patty, a previous partner of Aunt Tara’s and now family friend. She is a familiar face in many Taika Waititi films including Hunt for The Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok.
