Producer Leanne Tonkes began as a sound engineer at AAV Australia recording artists such as Eurythmics, and Hunters & Collectors.  In 2003, Leanne produced Mittens a Fox Searchlight short film, which made final pre-selection at the 2004 Academy Awards. In 2008 she coproduced Tropfest Finalist White Lines and AFI winning short Dog With Electric Collar. 

 

Leanne produced Director Stephen Lance’s debut feature My Mistress.  The crew include cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson (Shine, The Sessions, Little Women), Academy Award®-nominated editor Jill Bilcock (Moulin Rouge, Red Dog, Elizabeth, Romeo + Juliet), and Academy Award®-winning costume designer Angus Strathie (Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom). The film stars acclaimed French actress Emmanuelle Béart (A Heart in Winter, Manon of the Spring, Mission: Impossible), rising international stars AFI Award winners Harrison Gilbertson (Fallen, Need for Speed, Accidents Happen, Blessed, Beneath Hill 60) and Rachael Blake (Sleeping Beauty, Lantana, Hawke) and will be distributed locally by Transmission with LevelK handling international sales.

 

She is the producer of The Circus, written by Alice Bell to be directed by Emma Freeman. She is developing an adaptation of the best selling novel The Secret Lives of Dresses with Mairi Cameron & Stephen Lance, Tigress by Jane Hampson an adaptation of Niromi De Soyza’s novel Tamil Tigress and The Wedding Season with Menik Gooneratne, Paul Berges and Gurinder Chadha.

 

                         "Leanne Tonkes is a smart creative producer with a strong commercial eye.   All of the projects on her slate are bold stories,

                                                               strongly visual, with a precisely worked out underlyoing logic."

 

- Stephen Cleary  – SAFC Filmlab,   Former Development Head of UK Film