Aquarius Films, the production company behind the series mixtape and the rare suspect, is set to close the door in 18 years.
The pair, who founded the company in 2007, moved to film and television, cutting their teeth with a handful of short films, including David Michôd’s Crossbow and Otherland Dwarf, before building a catalogue of five feature films and eight television series of 50 hours of content.
Highlights include Academy Award-nominated Lion, Sundance Premiere, hoping you were here, Berlin Syndrome and Savage River from the series, private, other guys, love, unusual suspects.
Throughout its history, Aquarius has been completely independent of projects for a variety of streamers and distributors, including Netflix, Universal, Entertainment One, Memento, Cornerstone, Levelk, Hopscotch, Transmission, Hulu, Acorn, Binge, Foxtel, Stan, ABC, SBS, APC, Warner Bros. Australia, DCD Rocer, DCD Rocer, DCD Rocer, and DCD Rocer, and other projects for a variety of streamers and distributors.
Fielder and Staniford will continue to develop a small number of existing projects in slate as a team.
The company’s winding announcement was followed by the launch of a drama mixtape at SXSW in Austin in March, and won the Audience Award in the TV Spotlight category. The series was screened on Foxtel and Binge in June, and it had its UK premiere on BBC Two and BBC Iplayer in July, breaking the streaming charts during Debut Week.
Based on the monthly article, “The True Love of Nauru,” by journalist Abdul Karim Hekmat, the pair continues to collaborate with the project, which continues to collaborate, is a feature film paradise. The rest of the slate is still resolved.
Looking back on this decision, Fielder said he was “prideful” on everything she and Staniford have achieved in Aquarius films over the past 18 years.
“From a humble beginning, we’ve been making short films from our kitchen tables, so it was a joy to build a business with such a great friend and colleague,” she said.
“We’ve been fortunate to have worked with so many incredible creatives, staff and partners. I’m forever grateful for these collaborations. This is an exciting transition for Polly and me, and I’m excited that this next chapter has for each and every one of us.”
Staniford said it was bittersweet to say goodbye to the Aquarius movie, but said the pair felt a strong call to explore new directions.
“I want to thank the incredible writers, directors, cast, crew, fundraising partners and collaborators who took part in this incredible journey,” she said.
“Aquarius would never have been without you. And I am very grateful to Angie for this incredible 18 years of collaboration. This is a celebration of everything we have built, and a powerful new beginning.”
