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Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the country where we work and we pay our respects to their Elders, past and present: the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. And also thank the Birpai and Bunurong people, who are the traditional custodians of the country where we grew up, which inspires the stories we tell today.

It always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

About us

We are a film production company based in Melbourne and Sydney, specialising in femme-forward black comedies.

We write feature films and TV and Web series, and produce short films.

Lisa Smithies - she/her

Lisa is co-creator of Punch Buggy Pictures. She has a BA in Film and TV production, a PhD in Creative Writing, and taught screenwriting at Melbourne University. She has worked for decades on numerous independent shorts and several features, and is now developing her own slate. Her first loves are writing and directing, but she will produce if the project (or price ) is right.

Lisa cowrote, produced and directed the short 2020 Vision; wrote the feature screenplay Country Women; co-created the TV-series Dance Quest, and Ghosted; and has new projects in earlier stages. If you ask her to pitch, she might spew, but she’s willing to risk it if you are!

Lisa is based in Melbourne, Australia.

Nyrée Alexander - she/her

A well-known leader in the Sydney dance community, Nyrée came to screenwriting to lend her expertise to the TV project Dance Quest, then fell in love with writing. Nyrée is co-creator of Punch Buggy Pictures. She has decades of experience producing live entertainment events for some of Australia’s best-know companies, including: The Cancer Council, Sony BMG Music, and the AFI Awards.

In 2024, Nyrée cowrote, produced and directed the short film 2020 Vision; she also co-wrote the TV series Dance Quest and Ghosted, and is currently working on a feature script called Grand Delusions.

Nyrée is based in Sydney, Australia.