Hi! I’m Mark Poole, a writer and director based in Melbourne, Australia. I’m passionate about creating great works of screen fiction and documentary. Let me know if you are interested in hearing about the feature films and TV series I am developing, or if you need script advice.

My very first feature film screenplay, A Single Life, was produced and screened in 57 territories around the world including Australia and the UK. It won an AFI Award and was an AWGIE nominee. I went on to write the feature Hammers Over the Anvil starring Russell Crowe before moving into documentary. I worked as a writer, producer and director at ABC TV for a number of years before creating St Kilda Films.

My work has been recognised with a number of awards. I was awarded the prestigious Richard Lane Award for screenwriting by the Australian Writers’ Guild. I also won a Certificate of Merit at the St Kilda Film Festival for directing the short film Basically Speaking. My latest short production The Female Gaze made with Lisa French has been invited to the 2022 Toronto Short Film Festival.

I am currently working with director Christina Stenseth on the Screen Australian funded 88 Days a Slave, a documentary about international backpackers being exploited, underpaid and sexually assaulted on Australian farms. I’m also script editing a feature film about a Chinese-Australian family.

I regularly work as a script assessor for the major Australian funding agencies including the Australian Writers’ Guild. I also work as a script editor on feature films and documentaries.

I have a vast array of industry contacts generated from being the head of the Australian Directors Guild (Vic). Previously, I served as National Vice President of the Australian Writers’ Guild and have been on the Boards of both ADG and AWG. I contributed to Screenhub for 15 years covering major industry conferences.

I teach screenwriting, documentary and media and am an Adjunct Research Fellow in screenwriting at La Trobe University. My PhD explored creativity in screenwriting in the work of prominent screenwriter Jan Sardi (The Notebook, Shine, Mao’s Last Dancer). I am the Chair of the RMIT Screenwriting Industry Advisory Committee.