ACTF News

The television adaptation of Shaun Tan’s bestselling illustrated anthology Tales from Outer Suburbia has been selected to screen at the Annecy Animated Film Festival in France, which celebrates the best of international animation.

Currently in production, the landmark 10 x 22 minute series is being produced by an incredible team of Australian producers, including the Oscar-winning duo behind The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Producer Sophie Byrne (Highly Spirited), and Executive Producer Barbara Stephen and Producer Alexia Gates-Foale from leading animation studio Flying Bark Productions.

Tales from Outer Suburbia is a multi-award-winning book, which has been translated in 28 territories across the world. Director Noel Cleary leads a stunning recreation of the world established in the internationally acclaimed anthology, with a cutting-edge CGI animation with a handcrafted stop-motion look and feel.

Tales from Outer Suburbia begins when ‘almost thirteen-year-old’ Klara and her six-year-old brother Pim move to Outer Suburbia with their newly single mother Lucy. The siblings' summer holiday turns into a series of unexpected and surreal adventures. The family goes on a rollercoaster ride of emotion, encountering weird and miraculous phenomena as they adapt to their new reality.

Established in 1960, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival is one of the world’s leading international animation events. For the 2025 event, the festival received more than 3,900 films from a hundred countries.

Creative Director Shaun Tan said: “It’s a great honour to see Tales from Outer Suburbia participate in the Annecy Festival. This series is a heartfelt reflection on suburban family life, and a labour of love for its inspired creative team. It’s been wonderful to see our shared memories of childhood and family transmuted into beautiful animation, a visual language both otherworldly and universal, where hidden feelings reveal themselves as the most unlikely situations and characters. We hope that both young and old audiences find something thrilling and thought-provoking within our strange little Australian world of cat-girls, deep sea divers, sky fish, unexpected houseguests and secret rooms. Are these not things we’ve all experienced at one time or another?”

Producers Alexia Gates-Foale and Sophie Byrne said: "We are incredibly proud to see Tales from Outer Suburbia featured at Annecy International Animation Festival. This project is a true reflection of Highly Spirited and Flying Bark's creator-led ethos and it was a joy to expand on Shaun Tan’s visionary 'Outer Suburban' world, under the direction of Noel Cleary and supported by our incredible stakeholders. 

“The series tells a uniquely Australian story of two siblings navigating their new life, where nothing is quite as it seems, while exploring themes that resonate universally. Our team has poured their hearts into crafting a visually stunning, emotionally rich series, and we are honoured to share the beauty of Australian animation on this global stage.”

Episode 3 of Tales from Outer Suburbia ‘Distant Rain’ will screen at the Annecy Animated Film Festival from 8 – 14 June 2025. This is the first time any of the series will be seen publicly.

Tales from Outer Suburbia will air on the ABC in Australia and BYUtv in the USA.

Tales from Outer Suburbia is a Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions production for the ABC and BYUtv. Major production investment from Screen Australia and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation in association with ABC. Produced in New South Wales and Western Australia with Siamese and financed with support from Screenwest. International sales by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. Adapted from Shaun Tan's multi-award-winning book Tales from Outer Suburbia. Directed by Noel Cleary. Creative Director: Shaun Tan. Producers: Sophie Byrne and Alexia Gates-Foale.