Zara Symes

ZARA SYMES is an Australian-Scottish filmmaker whose writing focuses on identity, the female experience and sexuality within highly engaging genre worlds. Zara’s adaptation of New York Times bestselling novel THE TAKING OF ANNIE THORNE for The Imaginarium is now out to broadcasters with Richard Armitage attached to star, and Zara is currently co-adapting Victor Hugo’s classic THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME for Intaglio Films with Charles Dance attached to star. Her six-part original feminist horror anthology HER HORROR (previously greenlit at AMC) is available, and Zara is also developing new original murder mystery series THORNBACKS to pitch. 

Zara has written and produced several award-winning short films – ON AIR starring Dr Who’s Mandip Gill and PUFF (Zara’s short film directing debut) – both of which premiered at Frightfest, the UK’s premiere genre film festival and London Short Film Festival among other prestigious international festivals. PUFF was recently awarded Best Microshort Film by the BFI 225 Film Club’s Female Excellence in Direction awards.

Her next short film HE DIED BUT WOULDN’T LEAVE, a body horror interrogating the end-of-life care of aging parents which Zara has written and will direct, has been commissioned for production in 2024 by Erebus Pictures.

She is a member of BAFTA Connect and has worked extensively with NBCUniversal as a script editor and development coordinator across new and returning series, and as script consultant on the studio’s Venice Berlinale nominated multi-narrative VR/AR series ELEVEN ELEVEN. Zara’s two episodes of Big Finish radio drama DARK SHADOWS: THE TONY AND CASSANDRA MYSTERIES are available on Audible.