Draft:Aaron McCann

Aaron McCann (born 14 November, 1983) is an Irish-born Australian filmmaker.

Biography
McCann was born in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to Perth, Western Australia, with his family when he was six years old. He attended Ursula Frayne Catholic College before later studying Film and Television at North Metropolitan TAFE.

Career
McCann started his career as an actor, performing in various comedy web-series and short films. He gained international recognition with his online web series Henry & Aaron’s 7 Steps to Superstardom, which he co-created, co-wrote, and co-starred with his friend Henry Inglis. The series was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and ScreenWest and featured guest appearances by celebrities such as Anthony Jeselnik, Tim Minchin, and Christiaan Van Vuuren. The series also spawned several viral videos, such as Set Yourself Free and It’s a Snap, which collectively gathered more than 37 million views on YouTube.

In 2011, McCann co-directed, co-wrote, and co-produced his first horror short film Perished, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and won several awards at international film festivals. The film was later included in the anthology films Zombie World 2 (2018) and Zombie Wars (2020).

In 2017, McCann co-directed, co-wrote, and co-produced his first feature-length film Top Knot Detective, a mockumentary about a fictional Japanese samurai TV show. The film was also commissioned by the ABC and ScreenWest and received critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike. The film was nominated for Best Feature Film at the AACTA Awards and won Best Comedy at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival.

In 2019, McCann co-directed his second feature-length film Koko: A Red Dog Story, a documentary about the life of Koko, the dog who starred in the Australian film Red Dog. The film was produced by Nelson Woss, the producer of Red Dog, and featured interviews with Koko’s owner Carol Hobday, Red Dog director Kriv Stenders, actor Jason Isaacs and comedian Fiona O’Loughlin. The film was well received by critics and audiences and won the Audience Award at the CinefestOZ Film Festival.

In 2020, McCann contributed writing to the ABC/BBC series The_Heights_(Australian_TV_series) and the ABC comedy series At Home Alone Together. He also became a semifinalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting with his sci-fi/comedy screenplay Big Red, which he co-wrote with Dominic Pearce. The screenplay was later adapted into a novel of the same name by McCann and Pearce.

In 2021, McCann produced and directed the comedy web series Hug the Sun, which he co-created with Melbourne comedy group Aunty Donna. The series is a parody of Australian children’s TV shows from the 1990s, such as Play School, Lift Off and Round the Twist. The series was released on YouTube and received positive reviews from critics and fans.

McCann is currently in development on a slate of projects through his production company Banshee Hills, which he founded with Pearce in 2018. He is also a board member of the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) and the Professional Film Crew of Western Australia (PFCWA).

Select Filmography

 * The Juggers Are Coming producer and director
 * Hug The Sun (2021) also producer
 * At Home Alone Together (2020) segment director
 * Koko: A Red Dog Story (2019) also writer
 * Top Knot Detective (2017) also writer
 * Set Yourself Free (2014) also writer
 * Henry & Aaron's ABC2 Christmas Special (2013) also writer and actor
 * It's A Snap! (2012) also writer and actor
 * Perished (2011) also producer and writer