Independent creative studio Heckler has appointed Coralie Tapper as head of film and television, spearheading the studio’s expanding slate of original productions, feature films, scripted series and factual content.
The appointment signals an exciting evolution for Heckler, building on its creative, VFX and post-production expertise to establish a fully integrated film and television division spanning development, financing, production and post.
Following the success of Heckler Original True South, the feature documentary charting the extraordinary history of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, which premiered theatrically earlier this year and is now streaming on Netflix, Heckler has continued to make its mark on the Australian and international screen landscape.
The studio has contributed to a run of films making waves on the festival circuit, including Facing the Numbers, French Girls, Boss Cat and The Witchdoctor and the Windmill, reinforcing Heckler’s growing presence in independent cinema and its commitment to bold, distinctive storytelling.
Meanwhile, Heckler’s design and VFX teams have continued to demonstrate the studio’s creative, most recently delivering the title sequence for Kill Jackie, the new television series starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, released across Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and Stan.
For Heckler co-founder and CEO, Will Alexander, the appointment marks a natural progression for a studio that has always operated at the intersection of creative ambition and technical innovation.
“Heckler has always been about bringing extraordinary creative people together and giving them the freedom to make ambitious work. Moving further into original film and television is a natural evolution of that.
“Coralie has been instrumental in building this side of the business, bringing together the right projects, people and partnerships, and driving them forward with real determination. She’s got a rare understanding of both the creative and commercial sides of filmmaking, and we’re excited to back her as we take Heckler into this next chapter.
“We have the talent, the infrastructure and the international reach. Now it’s about creating more opportunities to tell our own stories.”
For Tapper, whose background spans feature film production, documentary, creative development and post-production, the new role brings together Heckler’s considerable technical and creative capabilities with a clear ambition: to develop and produce original stories for audiences around the world,” she said.
“We’ve spent years building an extraordinary collective of filmmakers, artists and storytellers at Heckler. What’s exciting now is the opportunity to take everything we do so well and bring it into projects from the very beginning, developing ideas, building partnerships, financing productions and seeing stories all the way through to audiences.
We’ve already had an incredible year across our film and television projects, and there’s a real appetite for the kind of ambitious, creatively driven work we want to make. This next chapter is about building on that momentum, backing great talent and creating work that travels.”
The announcement comes as Heckler expands its international industry presence and strengthens relationships across the global film and television market.
