Michael Noonan is an Australian filmmaker, author and academic. He is a seven-timeIF Magazine, Tropfest Puts Spotlight On Diverse Stories. Retrieved 1 July 2022.Tropfest, Tropfest Finalists 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.Tropfest, Tropfest Finalists 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017. finalist at Tropfest, the world's biggest short film festival,Strachan, Alex, Carina filmmaker chases final dream, South-East Advertiser, 17 February 2012 a two-time AWGIE nominee,Australian Film Commission, Cate Shortland’s Somersault takes out major awards at the AWGIES. Retrieved 29 May 2012.Australian Television Information Archive Australian Writers' Guild Awards. Retrieved 30 May 2012. and winner of Best Documentary at the Inside Film Awards.Australian Film Commission , 2007 IF Awards Winners. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
His PhD in film and television production, titled Laughing & Disability: Comedy, Collaborative Authorship and 'Down Under Mystery Tour,Queensland University of Technology. "Laughing & disability : comedy, collaborative authorship and Down Under Mystery Tour", QUT eprints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/48647/ Retrieved 1 June 2012. was the subject of significant international controversy,Livingstone, T. , "Who's Laughing Now?", The Courier-Mail, 16 June 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2011. some calling it "misanthropic and amoral trash",MacLennan, G. and Hookham, J. , Philistines of relativism at the gates, The Australian, 7 April 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2012. and others celebrating it as an "important contribution" to the representation of disability.Goggin, G. "Laughing at or with the disabled: the cultural politics of disability in Australian universities", Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 17 September 2010.
Features, documentaries and televisionAnomaly (2026) Noonan wrote the original screenplay for the comedy film Anomaly, which is being produced by Searchlight Pictures."‘SNL’ Veteran Rhys Thomas Tapped to Direct ‘Anomaly’ for Searchlight Pictures, Andrew Nunnelly Co-Writing Script (EXCLUSIVE)," Variety , Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2026. The screenplay, originally titled Gobbledygook, was a finalist in The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting in 2023. "Academy unveils 2023 Nicholl Fellowship winners," , Screen Daily. Retrieved 4 March 2024.Unlikely Travellers (2007) Six people take a life-changing trip to Egypt, each with a challenging intellectual disability. They have more baggage than the average tourist, but no less passion. Their two-week trip will test them against the elements, their fears and obsessions and a culture they know little about.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film screened at the Brisbane International Film Festival in 2007Starrs, DB., , "An Interview with Michael Noonan", Brisbane International Film Festival newsletter, August 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2012. and won the IF Award for Best Documentary in the same year.Australian Film Commission, , 2007 IF Awards Winners. Retrieved 31 May 2012. It was broadcast nationally in Australia over three nights (starting Monday, 19 November 2007) on ABC Television.Elliott, T. , Adventures of the Unlikely Travellers, The Age, 15 November 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2012.Down Under Mystery Tour (2010) An intellectually-disabled film director, who wants to make a TV show featuring two blondes travelling around Australia, is forced to use disabled actors instead and must resort to sabotage, violence, voodoo and murder to get them off his set.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film won a Bronze Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival in 2010.Mexico International Film Festival website, . Retrieved 31 May 2012.(s)truth (2003) Noonan wrote one of a series of short mockumentaries, which played with and subverted the documentary and drama genres. The series was broadcast on SBS-TV, Australia.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
Novels
Noonan's debut novel, Childproof, was released on 13 September 2022.Amazon website, Retrieved 22 September 2022.Abe Books website, Retrieved 21 September 2022. His second novel, Hand On The Run, will be released through Little A Books (Amazon) on November 10, 2026.Amazon website, Retrieved 21 February 2026.Hand On The Run (2026) Released on 10 November 2026.Amazon website, Retrieved 21 February 2026.Childproof (2022) When all their friends start young families and their dinner-party lifestyle is ruined, a wealthy couple hires an assassin to kill all the children and restore the adults-only decadence that completes them.Barnes & Noble, Retrieved 22 September 2023. Literary Titan called it "a full-on dark comedy that will entertain and shock readers."Literary Titan, Retrieved 30 October 2022.
Short films
Noonan has worked as a writer, director, producer and editor on an extensive number of short film works.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. These include:Notes To Salma (2019) A woman's strange daily routine comes unstuck.IMDb, Notes To Salma on IMDb. Retrieved 7 March 2020.Dent, Nick Tropfest 2019 Finalists Revealed. Retrieved 27 January 2019.FilmInk magazine DELICIOUSLY DARK COMEDIES, AIR GUITAR HEROES, AND CANDLE SHOP COURTSHIP: TROPFEST 2019 REVEALS FINALIST FILMS. Retrieved 1 March 2019. The film screened at Parramatta Park on 9 February 2019, winning the award for Best Sound Design.Owen, Amy and Genvin In, Australian Cinematographer Magazine Tropfest. Retrieved 1 March 2019.Accomplice (2017) Troubled by his owner's nocturnal activities, a little dog decides to take action.IMDb, Accomplice on IMDb. Retrieved 7 March 2017.The Music, Tropfest Make History With Most Female Finalists In 25 Years. Retrieved 7 March 2017. The film screened at Tropfest 25 at Parramatta Park in Parramatta, Australia on 11 February 2017; it was broadcast via free-to-air television on Channel Eleven, and streamed live on Redbull TV.Australian Financial Review, Red Bull TV and Ten Network sign Tropfest broadcast rights. Retrieved 8 March 2017.Filmink, Tropfest 2017 Finalists Announced. Retrieved 8 March 2017.Evil Mexican Child (2014) In the middle of the Mexican desert, an unsuspecting couple discover a strange, abandoned child with terrifying powers.Tropfest, Tropfest Finalists 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014. The film screened at Tropfest 2014 at Centennial Park in Sydney, Australia, and on broadcast television on SBS2, on 7 December 2014.SBS Online, Here's your Tropfest 2014 finalists. Retrieved 8 December 2014. It was described as "an awesome little film" with "incredibly authentic production design" and "flawless Spanish".Wheeler, C., Tropfest 2014: Top 5 Short Films. Retrieved 21 December 2014.Remote (2013) In the middle of the Mexican desert, a man named Carlos is running out of time.Tropfest, , Tropfest Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2013. The film screened at Tropfest in Sydney, Australia on 17 February 2013.http://www.streetcorner.com.au/news/showPost.cfm?bid=25804&mycomm=SC Photo Booth (2012) Three soldiers find a photo booth in the middle of a war-torn landscape and soon realise it carries a strange but disturbing message for each of them.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film screened at Tropfest in Sydney, Australia in 2012, where it won third-prize.Strachan, Alex. , "Carina filmmaker chases final dream", South-East Advertiser, 17 February 2012Herald-Sun, "Aussie stars turn out for Tropfest film festival 20th anniversary", 20 February 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012. It also screened at the St Kilda Film Festival in May 2012.St Kilda Film Festival program, . Retrieved 30 May 2012.Captive (2012) A confused old man finds a mysterious leaflet in his letterbox and begins to suspect that his name, his home, and the one he calls his "soulmate" are not what they appear to be.St Kilda Film Festival program . Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film screened at the St Kilda Film Festival in May 2012St Kilda Film Festival program, . Retrieved 30 May 2012. and was selected as one of 13 films to tour regional Victoria, Australia in June/July 2012.St Kilda Film Festival website, . Retrieved 30 May 2012. It also screened at Flickerfest, Australia's only Academy Award qualifying festival in January 2013.Bochenski, Natalie "Celluloid gems burn fast and bright at Flickerfest", The Age, 21 February 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.Cecil (2009) Cecil, a demented serial killer, is running out of potential victims until he discovers Facebook—which opens up a whole new world to him.Palm Springs International Shortsfest program, . Retrieved 30-05-12. The film screened at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films in 2010.Palm Springs International Shortsfest program, . Retrieved 30-05-12.Counter (2007) A troubled accountant inherits a mysterious counter that counts for no apparent reason, propelling him on a desperate and ultimately life-changing search for meaning.Screen Australia film database,, Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film screened at Tropfest in 2007QUT News, "Filmmaker counts his success at Tropfest", 6 February 2007, http://www.qut.edu.au/creative-industries/about-the-faculty/news/news?news-id=11416 Retrieved 30-05-12.Applause (2006) Struggling to find motivation, office worker Werner Brim is confronted with a most unusual situation – replacing the couch and coffee table in his office is a live audience...and they want to be entertained.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film screened at Tropfest in 2006 and won the award for Best Screenplay.Urban Cinefile, "Tropfest Final 16 Selected", 9 February 2006, http://www.cinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=11458&s=News_files Retrieved 30-05-12.Slocombe, M, "Filmmaker wins judges applause", 9 March 2006, Brisbane City News.Recall (2005) Nothing usually happens at Graham's Electrical Goods Store in the middle of nowhere. But today is different. The man on the phone says there has been an urgent product recall. The Omega GT238 is potentially dangerous. Graham only sold one of those and she isn't answering her phone. Can a clumsy old man get to his customer on time? Or will he be too late?Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film screened at many international festivals, including AFI Fest in Los AngelesScreen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. and Flickerfest.Flickerfest film catalogue, . Retrieved 1 June 2012. The script was nominated for an AWGIE Award in 2006.Sydney Stage Online, , 2006 AWGIE Nominees. Retrieved 30 May 2012.Australian Television Information Archive, , Australian Writers' Guild Awards. Retrieved 30 May 2012.The People (2004) A bickering couple and their children struggle to come to terms with a strange presence in their home.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The film screened at the St Kilda Film Festival in 2002 and at the Tiburon International Film Festival in March 2004.Fragile (2003) Layth Horrex used to live on the edge: fast cars, death defying stunts, danger at every turn. But things have changed since 'she' left.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012. The script for the film was nominated for an AWGIE Award in 2004.Australian Film Commission, , Cate Shortland's Somersault takes out major awards at the AWGIES. Retrieved 29 May 2012.The Last Aussie Hero (1999) Kip Shearer has a dream: to compete at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. There's just one problem—his event isn't actually part of the Olympics yet... but that's a minor technicality.Screen Australia film database, , Screen Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
Awards