by FilmInk Staff
Isaac Elliott’s crowd-pleasing Australian documentary heads to cinemas nationally through Halo Films, with Q&A screenings in six cities
Fresh from its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival, where it won the Intrepid Audience Award, Australian feature documentary Hard As Puck will hit cinemas nationally this November through Halo Films.
Written and directed by Isaac Elliott and produced by Noel Smyth and Chanel Bowen, Hard As Puck takes audiences inside the Garden Island Pirates, a scrappy para ice hockey club in Perth, Western Australia, where the summers are scorching, the ice rinks are few and keeping a grassroots sporting club alive proves almost as bruising as anything that happens on the ice.
Following its successful MIFF premiere and subsequent festival screenings, Hard As Puck will next screen at CinefestOZ before beginning its national theatrical run in November.
“Hard as Puck had an excellent audience response at Melbourne International Film Festival winning the Intrepid Audience Award. Halo is excited to bring this title to national Australian audiences in November and foresee continued successes as the film premieres across the country” Ian Hale, Halo Films
The Garden Island Pirates shouldn’t really exist. They have no money, no sponsors and barely enough players, relying on grants and the determination of a handful of volunteers to keep the club going.
When enigmatic founder and chief grant procurer Dan Perrett prepares to step away, the Pirates are thrown into turmoil. Club politics, personality clashes, fundraising woes and hard-fought battles on the ice follow as the players struggle to keep their club – and their sport – alive.
Then comes an unexpected opportunity: the first-ever Women’s World Championships in Slovakia, and a chance for some of the Pirates to represent Australia and become part of sporting history.
In a fitting full-circle moment, the Newcastle screening of Hard As Puck on November 20 has been arranged in conjunction with Ice Hockey Australia and World Para Ice Hockey, just days before Newcastle hosts the second-ever Women’s World Para Ice Hockey Championships. Running from November 24–29 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium, the tournament will see Australia take on some of the world’s leading para ice hockey nations, including the USA, Canada, Norway and Great Britain.
Funny, warm and refreshingly unsentimental, Hard As Puck captures the messy reality of grassroots sport: the politics, friendships, sausage sizzles, bureaucracy and sheer bloody-mindedness required to keep a volunteer club running. It’s Rats in the Ranks meets Cool Runnings, with a little more swearing and a lot more bruises.
For Elliott, himself a wheelchair user, it was important that Hard As Puck resist the unfortunate familiar conventions of documentaries about disabled athletes and instead allow its participants to be funny, competitive, stubborn, complicated people.
“I wanted to make a film about the challenges people face running a sports club,” says Elliott. “The politics. The personality clashes. The sausage sizzles, and the often under-appreciated efforts it takes to make sure it all happens.”
Hard As Puck is Elliott’s feature documentary directorial debut. His previous work includes co-creating and directing episodes of ABC/Netflix series MaveriX, for which he received ADG and AACTA Award nominations, and documentaries for VICE, SBS and ABC.
The film also marks the feature producing debut of regional disabled producer and Access Coordinator Chanel Bowen, alongside acclaimed documentary filmmaker Noel Smyth (Camino Skies, Gloriavale). The production was committed to increasing disability representation both in front of and behind the camera.
Screen Australia Head of Documentary Richard Huddleston said, “Hard As Puck demonstrates the ability of documentary storytelling to connect audiences with extraordinary stories found in everyday communities. Entertaining, insightful and deeply human, the film captures the perseverance and the passion of people who dedicate themselves to keeping something they love alive against all the odds. We congratulate the team on winning the Intrepid Audience Award at MIFF and on the upcoming national cinema release.”
“This four year ride has been worth it to feel the audience responses in cinema and hear their reactions to the world and characters we captured. This cinematic documentary is gorgeous, funny and heartfelt and should be experienced on the big screen,” said producer Chanel Bowen.
The film’s key participants include Garden Island Pirates founder Daniel Perrett, club leaders and players Belinda Green, Michael Francis, Rosa-Lee Principe and Cliff Nutt, Australian women’s para ice hockey coach Dawn Watt, and UK commentator, Freya Levy.
Written and directed by Isaac Elliott, Hard As Puck is produced by Noel Smyth and Chanel Bowen, with executive producers Bec Bignell and Ian Hale. Smyth also serves as cinematographer, with Cindy Clarkson as editor, Ned Beckley as composer and Brad Habib as sound designer.
Hard As Puck is a Forward Media and Norfolk Pictures production, in association with Cocktatoo Co.Lab & Zacka Films. Principal production funding from Screen Australia, in association with Screenwest and Lotterywest, Sandbox Productions, Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund, VicScreen, Documentary Australia, Shark Island Foundation and Regional Arts WA. Local distribution by Halo Films.
Hard As Puck is in select Australian cinemas nationally from November 4, distributed by Halo Films
HARD AS PUCK – AUSTRALIAN Q&A SCREENINGS
PERTH
Luna Palace Cinemas, 155 Oxford St, Leederville
Wednesday November 4 at 5:45pm
Q&A with Chanel Bowen, Rosa-Lee Principe, Mike Francis, Cliff Nutt, Belinda Green and Daniel Perrett
Tickets: https://lunapalace.com.au/events/hard-as-puck-qa
ADELAIDE
The Piccadilly, 181 O’Connell St, Nth Adelaide
Friday, November 6 at 7:00pm
Q&A with Isaac Elliott
Tickets: https://wallis.com.au/piccadilly_events/hard-as-puck/
MELBOURNE
Lido Cinema, 675 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn
Saturday, November 7 at 3:00pm
Q&A with Isaac Elliott, Noel Smyth
Tickets: https://www.lidocinemas.com.au/events/hard-as-puck-qa-screening
SYDNEY
Dendy Cinemas Newtown, 261 King St Newtown
Friday, November 13 at 6:00pm
Q&A with Isaac Elliott, Chanel Bowen
Tickets: https://newtown.dendy.com.au/hard-as-puck–qa-screening
BRISBANE
The Elizabeth Picture Theatre, 175 Elizabeth St, Brisbane City
Sunday, November 15 at 6:00pm
Q&A with Isaac Elliott, Chanel Bowen
Tickets: https://www.fivestarcinemas.com.au/the-elizabeth/movie/hard-as-puck
NEWCASTLE
Special screening held in conjunction with Ice Hockey Australia and World Para Ice Hockey ahead of the 2026 Women’s World Championships in Newcastle.
Tower Cinemas, 183 King St, Newcastle
Friday, November 20 at 6:30pm
Q&A with Isaac Elliott, Chanel Bowen, Belinda Green, Dawn Watt and Rosa-Lee Principe
Tickets: https://www.fivestarcinemas.com.au/newcastle/movie/hard-as-puck
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