by FilmInk Staff
Safe Haven, a short film shot in the Illawarra and already a semi-finalist at the Academy Award and BAFTA-qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, positions itself as one of the year’s most vital stories.
From AACTA Award-winning filmmaker Francisca Braithwaite (Finding Addison) comes Safe Haven, a fiercely significant and beautifully crafted 16-minute short film now officially in consideration for the 2026 AACTA Awards.
Set in 1970s rural Australia, Safe Haven tells the story of Dr. Celeste Navarro, a brilliant physician, who runs a small medical clinic on the outskirts of town, offering safe, essential care to women with nowhere else to turn. But in a world determined to control women’s bodies, every decision made inside that clinic comes at a cost.
Already recognised internationally as a semi-finalist at the Academy Award and BAFTA qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, the film cast by Faith Martin Casting stars Rachel Gordon (The Twelve, Secret Daughter, Blue Heelers) John Batchelor (Peter Rabbit, Sea Patrol, Red Dog), Maya Stange (Ten Pound Poms, Total Control, Love Child), Francisca Braithwaite (Home and Away, A Place to Call Home) Aria Hart, Stephanie Arezzi, and Ruby Busutil. With powerful supporting work from Karenza Stephens, Jayden LeRoy, Shane Davidson and Chris O’mallon.
Safe Haven features cinematography by Jess Milne, production design by Matt Bonnici, a moving score by Matt Rudduck, and makeup by Angela Brooks. Post-production was completed in collaboration with Cutting Edge.
“This isn’t just about underground medical clinics,” says Braithwaite, “It’s about choice, dignity, and the invisible networks of care that emerge when official systems fail. It’s about the power of ordinary people, especially women taking extraordinary risks to protect one another.”
Braithwaite, the film’s Writer, Director and Producer chose to nominate collaborators Matt Bonnici (Production Designer) and Jess Milne (DOP) for AACTA consideration, alongside her and Jayc Lawrence Sheahan (Associate Producer), a conscious move to reflect the deep creative partnerships that shaped the film’s distinctive tone.
“This was a film made with intention at every level, visual, emotional, structural and those choices weren’t mine alone,” Braithwaite says. “I worked closely with Matt for weeks before cameras rolled, crafting a visual language and colour pallet that felt authentic to the period, grounded in realism, and emotionally resonant with the world we were building.”
Bonnici adds, “for me the female characters in this film helped inform the overall colour pallet and design approach we were taking. The women in this film are all quite grounded which greatly helped me implement the design choices I made”. “To be considered for an AACTA Award nomination for my work on Safe Haven is a huge honour, and I’m deeply grateful to Fran for including me. It’s rare to be part of a project so intentional and socially important and even rarer to be acknowledged as a Production Designer for it alongside such a passionate, committed team.”
Jess Milne (DOP) brought a quiet precision to the project that elevated it,” says Braithwaite. “Her eye for detail, her sensitivity to performance, and her instinct for visual storytelling helped give Safe Haven its emotional core.
Safe Haven is inspired by true events, and touches on themes of women’s rights, reproductive autonomy, rural resistance, and systemic power, timely subjects brought to life through a deeply human lens. It follows Braithwaite’s 2024 AACTA award-winning short Finding Addison, which toured Europe with the French Academy of Cinema and established her as a bold new voice in Australian storytelling.
Safe Haven is available to watch on AACTA TV.
