Find Your Own Way

Aussie
Rules

An independent Australian feature, a Chinese immigrant boy, a broken-down footy coach, and the season that teaches them both the rules of belonging.

Coming Soon
Poster or key art, e.g. Wang on the footy oval at dusk
The Film

Project
Summary

Aussie Rules is an independent Australian film from a small team of multicultural filmmakers, telling an uplifting story of the immigrant experience through the eyes of a twelve-year-old Chinese boy, set against the backdrop of Australian Rules Football in the early 1990s.

The Asian voice and experience remains underrepresented in Australian media. Few films or television shows tell the story of this demographic and their journey into Australian society, despite experiences rich with drama, humour and cultural significance. Our aim is to share some of those stories in a film with universal appeal.

Australian-Chinese writer and director Si-Yu Zhang, the child of first-generation Chinese immigrants, helms the film, writing from his own experience and the stories of other immigrants, in what is a deeply personal project.

Together with a small group of experienced filmmakers and artists from diverse backgrounds, and as a truly independent production, we're working with a lean budget and strategic partnerships with local and government resources to realise our vision.

Production or location photo, footy oval, camp grounds, or behind-the-scenes
The Story

Story Synopsis

Set in 1991, Wang is the twelve-year-old son of first-generation Chinese immigrants to Australia. Bullied at school for looking different, and finding it hard to adapt to a new culture and environment, Wang is eager to learn and desperate to make new friends and fit into his new home.

With the help of his mum Tracy, Wang decides to attend the annual footy camp held by his high school in Geelong, Victoria, where neighbouring schools compete in a series of matches as the culmination of camp season.

Through difficulty and perseverance at the camp, and a range of diverse, unique Australian characters along the way, Wang develops new friendships and bonds with his teammates. The game of AFL, and Australia itself, serve as the backdrop to his journey through learning the "Australian rules."

Footy camp in action, teammates, training drills, or match day
In His Words

Director's Statement

Aussie Rules is a film that feels like I've been developing almost my entire life.

Thinking back to my mother uprooting her whole life for a better future in a foreign land, I'm filled with awe, excitement and great admiration. I'm also filled with memories of myself as a young boy struggling to adapt to an alien environment, the culture shock of Western culture and the fear and shame of looking and sounding "different".

As a Chinese kid in the early 90s, there wasn't much for me to connect with. We didn't have Asian grocery stores everywhere, no representation in the media, and there weren't any other kids at my school who looked like me. What connection we had to our 'home' back in China was much more than the mere tap of an app away.

The desire to create this film came from a yearning to see such a seminal period in Australian history represented on screen: my own history, and the history of a generation of other Chinese people.

Aussie Rules will find an intimate realism in bringing to life my lived experiences as a first-generation Chinese-Australian immigrant, and by casting a Chinese-Australian actor in the leading role of Wang.

Wang's story is universal, an on-the-cusp teenager trying to find his place in the world. But his predicament is exaggerated because he's searching for this while looking, sounding, and feeling different to almost everyone around him.

Equally lost, Travis, his football coach, hopes to find the same: an alcoholic who's lost touch with his life. His friendship with Wang offers him a thread to reconnect with the world and find acceptance for who he has become.

The script was developed with the idea that the search and longing for acceptance and connection was universal. In a time and society where tolerance feels more and more under threat, I hope my story from 30 years ago can show us what the simple act of acceptance can do: that someone else who may not look or sound like anybody else can take comfort in Wang's story.

The story I'm trying to tell is intimate, deeply personal, and innovative. But it's also crowd-pleasing, energetic, funny, and inclusive. This is the story of racism, inequality and struggle, but also the story of perseverance, acceptance, and triumph. This is a 'small' film, but for me it's a lifetime's story, the scope of which I cannot put into words.

I can't wait to share it with you.

Si-Yu Zhang

Why Geelong

Cultural Impact

The story of Chinese immigrants coming to Australia is rich and closely woven into the fabric of Australian culture. The first wave planted roots decades ago in the City of Geelong, which are still there today.

Their stories of struggle and perseverance have largely been left untold in the Australian media. Still, their inclusion in the community since the late 1980s has left a significant imprint on the local identity and heritage of the City of Geelong.

These multicultural identities have been fostered through the sports programs found in the City of Greater Geelong, as well as the academic and recreational institutions that have welcomed them with great enthusiasm and embraced their inclusion into the community ever since. We aim to tell some of these stories in our feature film Aussie Rules through partnerships with two mainstays of the Greater Geelong region: Anakie Football and Netball Club, and Baanya Biyami camp.

Geelong region, Anakie FNC grounds or Baanya Biyami camp

Baanya Biyami Camp

Baanya Biyami has been welcoming kids of all backgrounds to its camp for over 30 years. Combined with its work with Avalon College, it has a long history of integrating international students into the wider Australian community and giving them cultural opportunities.

This parallels our main character, a Chinese boy eager to adapt and learn Australian culture and history, and to foster his own Australian identity through the sport of Australian Rules Football. The camp gives our film a creative and historic background to showcase his journey, from learning about nature, to the Indigenous history of the land the camp is built on, and the cultural nuances that come with being "Australian."

Anakie Football & Netball Club

Our partnership with the Anakie Football and Netball Club is equally essential to our film. Now in its centenary year, Anakie FNC has been an integral pillar of community in the Greater Geelong region, allowing children from multiple townships and backgrounds a place to gather, play sport and build friendships.

This vital access to the cultural institution of Australian sport is a key theme we will showcase and reflect on in our film.

Community On-Screen

Together with the club, we'll bring multiple communities within the Greater Geelong region together to play Australian Rules Football on their newly renovated grounds, and showcase the diversity of its residents and players on film.

We'll also hold large-scale community barbeques on the club grounds, which will feature in our film as a backdrop and bring together multiple communities within the Stony Creek region, gatherings that haven't been possible since before COVID-19.

The sport of Australian Rules Football is often an opportunity given to those from multicultural backgrounds as an avenue into the wider Australian community and culture. By shooting our film in the Greater City of Geelong region and showcasing these values through a historic lens, we hope to teach, inform, and entertain our audience.

In Their Words

Letters of Support

Aussie Rules has secured written endorsement from the City of Greater Geelong and formal in-kind support (venue, grounds and extras talent) from both Anakie Football & Netball Club and Baanya Biyami.

City of Greater Geelong
Re: Letter of support for Aussie Rules by Pocketsqr Productions
30/11/2026

I am writing in enthusiastic support of the funding application for Pocketsqr Production's latest project, 'Australian Rules'.

As Manager of Business and Industry Experience, which includes the Arts & Cultural Development (now Creative City) team, it is a pleasure to support Pocketsqr's vision for the Australian Rules film on behalf of the City.

We see great importance in the history and stories of the Geelong region being represented on screen, as well as the history of the Chinese community who have for decades significantly impacted and enriched the local identity and heritage of the City of Greater Geelong.

The Geelong region partnerships for the film, Anakie Football Club and Baanya Biyami camp, show important engagement and a community-focused ambition for the film, dedicated to authentically representing the area and groups involved.

It's been fantastic hearing the stories about the multicultural communities that have been fostered through the long-running sports programs in Geelong, and in turn the enthusiasm for this film.

The talents, skill and artistic merit of the team are evident through the many internationally and nationally acclaimed projects, and we look forward to Si-Yu Zhang using his extensive experience in film and television to tell this immensely personal coming-of-age story based in Geelong.

The City of Greater Geelong wholeheartedly endorses Pocketsqr's pursuit of funding for Aussie Rules, sharing in the excitement and anticipation for its realisation, and acknowledges the important contribution the film aims to make to our local community and beyond.

Yours sincerely,

Brendan Sanders
Manager, Business & Industry Experience, City of Greater Geelong
Anakie Football & Netball Club
Demotts Road, Anakie, Vic. 3221

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Heath Menhennet and I am the President of the Anakie Football and Netball Club. Located at the foothills of the Brisbane Ranges near Geelong, we are a small country club with a rich history that has been an integral part of the local landscape dating back to 1914.

I am writing to express my strong support for the independent film production Aussie Rules by Pocketsqr Productions.

I met with James Polidoras and Si-Yu Zhang from Pocketsqr at our Club Headquarters and was excited by the film project proposed to me. Their film's central storyline of a young Asian immigrant trying to find a sense of belonging through Australian Rules Football echoes key values of our club community. AFNC has members whose backgrounds and identities are similar to the themes and experiences central to this project.

Pocketsqr also approached us with a request to use our youth team players, who have reacted to the opportunity to appear in a feature film with great enthusiasm and anticipation.

With the Club currently in its centenary year, I believe this project will bring our community together, give our young players exposure to the arts in a way that they usually wouldn't have access to, and create amazing memories that they will be able to look back on fondly.

It's with excitement that we're able to provide in-kind support for venue hire and extras talent for Australian Rules.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Heath Menhennet
President, Anakie Football & Netball Club (ABN 21 255 820 281)
Baanya Biyami
Wadawurrung Country, Staughton Vale

To Whom It May Concern:

We are Louise Kerwin-Brook and Jeffrey Brook. As the owner/operators of Baanya Biyami, we express our strong support for Si-Yu Zhang's project, Aussie Rules, a Pocketsqr Production. Located on Wadawurrung Country (Staughton Vale), Baanya Biyami means 'Camp of Great Spirit' in First Nations language. Since the 1980s, it has been a place of adventure and community for thousands of Victorian children, especially from the Geelong region. Here, children and adults have forged long-lasting friendships and experienced meaningful connections to the land, each other and their deeper true self. Every visit to Baanya Biyami instils a deep sense of place and belonging, creating cherished memories that last a lifetime.

Si-Yu Zhang and James Polidoras approached us about using our venue as a key location for their upcoming film, Aussie Rules. After discussing their film proposal, we were very excited to discover that the themes and values at the heart of the film aligned very strongly with our own and that of Baanya Biyami. In particular, the story follows a young, first-generation immigrant as they navigate Australian life to find belonging among peers and a local sports team. Their passion and enthusiasm moved us, and this solidified our desire to work with and provide support for the project.

We have over 25 years of experience working with international students at Avalon College. These students, aged from 10 to 17 years old, leave their families in their home country and travel to Avalon College (Geelong) to pursue their education. Avalon College is generally their first exposure to living in a new country. Challenges exist every day for them, from making friends, the language, food, smells, sounds, animals, sports, and countryside; everything needs to be navigated by these students without their families close by to support them.

We understand the difficulty and culture shock these extraordinary young people experience when making such a big life change, and seeing this reflected on screen is important and long overdue.

We have received countless offers to use our location for other film and TV projects and have not entertained the majority of them, because we are steadfast in protecting the beliefs and values of what Baanya Biyami represents: a place of connection.

We are confident in the ability of the filmmakers of Aussie Rules to bring this important story to life with a high level of quality.

It is with pleasure that we're able to provide the filmmakers of Aussie Rules with in-kind support through venue and facility use, and we wholeheartedly support this project.

Louise Kerwin-Brook & Jeffrey Brook
Owner/Operators, Baanya Biyami

Bring This Story to Screen

Aussie Rules is an independent Australian film, and independent films are built on the people who believe in them. If this story resonates with you, we'd love to hear from you, whether that's collaborating, supporting the production, or simply saying hello.