Biografia
As a founding member of the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AFI/AACTA), Franco's early films—'Waiting 'Round Wynyard,' 'La Scala Lo Scalone' (Stairs and Staircases), and 'Bad News Bachelors'—were showcased at festivals in Sydney, San Francisco, London, and Edinburgh, and were acquired by SBS, TV1 Sweden, and NOS The Netherlands. He directed 'The Artist, The Peasant' and 'The Joys of the Women' for ABC, with the latter released theatrically and nominated for an Australian Film Critics Circle Award. As producer of the groundbreaking series 'A Change of Face,' he challenged Australian identity and ethnic stereotypes on screen; the series earned nominations at the BANFF Television Awards and UN Media Peace Awards. His film 'Pipe Dreams' ranked among ABC's highest-rated programs that year. Other successes include SBS productions 'No Milk No Honey,' 'Who Do You Think You Are?,' 'Hoover's Gold,' and 'The Fabulous Flag Sisters,' the last of which also aired on Fox Italy and won the Jury Prize at Rome Fiction Fest. Franco directed the mini-series 'Three Forever' (Tre per sempre), starring Bud Spencer and produced by Domenico Procacci of Rome-based Fandango; it aired on SBS and RAI in Italy, attracting over 7 million viewers, and was also sold to France and Germany. His film 'Death of the Megabeasts' screened in the U.S., France, and Australia, winning a Gold Remi Award at the Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival. 'Skin Deep,' presold to SBS and Arte France and produced by Venice Gold Lion Award winner Marco Visalberghi, was another of his works. His 'Jack the Ripper - Prime Suspect' aired on Network 7 in Australia and UK-TV, was distributed by BBC International, and sold to Netflix U.S. He produced the drama series 'Under the Skin,' which won an AFI/AACTA Award for Best Miniseries and two Australian Writers Guild Awards, including for 'The Long Ride' by Tony Ayers, creator of the global hit 'Clickbait.' The episode 'Best Wishes' by Monica Pellizzari was screened at the Venice International Film Festival. As SBS Executive, he contributed to the landmark indigenous package 'From Sand to Celluloid' and Rolf de Heer's feature film 'The Quiet Room.' The episode 'No Way To Forget' by Richard Frankland was shown in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, while 'The Quiet Room' competed in the Official Competition. Franco also served as Executive Producer on 'East Timor - Birth of a Nation,' narrated by Academy Award–winning actor Cate Blanchett; 'Uncle Chatzkel,' produced by Oscar winner Emile Sherman ('The King's Speech'); and 'Salvatore Zofrea - Master of Light,' produced by Richard Mordaunt, Diana Barbara, and Kim Mordaunt ('The Rocket'). He directed the romantic comedy 'Big Mamma's Boy,' featuring Holly Valance and Frank Lotito; the film screened at CinefestOz, was released nationally in Australia by Madman Entertainment, and sold to Fox Movies. He directed 'The New MoMA' for DAM - Design Art Magazine and produced 'Forgiveness Day' for The New York Times. Franco wrote the mini-series 'The Rocky Road' and the feature film 'Chasing Sophia,' and co-wrote the Cold War spy drama 'Little Europe.
