Rachel Okine Joins Australia’s Aquarius Films as MD

By Patrick Frater

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Seasoned industry executive, Rachel Okine has joined Australian film and TV production company Aquarius Films as its managing director. Until last year she was with STX International in a position covering U.K. theatrical and international sales.

Okine began her career in the acquisitions department of FilmFour in London in 2001. Returning to in 2002, she joined independent film distribution company, Hopscotch, moving from marketing to production. She later became Paris-based VP of international production and acquisitions for French-owned studio and distributor Studiocanal, where she acquired titles for the French, German and Australia / New Zealand markets.

Aquarius, which has strategic partnerships with Universal, Warner Bros. Australia, Anonymous Content, Netflix, Stan, SBS Australia and ABC Australia, aims to have three to five projects in production per year. Okine will report to company founders and principal producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford.

Aquarius is currently working on Guy Pearce’s directorial debut “Poor Boy,” in which Pearce will also star; and the second season of “The Other Guy,” a series featuring Australian comedian Matt Okine, and which screen on Hulu in the U.S. from Feb. 14.

Its recent projects include “Dirt Music,” which premiered at the Toronto festival last year and will be released in 2020; and “The Unlisted,” a 15-part sci-fi TV series for Netflix and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“As Aquarius Films enters a period of expansion, we are delighted to have Rachel Okine join us to shepherd the company through this growth,” said Fielder and Staniford in a statement. “Rachel will also champion our long-term plan to expand Aquarius’ international footprint by working with a range of strategic partners right from the development stage.”