A burned out photographer visits her boyfriend’s sister in the country-side town of Lara, and must confront questions about the future she’s never envisaged.
Writer/Director Leah Baulch was supported by a Geelong Waterfront Film grant for Lara, which was shot in Melbourne and Lara, and produced by Dos Hermanas Productions.
The film stars Olivia Fildes (Sunflower) as Emily, Darcy Kent (Warnie, New Gold Mountain) and Baulch as Genevive.
Lara is a coming of age film exploring the pain of shedding ones own skin to make way for a new beginning.
Upon graduating the fulltime program at 16th Street Actors Studio, she initiated The Actors Theatre Collective (as co-Artistic Director), whose activities included the staging of play-readings, a film festival, and several smaller theatrical productions (Heirloom – Glen Eira Festival; Cowboy Mouth).
In 2020, she released Hangs web series, a four-part dramedy. Recent performance work includes comedy series High Grades (Honeycomb Productions), Pygmalion (Australian Shakespeare Co) and We Were There (Chapel Off Chapel).
Short film “Lara” received a grant from Geelong Waterfront Film Foundation in 2023. “Lara” takes audiences on an emotional journey. Filmed in the town of Lara itself, the film’s setting is beautifully authentic, even featuring the well-known Lara sign as the characters drive into town. The film stars Olivia Fildes (Sunflower), Darcy Kent (Neighbours, Warnie, Offspring), and Leah Baulch. Producer Natalia Bornay of Dos Hermanas Productions completed the team.
“The entire team really dug deep into this story. It’s surprising that we’ve come out with something so moving considering this team had never worked together before. The film is complex, but still relatable. The dedication from this team was huge – to brave the intense summer heat outdoors, long travel times to set, and a lot of emotional vulnerability. But I’m so happy that we had the team we did because there was so much support and passion, and it shows in the final product.”
A cast and crew private screening of “Lara” was held at The Pivotonian Cinema in Geelong and a public screening will take place on 9 April 2026.
A producer, writer and actor, Leah is also a post-production editor and voiceover specialist.
