Experiencing Interruptions?

Eros.

Having never experienced romantic love, autistic university student Max decides she’s going to get it. Somehow. She’ll figure out the how later.

  • Zoe McDonagh
    Writer
  • Spike Hogan
    Director
    Questions. Consent. Guilt & Blame. (2024)
  • Zoe McDonagh
    Director
  • Jocelyn Moorhouse
    Executive Producers
    The Dressmaker (2015)
  • PJ Hogan
    Executive Producers
    Muriel's Wedding (1994)
  • Zoe McDonagh
    Producer
  • Spike Hogan
    Producer
  • Zoe McDonagh
    Key Cast
    "Max"
    Nina (2021)
  • Jaime Ureta
    Key Cast
    "Daniel"
    Here Out West (2022)
  • Peter Maple
    Key Cast
    "Noel"
    Streets of Colour (2023)
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Romance
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 24, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    25,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Spike Hogan, Zoe McDonagh

Born in Melbourne, Spike moved to the USA with his family when he was 4, and received his education in California. Having grown up with two director parents, storytelling has always been his passion. Having spent his formative years making films with his friends, he made it his dream to become a screenwriter and film director.

After graduating high school, Spike attended both the Los Angeles Arts Institute and then later Dodge College of Film and Television, (part of Chapman University). In 2011 he moved to Sydney, Australia and since returning he has been directing short films and theatre pieces. His short film directing credits include “When We Were Younger” (2014), “Questions, Consent, Guilt, and Blame” (2024). He has also been working as a production assistant on the television productions, Les Norton (2019), Wakefield (2020), Savage River (2022) and most recently Bay of Fires - season 2 (2024) on which he also did some second unit directing.

Born in Australia but raised in Abu Dhabi, Zoe fell in love with film as a way to connect with the world around her particularly as a person with autism. Film became an avenue for exploration, compassion, and freedom.

A graduate of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) with an Advanced Diploma in Screenwriting and the Screen Actors Studio at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

"Eros." is her screenwriting and directorial debut.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I initially wrote “Eros.” because I struggled to find relatable depictions of autistic women like myself and my friends in media that didn’t portray us as unfeeling savants or victims of our own condition. An aspect of life as an autistic person I felt wasn’t fully explored was love. To me, love is a language I don’t speak but desperately wish I did. I wanted to create a film that told a profoundly ordinary story about seeking love and I knew the perfect person to direct this story, Spike.

Zoe approached me with the script for “Eros.” telling me she wanted to create a slice of life story about the trials and tribulations of a young autistic woman. I’ve grown up in a filmmaking family, having spent most of my life on film sets. But I have also grown up with two autistic siblings so this story resonated deeply with me. I set out with a goal to tell not solely a love story but a story about communication. Not just between two love interests, but between father and daughter, as communication is the foundation for any relationship, romantic or familial.

While we started out as a director-screenwriter team, along the way we realised we had such a unified vision for the film we were actually working as co-directors. We combined Spike’s experience with Zoe’s personal connection to create an authentic and compassionate story of seeking love for the first time.

For further information about Spike’s experiences with his siblings, there is the Australian Story episode “How filmmaker parents learnt to love autism” and corresponding ABC article.