Experiencing Interruptions?

The Circus Lion

A young wrestler’s only way out of his dead-end town and the trauma tied to it, is to fight his way onto the Australian team. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, his fight to escape turns inward, trapping him alongside the very trauma he cannot outrun.

  • Tigran Tovmasian
    Director
  • Tigran Tovmasian
    Writer
  • Tigran Tovmasian
    Producer
    Ugly Baby (In Production)
  • Daniel Havas
    Producer
    Dive, West Inn, Left/right
  • Billy Milionis
    Producer
    Uninhabited, All Saints, 6000 Miles from Hollywood, Bad Day In Belgrade
  • Tigran Tovmasian
    Key Cast
    "Samvel"
    Rules of the game, Greystanes,
  • Kelsey Jeanell
    Key Cast
    "Jasmine"
    Goosebumps, Scrublands
  • Frances Duca
    Key Cast
    "Annahit"
    Ali's Wedding, Doctors, A Lion Returns
  • Panda Likoudis
    Key Cast
    "John"
    Bali 2002, Deep water, All Saints, Home 7 Away, Amazing Grace, Lambs of God
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Coming of age, Sports drama
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 19, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 6k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Tigran Tovmasian

Tigran Tovmasian is a filmmaker and actor based in Western Sydney. He began his career as an actor, training and working across Australia, the U.S., and Europe. With no formal film school background, he stepped behind the camera driven by a desire to tell personal, emotionally grounded stories. He made his directorial debut with The Circus Lion, a drama exploring themes of identity, depression, and belonging. Alongside his work in film, Tigran also teaches acting in Sydney, Australia.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Circus Lion is the most personal story I’ve ever told, because in many ways, it’s my own.

I grew up in Western Sydney, a place full of resilience but also hardship. As a first-generation Australian, I always felt like I was catching up, at school, at home, in life. There wasn’t much space for dreams, especially when you're surrounded by crime, poverty, and generational trauma.

Sam, the main character, runs from his pain, just like I did. But life corners him. He doesn’t get the girl. He doesn't achieve his dreams in wrestling. And when he has nowhere left to run, he’s forced to face everything he’s tried to bury.

The circus in this story isn’t just a setting, it’s a symbol. As a boy, I used to see the lions in the travelling circus: skinny, silent, stuck. I didn’t know then that I was looking at a reflection of myself. Ironically, in the film, the circus becomes Sam’s salvation. It represents the world of art, the world I was too afraid to enter for a long time. In Western Sydney, masculinity is tough, loud, and doesn’t make room for softness or creativity. Desiring a life in art, beyond the borders of my town wasn’t seen as strong. So I hid that part of myself, until life made me choose between staying stuck or stepping into who I really was.

The Circus Lion is about that moment, the reckoning, the choice, the rebirth. It’s about what happens when you stop running from your trauma and start running toward your purpose. And I think many people, especially those who grow up in places where dreaming feels dangerous will understand this story.

Because for all of us, somewhere in the distance, there’s always a travelling circus waiting to be joined.