Media & Articles

Racheal Leigh is an Australian microdrama screenwriter, producer and director based in Tasmania. She founded Star Rae Productions in 2009, then later added Koala Reels, Vertical Drama Scripts and the Tamar Valley Film Festival.

Racheal is the only Australian microdrama screenwriter accepted into the Anamana 100 Creators Program and the Sundance TikTok Micro-Series Incubator, and the first Australian to be asked to speak on a Social Peta International Forum.

This page collects articles she has written, press coverage of her work and events, and recordings of panels and talks.

Upcoming Interviews / Panels:

University Of Sydney – Short Drama Panel @ 1.30pm AEST – Friday 06 November, 2026
Racheal will be part of a panel discussing the short drama / microdrama scene in Australia, and AI short drama production.

Neighbours & the world of bite-size shows

ABC National Radio – Critics Corner, [10 October 2026]

The iconic TV show Neighbours is set to get a second life… as a short-form series designed to be watched on smartphones. Short-form video is a thriving industry. Microdrama content on YouTube surpassed 6.5 billion views globally in the first half of this year.  So, who is watching and how is bite-size storytelling making an impact?  

Racheal Leigh, Tasmanian-based vertical drama and microdrama screenwriter and producer, spoke with Hilary Harper.

Listen Here

Australia is finally building a room for this

The Vertical Daily, [August 2026]

This international vertical-drama newsletter notes that Koala Reels and Dingo Drama were staging Australia’s first microdrama forum, an online day of eight panels.

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AI Short Drama 2.0: From Content Generation to Content Intelligence

Social Peta AI Short Drama Forum

SocialPeta online panel, [13 August, 2026]

Racheal Leigh joined Noreen Sodhi (CEO, Argyle Media), Prithavi Srivastava (Founder, Resounai) and Pankaj Uniyal (SocialPeta) to discuss how AI is moving short drama beyond generating scripts, images and video towards using audience and advertising data to guide what gets made. Topics included how AI is changing storytelling, adaptation and production workflows, balancing AI efficiency with originality and human creativity, and localising content for global audiences.

Watch Online

Australia to Host Its First-Ever Microdrama Forum

FilmInk (press release), [August 2026]

Star Rae Productions announces the first online Australian Microdrama Forum on 30 August 2026, organised by Racheal through Koala Reels, and the launch of the Vertical48 microdrama challenge.

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Anamana Spotlight Text
Anamana Spotlight – June 2026
Anamana Spotlight Image
Anamana Spotlight – – June 2026

Australia’s Blind Spot: The Rise of Vertical Microdrama Everywhere But Here

FilmInk (press release), [April 2026]

Racheal’s guest article argues that Australia is overlooking a fast-growing global format and that early movers may gain an advantage.

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Inaugural Tamar Valley Film Festival to give northern creative boost

Pulse Tasmania, [2025]

Announced the first Tamar Valley Film Festival, a one-day festival of short films by Tasmanian filmmakers at the School of the Arts in Invermay, with Racheal as festival director and founder.

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Tamar Valley Film Festival - Mercury News Article - 21 May 2025
Tamar Valley Film Festival – Mercury News Article – 21 May 2025

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