Wrestle!

Co-authors of Wrestle, Maya and Charlotte followed Gus Skattebol-James for 3 years while making the documentary Gayby Baby. These days, Gus isn't obsessed with wrestling, but he is a black belt in Aikido (a Japanese martial art) and is mad about skateboarding. Now that Gus is almost a grown up, he is finishing his HSC exams and next year he wants to travel the world.

Charlotte Mars is from the Blue Mountains and her childhood was spent creating imaginary worlds in the bush. It was not unexpected that those imaginary worlds would one day inspire her to write and make films of her own. Even now, Charlotte still dips into them, and can often be found getting lost in her head and talking to herself. Some days she feels like a woman, some days she doesn't, so Charlotte loves stories that speak to gender diverse identities and experiences.With co-author Maya, Charlotte spent 8 years making a film about the experiences of children in same-sex attracted families, Gayby Baby. To get the film and its messages out there in the world, Maya and Charlotte did all kinds of funny things - they once crashed a TV talk show, another time they staked-out a morning news show to try and get on air, and one time they made a live video from a rollercoaster! Even when fighting for important issues, they always try to have fun. They also took the film, and a group of Gaybies, to share stories and discuss policy with our nation's leaders at state and federal parliaments. 

Maya has made award-winning short documentaries, and recently directed Growing Up Gayby (2013) and Gayby Baby (2015), made with Charlotte Mars. Gayby Baby screened at festivals internationally, was selected for GoodPitch² Australia 2014, broke cinema-on-demand records, nominated for an ACCTA, AWGIE and won an ATOM award. The accompanying education resources are the first in Australia to represent LGBTI families. Maya’s new documentary KIDS (working title) is currently in development and was pitched at Goodpitch² Australia 2016, aiming for release in 2018/9.