Adrian Chiarella Signs with Anonymous Content After Queer Horror Breakthrough

Melbourne-based writer-director Adrian Chiarella has entered representation with Anonymous Content, prevailing over several other firms that had courted him. The agreement follows the strong critical reception of his feature debut “Leviticus,” a queer horror film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and subsequently screened at SXSW and in Sydney before opening theatrically. Variety Causeway Films produced the title, and Neon acquired it in a seven-figure deal.

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Chiarella explained that recent shifts in Australian political discourse prompted him to address the erosion of LGBTQIA+ rights through genre cinema. He described horror as “the genre of fear” that allows audiences to confront the underlying anxieties of homophobia.

Variety Magazine

The positive response helped secure the Neon acquisition and positioned Chiarella as a “closely watched emerging filmmaker” in Australia. His television work includes “Totally Completely Fine” (Sundance Now), “Erotic Stories” (SBS), and “Five Bedrooms” (Paramount+).

Variety Magazine

The deal with Anonymous Content signals heightened industry interest in queer-themed genre projects emerging from Australia. Chiarella’s representation by WME, Jackoway Austen Tyerman, and Cameron’s Management underscores his expanding profile and may encourage further investment in socially resonant horror narratives.

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• “I’d noticed there was this shift in the air in the last five or 10 years, at least in Australia, of a regression of a lot of the rights LGBTQIA+ people had fought so hard for,” — Adrian Chiarella

Variety Magazine