About Us

Stranger Than Fiction (STF) is an award-winning film and television production company with a reputation for rigorous, cinematic storytelling that connects with audiences in Australia and around the world.

Founded in 2015 by Jennifer Peedom and Jo-anne McGowan, STF has created internationally acclaimed films including Mountain, which took more than A$2 million at the Australian box office and screened theatrically in 26 countries; River, winner of the AACTA Award for Best Documentary; International Emmy Award winner Harley & Katya; David Stratton: A Cinematic Life, selected for Cannes Classics; and Onefour: Against All Odds for Netflix.

STF’s television slate includes the top-rating SBS series Australia In Colour Seasons 1 and 2 and Australia: An Unofficial History, as well as ABC’s The Way We Wore, presented by Celeste Barber.

Most recently, Silenced premiered in competition at Sundance before opening the 73rd Sydney Film Festival, while Deeper premiered at SXSW ahead of its theatrical release and Netflix acquisition.

STF is also moving into drama development, including co-founder Jennifer Peedom’s first narrative feature, Tenzing, developed by STF and produced in association with See-Saw Films for Apple. Starring Genden Phuntsok as Tenzing Norgay, alongside Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe.

Alongside its film and television slate, STF is a leader in giant-screen storytelling, with recent and upcoming projects including Fungi: Web of Life, narrated by Björk; Butterfly Journey, narrated by Daisy Ridley; and Caves: The Hidden Frontier.

Our Team

Jennifer Peedom

Co-Founder, Director, Producer

An award-winning writer, director and producer whose credits include Sherpa, Solo, Mountain, River and Deeper. Jennifer's films have played at A-list international festivals including SXSW, Telluride, Toronto and IDFA, garnered multiple awards and a BAFTA nomination. As an executive producer, Jennifer has mentored teams to achieve ambitious projects including festival breakout Martha: A Picture Story, Emmy award winning Harley & Katya and the Netflix Original One Four: Against All Odds. Jennifer is currently in post-production on Tenzing, a biopic about the famed Everest mountaineer Tenzing Norgay starring Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe and Genden Phuntsok for Apple+.

Jo-Anne McGowan

Co-Founder, Director, Producer

Jo-Anne McGowan is an Emmy Award winning producer with over 25 years' experience in documentaries and co-founder of Stranger Than Fiction. In 2017, Jo-anne co-produced the feature documentary Mountain – a collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, which had a sell-out live performance tour nationally and is one of the highest grossing Australian documentaries of all time. Jo-anne's award winning slate of films include River (Telluride 2022), David Stratton’s Stories Of Australian Cinema (Cannes Classics, 2017), and Harley & Katya, which won an International Emmy Award in 2023.

Sarah Noonan

General Manager

Sarah Noonan joined Stranger Than Fiction as general manager and producer in 2021 to support the company in a time of accelerated growth. Sarah was an executive producer on Hearts And Bones (2019), which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, Beyond The Known World (2017) and Warm Blood (2021). With Stranger Than Fiction she has produced Onefour: Against All Odds for Netflix, The Way We Wore series and Anatomy Of A String Quartet. At STF, Sarah is an executive producer on feature documentary Deeper (SXSW 2025, SFF 2025) and documentary series Australia: An Unofficial History (2025).