Toni Collette is stepping behind the camera for her feature directorial debut with The Best Of, an adaptation of bestselling author Graeme Simsion’s novel The Best of Adam Sharp. Announced as part of Screen Australia’s latest funding round on October 13, the project will receive major production investment from the federal agency in association with Screen NSW. Collette will also produce the film alongside Christopher Simon, while Kismet has secured Australian distribution and Cornerstone will handle international sales. The story brings two former lovers together after decades apart, as old feelings resurface and a reunion unfolds with both joy and complications.
Collette’s move into directing marks a new chapter in a career spanning more than three decades and encompassing performances across a wide range of genres. She has won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and five AACTA Awards. Directing a feature will give her a new role in shaping a story, from the performances on screen to the way its characters and relationships develop. She will also remain involved as a producer, with Christopher Simon joining her on that side of the project.
The source material comes from Simsion, best known for The Rosie Project. The film adapts his bestselling novel The Best of Adam Sharp, which explores a familiar but complicated question: what happens when people who once loved each other reconnect after building separate lives? Their reunion is not simply a return to romance or an opportunity to pick up where they left off. Screen Australia’s description points to sorrow, chaos and bliss, suggesting that the characters must confront their shared past as they navigate the feelings that resurface in the present.
That emotional mix gives the adaptation room to explore more than nostalgia. Decades apart can change what people want, what they regret and what they are willing to risk. When former partners meet again, shared memories may draw them closer, but the lives they have built in the intervening years cannot simply be set aside. The story’s appeal lies in that tension: a reunion can be welcome and unsettling at the same time, and affection does not automatically resolve old complications.
The project also arrives with substantial institutional backing. Screen Australia announced more than AUD 16.9 million, equivalent to approximately US$11.7 million, in production and development funding for 75 projects spanning feature films, series and short films. This amount covers the entire slate rather than representing the individual budget or grant for The Best Of. The film will receive major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW, bringing support from both federal and state screen agencies.
The distribution arrangements give the film a route into Australian and international markets. Kismet has secured the Australian distribution rights, while Cornerstone will oversee international sales. These partnerships establish the film’s distribution framework, although a release date and further production details were not announced in the funding information.
Collette’s transition to feature directing is the headline, but the material gives her debut a clear emotional focus: two people confronting what remains between them after years of living apart. Rather than relying on a high-concept twist, The Best Of begins with an experience many viewers may recognise—the uncertainty of seeing someone who once mattered deeply and discovering that the past may not be entirely behind them. With Simsion’s bestselling novel as its foundation and Collette directing and producing, the film brings an established performer into a new creative role while placing a complicated relationship at the centre of the story.
