Kate Woods made her mark on Australian cinema with her first feature film, Looking for Alibrandi, a much-loved coming-of-age movie released in 2000.

Director Kate Woods on location with Ryan Corr and several joeys

Since 2005, Woods has lived and worked primarily in the US, where her many credits include episodes of Lincoln Lawyer and Law and Order: Organized Crime. But she recently returned to Australia to direct a delightful, heartwarming family movie titled Kangaroo, loosely inspired by the story of Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns, who founded the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs/Mparntwe, which he runs with his wife Tahnee.

Ryan Corr plays TV weatherman Chris Masterman who leaves Sydney after being fired by his network. Attempting to drive to Broome, he becomes stranded in a small town when he has a car accident and kills a kangaroo, only to discover a live joey in its pouch.

Pushed into caring for it by Charlie, a strong-willed 12-year-old Indigenous girl, who is reeling from the death of her father and obsessed with kangaroos, the pair forge an unlikely friendship and begin rehabilitating orphaned joeys.

Alongside endearing performances from...