Esben Storm

Storm was raised on a farm in Denmark, by working-class parents Laurits and Ane. The family migrated to Australia in 1958, when Storm was eight, after Laurits lost the family farm to lawyers. After settling in Melbourne, his father worked as a builder's labourer and built a darkroom, where Storm learned photographic processing, composition and lighting.

Storm met schoolfriend Haydn Keenan while studying at University High School, Melbourne, and moved to Sydney in 1970, where he worked worked with Keenan as a production assistant at the Commonwealth Film Unit (Film Australia), before going on to make films together, in what would become a long-term partnership.

In 1969, Storm enrolled in the film course at Swinburne Technical College, studying alongside Gillian Armstrong.

Film making

Together with Haydn Keenan, Storm began making a series of award-winning films, under their production company, Smart Street Films. Their first film was the 1969 short, Doors, directed by Storm, followed by the documentary In His Prime, which he also directed, winning an award at the 1972 Sydney Film Festival. Then came the low-budget 1974 feature 27A. Directed by Storm, it won the AFI Award for Best Film that year, establishing him as a key player in Australian cinema.

Establishing Storm Productions, Storm wrote and directed 1978 feature film In Search of Anna, with film stills and publicity shots by his then-girlfriend Carol Jerrems. The film won the 1978 AFI Award for Best Screenplay. He went on to direct and produce 1983 documentary With Prejudice, about the 1978 Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing. The film was attributed with helping secure the release of the three Ananda Marga members jailed for the crime.

Other films he wrote and directed included 1984 comedy Stanley, 1991 film Deadly, starring Bill Hunter and 2003 sci-fi horror film Subterano, starring Alex Dimitriades and Tasma Walton. He also made several documentaries including The Tasty Bust Reunion and America.

Storm was well known for his work with the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF), where for 15 years, he wrote, directed, edited and acted in numerous programs and played a pivotal role in most of the 62 national and international awards the foundation has received. He directed an episode of the ACTF’s very first series, Winners, followed by Devil’s Hill, the Tasmanian telemovie in children's anthology series Touch the Sun, which was created to coincide with the bicentenary in 1988.

Most notably, Storm put Australian children’s drama on the map with Round the Twist, ACTF's most successful children's series, in which he brought Paul Jennings' short stories to life. Working with Jennings on the scripts, he directed more than half of the episodes of the first two seasons, and also played the part of Mr Snapper. Since its release, the series has been translated into countless languages and screened around the world including on the BBC and on Fox in the US.

Further ACTF titles Storm worked on included More Winners (1990), The Genie from Down Under (1995-1998) and Crash Zone (1998-1999). He also worked on Sky Trackers (as script consultant), Li'l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers (as the show's creator, scriptwriter and dialogue director) and Blue Heelers (as a director). In 2007, under his company Storm Productions, Storm wrote, directed and produced SBS series Kick, also acting in the show.

For many years, Storm worked to adapt John Marsden's Tomorrow, When the War Began young adult novel, but lost the rights to the subsequent film.

Acting

In 1976, Storm acted in Hanging About, a short film by Carol Jerrems. He later played the part of a record producer in 1982 drama film Monkey Grip and the following year he appeared in Going Down, playing the role of Michael, a codeine-addicted loner-writer.

He had further film roles in 1985, with romantic comedy The Coca-Cola Kid opposite Eric Roberts and Greta Scacchi, drama film Wrong World and TV movie I Live with Me Dad. The following year he then played the role of Raymond 'Frog' Gardiner in miniseries Alice to Nowhere.

In 1987, Storm featured in comedy film Les Patterson Saves the World, playing a Russian scientist, alongside Barry Humphries and Pandemonium in the role of E.B. De Woolf. The following year, he played Wilbur Wright in comedy film Young Einstein starring Yahoo Serious and appeared in biographical TV movie The Riddle of the Stinson with Jack Thompson and Richard Roxburgh. He also performed opposite Steve Bisley in 1988 post-apocalyptic TV movie Hard Knuckle.

Storm appeared in three episodes of children's anthology series Winners. He also played the regular role of haughty Mr Snapper in Round the Twist. He had guest roles in Rafferty's Rules, crime drama Phoenix, period drama Snowy River: The McGregor Saga Good Guys, Bad Guys and police procedural series Blue Heelers. His final acting role was in medical drama series All Saints.

In the 1970s, Storm was in a relationship with photographer and filmmaker Carol Jerrems, who lived with him in Willoughby. His contribution to ABC biographical documentary film Girl in a Mirror became the foundation for a story honouring Jerrems, who died of a rare illness in 1980, at the age of 30.

After returning from Cannes screenings for his 1978 film In Search of Anna, he met and then married the film's assistant editor, Pamela Barnetta.

Storm's first marriage broke down and he later married costume designer Lisa Meagher, whom he met on the set of Round the Twist. She was his partner at the time of his death. He has two children, a son and a daughter.

Storm died, aged 60, on 28 March 2011 from a heart attack. Numerous directors, producers, actors and screen industry leaders attended his funeral at Clovelly Bowling Club in Sydney, which was MC'd by longtime friend, collaborator and producer Allan Hogan. Storm's partner Lisa Meagher, delivered his eulogy, revealing it was the same one Esben had written for his father's funeral.

Short film

As crew

As actor

Feature film

As crew

As actor

Television

As crew

As actor

Theatre