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Cockpit

When a suicidal pilot accidentally becomes a global hero, his collapsing airline bets everything on the myth.

synopsis

An Australian airline is on the brink of collapse, its only hope, a merger with a French carrier. For Simon, the embattled Aussie CEO, the deal is survival; for Manon, the ruthless French delegate, it’s her chance at a takeover. But when Tom, a secretly suicidal pilot, miraculously crash- lands a doomed flight, the airline is thrown into chaos. Was the plane faulty? Was the airline negligent? The merger hangs in the balance. Overnight, the press turns Tom into both hero and sex symbol. Simon and Manon seize the moment, parading him as the airline’s seductive poster boy, and it works. Ticket sales soar, and the merger is back on. Meanwhile, Tom’s wife, Ashley, a flight attendant, strikes a cold bargain: she will keep quiet about his suicide attempt and play the loyal spouse during the investigation if he grants her full custody and a divorce. Tom retaliates by threatening to expose her silence, binding them in mutual blackmail. But haunted by the fear that the crash was his fault, Tom spirals into reckless behaviour that drags the airline into escalating cover-ups. Cockpit is a workplace drama with dark comedic undertones. Ultimately, the series asks: how far will people and corporations go to preserve the illusion, and what happens when the truth won’t stay buried?

Director’statement

Cockpit is a series about societal expectations – and the lies we tell when we can’t live up to them. Pilots are expected to be perfect, just as men are expected to be strong, families unshakable, and corporations infallible. Pushed to the breaking point, Tom embodies the impossibility of living up to those demands. Each reckless choice he makes exposes a crack in the system, and his wife and colleagues scramble to patch it – until the cover-ups grow more dangerous than the original mistake. As a writer and a pilot’s ex-girlfriend, I’m drawn to that space where tragedy and absurdity collide – where holding it together becomes both darkly funny and heartbreaking, something that feels increasingly necessary in today’s world. My approach is intimate and character- driven: the audience isn’t just in the cockpit but inside the mind, feeling the panic behind the forced smile. At its core, Cockpit isn’t about heroes or villains but about everyday flawed people trapped between who they are and who they think they’re supposed to be.

TFL PROGRAMME:
SeriesLab 2025

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