Steven Arriagada
Directors, Writers
"The Judges Award went to Nathan Loves Ricky Martin by Steven Arriagada and Llewellyn Michael Bates – a disturbing but beautiful film ... " Filmink on Steven's short film
Steven Arriagada is an Australian writer, director and producer and the founder of CINAXIOM STUDIOS, developing high-concept genre projects for international audiences.
He co-wrote a feature film for Toni Collette and developed a TV series for her co-producers New Sparta. Steven was a core writer on Stan’s heartwarming hit series BUMP in it’s first two seasons, writing four episodes.
Steven’s debut as director, writer and producer, NATHAN LOVES RICKY MARTIN was AACTA and Dendy nominated for Best Short Film. It ranked 6th in AACTA’s short films of the decade. He then adapted the short into a pilot, which was nominated for the AWG Monte Miller Award for best long-form script.
He has also worked in development as Story Analyst for Studio Canal through the Australian Writers Guild /Scripted Ink. Steven won the Arclight / Chinalight feature film initiative through Screen Australia and won the Script Pipeline First Look competition. He has also been nominated for Best Short Film at Montreal Festival of New Cinema twice.
Steven shadowed showrunners Louise Fox and Tony Ayres on ABC/Netflix’s GLITCH (Season 3). He was director, writer and producer on short WATCH OUT FOR THE AUSTRALIANS!! starring Kuni Hashimoto (WOLVERINE), which was award nominated at Festival du Nouveau Cinema and St Kilda Film Festival. In 2022, he was 1 of 18 selected to participate in Netflix’s Grow Creative initiative.
His latest feature, DO NOT WAKE, a sci-fi thriller/horror co-written with Stefan Delatovic and directed by Steven, was selected for the 2026 TIFF International Financing & Project Market, connecting the project with international financiers, producers and co-production partners. It has received development support from Screen Australia. The feature is based on Steven’s award-winning short film HEADPHONES, which has enjoyed an extensive international festival run in 2026, including selections at Fantasia International Film Festival, Fantaspoa, BIFFF, Chattanooga Film Festival, St Kilda Film Festival, Macabro and other genre and independent festivals. The film subsequently made its Canadian premiere at Fantasia, where festival artistic director Mitch Davis described it as a “riveting, inventive grand-slam of storytelling”.
Through CINAXIOM STUDIOS, Arriagada develops and produces ambitious science-fiction, horror and thriller projects, working with Australian and international creative and production partners. His work is characterised by high-concept premises, genre-driven storytelling and emotionally grounded characters.
He is currently developing DO NOT WAKE for international production and financing, alongside a slate of original film and television projects.