Tresa Ponnor has a name that looks like a spelling mistake.
What is not a mistake is her relentless investment in her craft.
She is a UCLA Writing for Television graduate, an AFTRS directing graduate, a University of Sydney graduate with First Class Honours, and an alumna of several Improv Theatre Sydney house teams — which, combined, means she is equally comfortable with structure and chaos.
Raised between the Middle East and Western Sydney in a Malayalam-speaking household, Tresa is interested in the comedy that lives in the gap between what people say and what they actually mean. Her short film Sosefina — which she wrote, produced and directed — won Best Director and Best Script at Colourfest Film Festival and was selected for Australian Short Film Today in New York. She is a 2025 Final Draft Big Break Television Quarter Finalist and a Sheffield Doc Prize winner at AIDC. Most recently, she was named by Screen Producers Australia (SPA) as ‘Ones to Watch’.
Tresa works as an Associate Producer in scripted development at Northern Pictures, contributing to writers rooms and giving editorial feedback across drama and children’s projects. Credits include all three seasons of Austin (ABC), Murder in the Outback (AACTA winner, Channel 4/Channel 7), Marry Me, Marry My Family (SBS), The Beach (SBS/NITV), Hardball Series 2 (ABC), Spreadsheet (Paramount+) and an unannounced one-hour drama series for the ABC.
She has also published her Honours thesis — on hoarding behaviour — in an international marketing journal, which she considers her most niche flex.
