ONE PUNCH is a gritty, teen drama about Matt Mercado, a young Italian Australian man on the cusp of adulthood, struggling in his final year at high school and trying to hold on to the friendships and innocence of his youth.

On the eve of Matt’s 18th Birthday his domineering father, Carlo, indoctrinates him into the reality of their world, sending him out, in the care of his older brother Ant, to serve his apprenticeship in the family business. Selling drugs. Under immense pressure, Matt’s world will erode beneath him as he struggles to stake his claim, forge new friendships and prove his worth to his family, resulting in an act of random violence that will define the rest of his life.

From award winning Writer/Director Darcy Yuille comes the audacious and innovative production ONE PUNCH, a character driven drama that follows the descent of a young man into a violent and brutal world.

Director Statement

This is a film about the steps that young men take from innocence to violence, steps that seem prepared long before he is even able to make decisions. These steps are well worn by elder role models, family members and a cycle of casual violence that is a rite of passage for many young men.

Created through year long improvisations with dedicated actors, and based on deep research into the experiences of victims of ONE PUNCH incidents and with forensic scientists who deal with brain injuries, ONE PUNCH was devised to show how this sad event can happen to any young man, under the wrong kind of pressure. The film was deliberately shot with smartphones to create the visceral feel of the medium and to allow access to pre covid crowds and locations, enabling the production to shoot in real locations.

The story is framed as a tragedy, a situation where no one wins and the actions of a fleeting moment cast a shadow over the lives of all involved for the rest of their lives.