Zara Tate to Make Feature Film Debut Opposite Gary Sweet and Marta Dusseldorp in ‘Before You Leave’

Australian online personality Zara Tate is making the jump to the big screen, joining Gary Sweet and Marta Dusseldorp in upcoming Australian drama Before You Leave.

Tate, best known as one half of father-daughter social media duo Ben & Zara, will make her narrative feature debut in the independent production, which begins filming in the Hunter Valley on Oct. 6.

Deadloch and Mystery Road actor Leonie Whyman has also joined the cast, rounding out an ensemble led by veteran Australian performers Sweet and Dusseldorp.

Written and directed by Jye Currie alongside co-writer Edward Vassie, Before You Leave explores the lasting psychological impact of war and the difficulties faced by soldiers attempting to return to civilian life.

Sweet stars as Dusty, a Vietnam War veteran confronting his mortality and decades of unresolved trauma, while Dusseldorp plays Rose, a social worker facing struggles of her own.

The 90-minute drama is designed as a deliberately contained film, with its story unfolding in a single location rather than attempting to recreate war itself. Screen Australia currently lists the project as being in pre-production for a 2027 completion.

For Currie, the film marks his third feature following Beat and The Promise.

“Essentially, it’s two people in one location, so the audience feels the ripples of war through their relationship,” Currie said in announcing the latest casting. “It feels universal, but intimate, and that’s what I’m drawn to tell.”

The project is being produced independently through Newcastle-based Green Frog Productions, with Alex Mangano producing and Bailey Watts serving as director of photography.

Unlike many Australian feature productions, Before You Leave has been developed without financing from government screen agencies or major studios.

Stan has already secured Australian streaming rights to the film for 2027, while the producers are seeking theatrical and international distribution and intend to pursue a festival run before its streaming release.

Tate’s casting adds an emerging name to an otherwise experienced Australian ensemble and represents the latest example of a creator with an established online audience crossing into traditional screen production.

Cameras are scheduled to roll on Before You Leave in the Hunter Valley on Oct. 6.