WELLINGTON Point screenwriter Ellie Popov will put down her pen to step in front of the cameras when she stars in her feature film Thicker Than Water.
The 24-year-old Moreton Bay College graduate put the finishing touches on her suburban drama in June and is set to start filming in October.
Popov, who has already starred in the TV series Sinbad and The Strip, will join forces with Anthony Brandon Wong, known for his role in two Matrix sequels, ABC's Nowhere Boys and Glee.
She is also excited about teaming up with Aussie singer and songwriter Pete Murray in his cinematic debut.
Writing the script was a labour of love for Popov, who slaved over the words for eight years.
The story is about a coastal family, headed by the character she plays, and her struggle to deal with the return of her recovering addict eldest brother, played by Murray.
"It explores the fragility of family," she explained. "The one we are born into, the one we choose and the one we try to escape," she said.
"Starring in my own film is a dream come true but we still need to fund it, which is why we are using crowdfunding."
It has been a long road for the actor who first fell in love with the theatre as a student at Birkdale State School.
She attended her first acting class at the age of 14 and in 2006, was accepted into the Australian Acting Academy.
She has appeared on Channel 9's The Strip and on the big screen at the Cannes Film Festival in France in short films A New You, Cigarettes, and Starry Night.
Popov and business partner Madeleine Kennedy, known for her roles in the US series Deadly Women, are still in talks with high-profile international stars and have a funding campaign on the online forum KickStarter.
Once the film is completed, it will sold to the US film market next year.