About Us
Meet our life story film team
The Story behind ‘Big Stories’
Big Stories Little Films began in 2012, when award-winning television producer and director Danika Armytage was working in reality television. One day, when her Granny was in town and her work camera was sitting idle, Danika took the opportunity to film an interview with her about her life. What followed was an incredible conversation about war, falling in love and emigrating to Australia.
The footage was then left unwatched in a drawer until 6 years later when her Granny passed away. It was then that the interview was shared with the rest of her family and Danika realised how invaluable the footage was.
Fast forward to 2024, after becoming a mum and reflecting on the importance of intergenerational storytelling and legacy, Danika developed and launched Big Stories Little Films. At its core, this company is dedicated to preserving the stories that matter most, promoting family connections and creating a space for wisdom to be shared between generations.
Now, Big Stories Little Films is Australia’s premium legacy film service which creates beautiful, professional-quality short documentary films. But Danika couldn’t do that on her own, so she teamed up with other legends from the television, film and documentary industry…
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Danika Armytage
FOUNDER & SYDNEY SHOOTER-DIRECTOR
Danika studied at the University of Sydney (Media & Communications 2006-2009) and went to direct and produce a long list of award-winning television and documentary credits including Big Miracles, The Block, The Living Room, Local Court Justice, River Cottage Australia and many more. Danika founded Big Stories Little Films because it incorporates all her favourite things -meeting new people, having great chats, discovering fascinating history, filmmaking and trying to uncover the meaning of life.
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Kristina Kraskov
MELBOURNE SHOOTER-DIRECTOR
Kristina is a Melbourne based documentary filmmaker who loves making films about unusual subject matters, her debut feature 'Spreadsheet Champions' premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2025. Kristina has shot and directed several online shorts for Vice and works in Television as a freelance Shooter- Producer. She loves nothing more than venturing out to new places and interviewing new people to make something special. When she's not filming Kristina loves spending time at home with her 3 rescue dogs and 50 house plants.
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Tanya Rivera
BRISBANE SHOOTER-DIRECTOR
Tanya is a shooter producer passionate about telling meaningful stories. In 2017, she graduated with a Bachelor of Film & Screen Media Production from Griffith Film School and she then went on to work in broadcasting and documentary filmmaking. Tanya believes in the power of storytelling to preserve history and is dedicated to capturing stories that can be passed down for generations. When she is not filming, she enjoys chasing waves and renovating her beach shack.
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Jessica Russell
PERTH SHOOTER-DIRECTOR
Jessica is a storyteller of both stage and screen, operating as a director, cinematographer and producer. A graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (BA, Performance Making) and Western Australia Screen Academy (Masters, Directing & Cinematography), with an ear for story and an eye for movement, Jessica blends cinematic footage with heart, capturing people in their essence. When she's not filming, you'll find her in a boxing ring or teaching storytelling to primary students.
Our producing and directing credits include:
Why choose ‘Big Stories Little Films’?
Big Stories Little Films create premium quality cinematic little films. What makes our films so special starts with a great interview. We have interviewed hundreds of people from all walks of life and will make you feel at ease, allowing you to be yourself. Then, we get the best footage to tell your story. People aren’t just talking heads - our homes tell our story, our everyday activities show who we are, as do our relationships with the people we love - even our pets! So we work with you to plan how to best convey who you are. We then help you select the best photos to tell your life story. From there, we get to work in the edit suite to make your film exceptional using music and a careful editorial eye. What results is a totally unique, cinematic, often very moving film about you to treasure forever.
