Pioneer Member of the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AFI/AACTA),Franco's early works, including 'Waiting 'Round Wynyard', 'La Scala Lo Scalone' (Stairs and Staircases),and 'Bad News Bachelors', were showcased at film festivals in Sydney, San Francisco, London, and Edinburgh, and were sold to SBS, TV1 Sweden, and NOS The Netherlands.
He directed 'The Artist, The Peasant' and 'The Joys of the Women' for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC),with the latter being released theatrically and nominated for an Australian Film Critics Circle Award.
As a producer, Franco was involved in the groundbreaking series 'A Change of Face', which challenged Australian identity and ethnic stereotyping on screen, and was nominated for the BANFF Television Awards and UN Media Peace Awards.
His film 'Pipe Dreams' was one of ABC's highest-rated programs for the year, and other ratings successes include SBS productions 'No Milk No Honey', 'Who Do You Think Are?', 'Hoover's Gold', and 'The Fabulous Flag Sisters', which also screened on Fox Italy and won the Jury Prize at the Rome Fiction Fest.
Franco directed the mini-series 'Three Forever', starring Bud Spencer, and produced by Domenico Procacci of Rome-based company Fandango. The series was broadcast on SBS and RAI in Italy, attracting over 7 million viewers, and was also sold to France and Germany.
His 'Death of the Megabeasts' screened in the U.S., France, and Australia, and won a Gold Remi Award at the Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival. His 'Skin Deep' was pre-sold to SBS and Arte France, and produced by Marco Visalberghi, who won the Venice Gold Lion Award.
Franco produced the drama series 'Under the Skin', which won an AFI/AACTA Award for Best Miniseries and two Australian Writers Guild Awards, including 'The Long Ride' by Tony Ayers, creator of the worldwide hit 'Clickbait'. Episode 'Best Wishes' by Monica Pellizzari screened at the Venice International Film Festival.
He was executive producer on the landmark indigenous package, 'From Sand to Celluloid', and Rolf de Heer's feature film, 'The Quiet Room'. Episode 'No Way To Forget' by Richard Frankland screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, and 'The Quiet Room' in Official Competition, respectively.
Franco also executive produced 'East Timor - Birth of a Nation', narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Cate Blanchett, 'Uncle Chatzkel', with Oscar-winning producer Emile Sherman ('The King's Speech'),and 'Salvatore Zofrea - Master of Light', with producers Richard Mordaunt, Diana Barbara, and Kim Mordaunt ('The Rocket').
He directed the romantic comedy 'Big Mamma's Boy', starring Holly Valance and Frank Lotito. The film screened at CinefestOz, was released nationally in Australia by Madman Entertainment, and sold to Fox Movies.
Franco directed 'The New MoMA' for DAM - Design Art Magazine and produced 'Forgiveness Day' for The New York Times. He is also the writer of the mini-series 'The Rocky Road' and feature film 'Chasing Sophia', and co-writer of the Cold War spy drama, 'Little Europe'.
