Charlton was born in London but raised in
Invercargill and
Queenstown. She graduated from
The New Zealand Film & Television School in around 2009. In 2012 she shared with Juliet Bergh the
New Zealand Writers Guild awards for Best Feature Film Script and New Writer Award for
Existence, a feature-length drama starring
Loren Horsley (co-star of
Eagle vs Shark) and
Matt Sunderland. It premiered in the 2012
New Zealand International Film Festival, and was also accepted that year as part of the Industry-only Breakthru Screenings at the
Melbourne International Film Festival. The New Zealand International Film Festival said in a press release that it ties into an older, more established tradition of New Zealand storytelling, the "
man alone" story set in scenic natural environments, often found in New Zealand 1980's films such as
The Navigator,
The Quiet Earth, and
Vigil. on
Wellington's south coast, as part of a 24-day shoot. Additionally, the
Existence team were among the last filmmakers to have the benefit of working with leading New Zealand filmmaker
Graeme Tetley on developing their script. calling it "a great stepping-stone into feature film production." Like
Existence, the film deals with an isolated mother trying to save her family in a "post-apocalyptic" environment. In 2022 she was the executive producer of short film
Buzzkill. == References ==