Produced by the team who crafted the critically acclaimed independent film The Castle, The Dish opened in Australia to a phenomenal response from both critics and audiences alike, breaking box office records to become the fifth highest grossing film in the history of Australian cinema. The Dish recently earned awards for Best Screenplay and Best Music from the Film Critics Circle of Australia.

Based on a true story, The Dish recounts the emotions, drama and humor behind the four-day Apollo XI mission in July 1969 and the extraordinary role that Australia played in televising the historical lunar landing to the world.

Inauspiciously located on a remote sheep farm in the rural town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, The Dish is a mammoth, 1000-ton radio telescope equal in size to a football field. In 1969, NASA intended to use the Australian telescope, the most powerful receiving dish in the Southern Hemisphere, as a "back-up" to its prime receiver in Goldstone, California. But a last-minute change in the Apollo XI flight schedule change rendered the Goldstone telescopes ineffective, and the Aussie dish became NASA's only hope for conveying to the world man's first steps on the moon.

Upon his arrival at the dish compound in remote Parkes, by-the-book NASA representative Al Burnett (PATRICK WARBURTON) clashes with the eccentric Australian crew responsible for manning the telescope: recently widowed scientist Cliff Buxton (SAM NEILL), the diplomatic team leader; sarcastic technician Ross "Mitch" Mitchell (KEVIN HARRINGTON), who takes Burnett's presence personally; and shy calculations expert Glenn Latham (TOM LONG), who takes it upon himself to reconfigure NASA's problematic data. The staff is rounded out by overzealous guard Rudi (TAYLER KANE) and his sister Janine (ELIZA SZONERT), who delivers snacks to the scientists in hopes that Glenn will one day work up the courage to ask her out.

Tension develops between Burnett and the Aussies as cultural differences - Burnett's fastidious procedures conflict with the Parkes team's unconventional methods - and mounting pressure to carry off an unprecedented global event - bear down on the men during the week preceding the launch. Meanwhile, citizens of Parkes excitedly prepare for the biggest event in the town's history. With his reputation - and a crucial upcoming election - on the line, well-meaning Parkes Mayor Bob McIntyre (ROY BILLING) and his family nervously entertain Australia's Prime Minister (BILLE BROWN) and the United States Ambassador (JOHN McMARTIN) who have come to Parkes to take advantage of the extraordinary press exposure afforded by the Australian role in the lunar landing.

But technical difficulties threaten to disrupt the scientists' bid for glory: hours before Apollo XI is scheduled to land on the moon, disaster strikes at the Parkes dish when our earth-bound crew loses contact with the Apollo XI spacecraft during a power outage. Scrambling to restore contact with the Apollo XI, the dish technicians launch an exhaustive effort to relocate the spacecraft in time to broadcast images of Neil Armstrong's landmark lunar trek to the world. With help from the colorful cast of local characters, the dish team and their American counterpart struggle to overcome a series of mishaps - including a freak windstorm that threatens the lives of the crew - and play their part in one of mankind's greatest achievements in an exciting, emotional and truly funny way.

The Dish is directed by Rob Sitch and produced by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch and Michael Hirsh.