As part of the inaugural Melbourne Web Series Festival, we’re profiling all 30 series that made the Official Selection list. Next up is CUCKOO created by Nikki Racklin, Danann Breathnach and Marie Caffrey.

Filmed in Dublin, Ireland, CUCKOO follows the story of wayward teen Niamh Keegan. When Niamh sees a digitally ‘aged’ photo of an abducted baby in the newspaper, she thinks she recognises herself. Is she just projecting her fantasies, or has Niamh inadvertently stumbled on to something more sinister?

What inspired your series?

Seeing a picture of a missing child and wondering what kind of a shock I would have if the child looked just like me. The idea spiralled from there. I’ve always wondered about the belonging thing… nature or nurture. Outsiders who are trying to desperately to fit in but something just doesn’t gel.

Why should people watch your series?

It has a cracking leading character and is funny as well as challenging. It is a feast for the eyes from start to finish and will keep you wondering right to the very end.

What do you want people to take away from your series?

Don’t ever take things for granted!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome in production?

Keeping a sense of continuity as there were long breaks between filming episodes.

How do you reach your audience?

Facebook, Twitter, webseries groups, blogs, word of mouth, sheer graft.

Why make a web series?

We made CUCKOO as part of a competition held by our national broadcaster. Our application was selected by RTÉ Storyland from over 100 entrants to be one of the eight finalists.

CUCKOO on the web:

Website: www.mariecaffrey.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CuckooStoryland

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cuckoo.storyland

Twitter: @CuckooStoryland

Melbourne WebFest took place on July 20. Keep up to date with the festival on Twitter: @MelbWebFest

La Trobe University is an official partner of Melbourne WebFest.