Gender Matters
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BIographies

Kill the Messenger

Samantha Lang Director

As an international film director/writer and visual artist Samantha Lang has worked in Australia, France and the US over the last 20 years. Her films have screened at major international festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Locarno, and have received international recognition at the highest level, competing at the Cannes Film Festival for the prestigious Palme D’Or (she was the only female director in competition as well as its youngest participant). In Australia, her films have been awarded many times, including at the Australian Film Institute Awards and the Sydney Film Festival. In 2015, Carlotta was nominated for five AACTA awards and won three. Samantha was also nominated for an ADG award for Best Director in a Telemovie. As well as being a creative practitioner, she has mentored, supervised and lectured postgraduate film students, developed curriculum at Masters and undergraduate level at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. She has been invited to speak at universities about her film work, including Stanford University in the US, and Curtin University in WA. Alongside this professional engagement, she has worked in Indigenous communities (Palm Island) and refugee communities (ICE) to assist young people to produce their own screen stories.

Nakkiah Lui Writer

Nakkiah Lui is a writer/actor and Gamillario/Torres Strait Islander woman. She is a co-writer/star of Black Comedy ABC and is a monthly columnist for The Australian Women’s Weekly Online. She has been an artist-in-residence at Griffin Theatre Company (2013) and was playwright in residence at Belvoir from 2012-2014. In 2012, Nakkiah was the first recipient of The Dreaming Award from The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Arts Board of the Australia Council. The same year, Nakkiah was also the inaugural recipient of the Balnaves Foundation Indigenous Playwright award. In 2014, Nakkiah was the recipient of the Malcolm Robertson Prize and a Green Room Award for Best Independent Production. Nakkiah’s previous works include This Heaven, Playwright, Belvoir 2013 and Finborough Theatre 2015; I Should Have Told You Before We Made Love (That I’m Black), Playwright, You Are Here Festival 2012, Stho Sthexy, Playwright, MKA Melbourne 2013; Blackie Blackie Brown: The Traditional Owners of Death, Playwright, Bondi Feast, Tamarama Rock Surfers 2013; Sovereign Wife, Dramaturg, Melbourne Theatre Company 201;. Black Comedy, Writer/Actor/Associate Producer ABC, 2014; Blak Cabaret, Playwright, Sydney Festival/Malthouse Theatre Company 2015; Kill the Messenger, Actor/Playwright, Belvoir 2015.

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