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Even though the focus of this website is the independent filmmakers that exist in Melbourne, I think it is only fair to try and at least acknowledge some of the indie filmmakers in other Australian cities.
This page here is a listing of Sydney filmmakers.
As with the Melbourne page, this is a list of indie / experimental / avantgarde filmmakers, not mainstream ones.
Filmmakers added in 2023 are marked NEW.
If you'd like someone listed here, please email
me.
Bill
Mousoulis
See also the Adelaide page
See also the Other Australian page
Richard James Allen - Multi-talented actor, producer and director since the 1990s, is currently very active, partnering with Karen Pearlman (see below) in the team "Physical TV"..
Martha Ansara - Cinematographer and also director, since the '70s, a vital figure on the Sydney indie film scene. She was Producer of Essie Coffey's My Survival as an Aboriginal (1978).
Joshua Belinfante - Short filmmaker since the early '10s, made the interesting feature-length doco The World's Best Film in 2020.
Geoffrey Brown - Long-time worker in the film industry, as a producer, director and other roles, he has also made his own indie feature films, genre films such as Fantasy (1990), The Inspector Shanahan Mysteries - The Cult of Death (1992) and Reflections (1998). Still active today.
Mary Callaghan - Short filmmaker in Melbourne in mid '70s, she went to Wollongong after that, making a couple of great features in the '80s, including Tender Hooks (1989).
Jane Campion - AFTRS graduate early '80s, with celebrated short films, and early feature Sweetie (1989), she has gone more mainstream as the years have gone on.
Essie Coffey - Aboriginal filmmaker and activist, she directed the seminal film My Survival as an Aboriginal in 1978.
Lucy Coleman - Actor turned writer and director, she made the indie low-budget feature Hot Mess in 2018.
John Conomos - Academic but also video artist, active for decades now.
Susan Dermody - Intellectual filmmaker, she made the essay-like feature Breathing Under Water in 1991.
Melanie El Mir - Very individual Super 8 filmmaker in the '80s, specialising in the surreal.
Jackie Farkas - Cinematographer and filmmaker since 1990s (Amelia Rose Towers and The Illustrated Aushwitz).
Andrew Frost
- Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s, one of The Marine Biologists, now writer and ABC presenter.
Emmanuel G - Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s.
Sarah Gibson - In the '70s and '80s, made a numer of striking shorts with Susan Lambert.
Helen Grace - Essay / experimental / new media filmmaker since her seminal film Serious Undertakings in the 1980s. Still active.
Stephen Harrop - Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s.
Rivka Hartman - AFTRS graduate early '80s, made some great docos and features in the '80s and '90s.
Virginia Hilyard - Super 8 filmmaker who was part of the Sydney Super 8 Film Group in the '80s, made the classic Yes It Is.
Michael Hutak - Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s, known for the "Metaphysical TV" strand.
Shaun Katz - Short filmmaker since the early '10s, made the vibrant feature-length doco Underground Inc. in 2020.
Susan Lambert - Mainly documentary filmmaker from the '70s, has also done drama. Many striking films, and still active.
Gillian Leahy - Academic but also great indie filmmaker from '70s on, has the masterpiece My Life Without Steve (1987).
Catherine Lowing - Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s.
Parish Malfitano - AFTRS graduate in 2018, made a splash with his debut feature Bloodshot Heart in 2020.
Ray Mattei - Teenage creator of the 1968 film Acid Spider featured in UBU Film Group programs in late '60s.
Luke McKay - Short fimmaker based in Sydney's west, has made films since late '00s.
Margie Medlin - Experimental filmmaker / digital artist since late '80s.
Janet Merewether - Striking and versatile experimental / documentary filmmaker since 1990s.
Nick Meyers - Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s, one of The Marine Biologists, also an editor.
Tracey Moffatt - Aboriginal artist who made some striking films in the '90s, including the feature BeDevil.
Jack Moxey - Current indie filmmaker who has made his debut feature, the creative Bugs (2018).
Margot Nash - Feminist filmmaker since the '70s, has made a number of classic films such as We Aim to Please (co-directed with Robin Laurie in 1976) and Vacant Possession (1994). Still active.
Sean O'Brien - Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s, one of The Marine Biologists.
Graham Osborne - New York filmmaker living in Sydney since 2000s, making interesting minimalist narratives in the past 10 years or so.
Kay Pavlou - Mainly TV director who made indie films in the late '80s/earlty '90s, including the short The Killing of Angelo Tsakos.
Karen Pearlman - Academic with a background in dance in the USA, she emigrated to Australia in the '90s and became a gun editor, and also director of acclaimed short films such as I Want to Make a Film About Women (2019). Richard James Allen (see above) is her partner, and they work together as the team "Physical TV".
David Perry - Co-founder of the UBU Film Group in mid '60s, and one of Australia's great experimental filmmakers, with a significant body of work. Died in 2015.
Aggy Read - Co-founder of the UBU Film Group in mid '60s, he made the classic naughty film Boobs-a-lot. Died in 1998.
Kate Richards - Super 8 filmmaker in the '80s, one of the very first originators of the Sydney Super 8 Film Group, in 1980.
Soda_Jerk - Sister team making works of digital sampling since 2002, now based mainly in New York. Terror Nullius (2018) a key work.
Daniel Staten-Robinson - Super 8 filmmaker in the '80s, known for the classic (The) Taking (of) Place.
Kriv Stenders - Indie low-budget feature maker in the '00s, has gone more towards the mainstream in the '10s.
Luke Sullivan - AFTRS graduate from mid 2010s, has made one low-buget feature Reflections in the Dust (2018).
Platon Theodoris NEW - Has made several short films in the 2010s, and also his debut feature Alvin's Harmonious World of Opposites in 2015. 2nd feature The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour released in 2022.
Albie Thoms - Co-founder of the UBU Film Group in mid '60s, and great experimental filmmaker, culminating in one classic of Australian cinema, Palm Beach (1980). Died in 2012.
Jeni Thornley - Documentary filmmaker from the '70s, a major figure on the Sydney scene for decades now. Has made a new film in 2023 called Memory Film.
Mark Titmarsh - Artist and Super 8 filmmaker who was one of the driving forces behind the Sydney Super 8 Film Group in the 1980s.
James Vaughan - Short filmmaker since 2010s, has released debut feature Friends and Strangers in 2021.
Stephen Wallace - More mainstream director, but started with great indie projects in the '70s, including The Love Letters of Teralba Road (1977).
Gary Warner - Super 8 filmmaker of the '80s, was strong in the admin field too, as instigator of the AFC's No Frills Fund.
Ted Wilson - Tasmanian now living in Sydney, made the low budget feature Under the Cover of Cloud in 2018.
Paul Winkler - Legendary experimental filmmaker, active from the '70s to the present day.
Rowan Woods - Super 8 filmmaker in the '80s, he went on to a feature film career, starting with The Boys in 1998.
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