Leah Purcell is an acclaimed Australian writer, director and actor. Leah’s play, ‘The Drover’s Wife’ (in which she also played the titular role), premiered at Belvoir Theatre in 2016 and has gone on to win more than a dozen awards across the country. Her work as a TV director includes the acclaimed Australian series’ The Secret Daughter, My Life Is Murder for Network Ten / CJZ and Cleverman, and she was both a writer and director on the the AACTA award winning Redfern Now. Leah is also an award-winning theatre director. Leah directed and starred in the short film, She. Say., which had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival. She was nominated for the IF Directors Award for her short film, Aunty Maggie and the Womba Wokgun. For her body of screen work, Leah was awarded the 2017 Sydney-UNESCO City of Film Award for innovation, imagination and impact. Included in Leah’s creations is Black Chicks Talking, featuring a 2001 documentary film, a 2002 book, a stage production and an art exhibition. The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson was written by and directed by Leah. She stars in the leading role of film, and is a co-producer through her production company Oombarra Productions.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
