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Film Director and Writer Rachel Perkins
Rachel Perkins Rachel Perkins i(A68213 works by)
Born: Established: ca. 1970 ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Arrernte ; Aboriginal Kalkadoon
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BiographyHistory

Rachel Perkins is a proud Arrente and Kalkadoon woman, with German and Irish heritage and is one of Australia’s most significant storytellers. She is a writer, director and producer of award-winning television drama, documentaries and feature films, such as; The Australian Wars series, Total Control, Bran Nue Dae, Radiance, Redfern Now, Mabo, Mystery Road, and First Australians

As the daughter of Charles Perkins, Rachel Perkins grew up in a politically active family. She regularly took part in demonstrations and dicussions on Aboriginal affairs. Perkins began her media career in Alice Springs working for the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). In 1991 she moved to Sydney to work for SBS Television where she produced a number of documentaries including the award-winning Blood Brothers.

In 1995, Perkins was awarded the first Indigenous scholarship to study producing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). She has subsequently worked for the Australian Film Commission and as a film director.

In 2011, Perkins was awarded the Australian International Documentary Conference Stanley Hawes Award in recognition of her contribution to documentary filmmaking in Australia. In 2017, Perkins won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Dreamtime Awards, in recognition of her contributions film and culture. In 2023, Perkins was a finalist for National NAIDOC Awards. 

Exhibitions

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

form y separately published work icon Total Control Black B*tch ( dir. Rachel Perkins et. al. )agent Australia : Blackfella Films Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2019-2023 15284926 2019 series - publisher film/TV

'An unlikely national hero, Alex is catapulted into government in a cynical power play. Used, abandoned and underestimated, now she's on a path that will send the political establishment into meltdown.'

Source: Screen Australia.

2024 nominated Logie Awards Most Outstanding Drama Series
2022 nominated Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
2021 nominated Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Television Drama Series
2019 winner Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Television Drama Series
form y separately published work icon Bran Nue Dae ( dir. Rachel Perkins ) 2009 Australia : Robyn Kershaw Productions Mayfan , 2009 Z1562265 2009 single work film/TV (taught in 5 units)

Based on the stage musical of the same name by Jimmy Chi and the band Kuckles, Bran Nue Dae is set in 1969 and follows Willie, a young man who struggles to find a balance between the three things that drive his life: his love for his girl Rosie, his respect for his mother, and his religious faith. Willie's uncomplicated life of fishing and hanging out with his mates and his girl in the idyllic world of Broome is turned upside down when his mother returns him to the religious mission for further schooling and entry into the priesthood. After being punished for an act of youthful rebellion, he runs away from the mission on a journey that leads him to meet his 'Uncle Tadpole' and eventually return to Broome. Along the way, Willie and Uncle Tadpole meet a couple of hippies, spend the night in gaol, and meet a gun-toting roadhouse operator, while managing to stay one step ahead of Father Benedictus, who wants to bring Willie back to the mission.

2010 nominated Australian Film Institute Awards Best Adapted Screenplay
2010 nominated Australian Film Institute Awards Best Film
2010 nominated Australian Film Institute Awards AFI Members' Choice
2010 nominated Asia Pacific Screen Awards Best Children's Feature Film
2010 winner Deadly Sounds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Entertainment and Community Awards Film of the Year
2009 nominated AWGIE Awards Film Award Feature Film Adaptation
form y separately published work icon First Australians ( dir. Rachel Perkins et. al. )agent Crows Nest Fitzroy Strawberry Hills : Blackfella Films First Nation Films SBS Television , 2008 Z1532374 2008 single work film/TV (taught in 1 units)

'First Australians chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. First Australians explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world's greatest empire.

'Over seven episodes, First Australians depicts the true stories of individuals - both black and white - caught in an epic drama of friendship, revenge, loss and victory in Australia's most transformative period of history.

'The story begins in 1788 in Sydney, with the friendship between an Englishmen (Governor Phillip) and a warrior (Bennelong) and ends in 1993 with Koiki Mabo's legal challenge to the foundation of Australia. First Australians chronicles the collision of two worlds and the genesis of a new nation.' Source: www.sbs.com.au (Sighted 27/09/2008).

2008 shortlisted Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Scripts For episode six by Louis Nowra and Beck Cole.
2009 winner Australian Film Institute Awards Best Documentary
2009 winner AWGIE Awards Documentary Award Public Broadcast For episode one by Rachel Perkins and Louis Nowra.
2009 shortlisted AWGIE Awards Documentary Award Public Broadcast For episode three by Louis Nowra and Beck Cole.
2009 winner Logie Awards Most Outstanding Documentary
2009 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting
Last amended 10 Jun 2024 09:28:20
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