Danielle MacLean is a Luritja/Warumumgu woman. MacLean's interest in film began in the mid-1990s at Central Australia Aboriginal Media Association Productions, where she spent six years in a directing traineeship under the guidance of indigenous director Erica Glynn. MacLean was also involved with the Nganampa Anwernekenhe documentary series where television programmes were presented in Aboriginal languages.
MacLean was also screenwriter and director for My Colour Your Kind (1998) and worked on the Bonita Mabo documentary, For Who I Am (2002). She has also worked as a researcher for television.