Michael James Rowland (born 15 January 1964) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

Early years

Prior to his screen career, Rowland studied graphic design at the North Adelaide School of Art in South Australia and started his early working life as a designer and illustrator specialising in the arts. His list of freelance clients grew to include

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

(US),

Womad WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

(International) and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

(UK). He also held the position of Art Director with the

Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

(1987–93) a job which saw him work with some notable artists, including

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

7th Earl of Harewood George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood (7 February 1923 – 11 July 2011), styled The Honourable George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was a British classical music administrator and author, and ...

Cheek by Jowl Cheek by Jowl is an international theatre company founded in the United Kingdom by director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod in 1981. Donnellan and Ormerod are Cheek by Jowl's artistic directors and together direct and design all of ...

Jan Fabre Jan Fabre (born 14 December 1958) is a versatile Belgian artist known for his contributions to theater, literature, and visual arts. With a career spanning nearly four decades, Fabre has established himself as an influential figure in the artist ...

Sankai Juku is an internationally known butoh dance Dance troupe, troupe. Co-founded by Amagatsu Ushio in 1975, they are touring worldwide, performing and teaching. As of 2010, Sankai Juku had performed in 43 countries and visited more than 700 cities. Amag ...

Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy (born 25 July 1956) is an English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural or urban settings. Early life Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire on 25 July ...

, Winton Marsalis, the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

and

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

. He has won numerous awards for his design and illustration, including the 1992 AADC's Master's Chair.

Cowboy Books

Michael established the graphic novella imprint Cowboy Books in 1990 with the publication of the awarding winning Ten Drawings of the Jungle. This first title was followed up two years later with The Existentialist Cowboys Last Stand (1992) and Life Advice for High-Plains Drifters (2000). Cowboy Books sell throughout Europe, North America and Australia.

Film school

Michael 'retired' from graphic design in 1994, relocating to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to study for a BA in Film at the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. Opened to students in 1973 as Film and Television School (FTS), after accredita ...

(AFTRS). In his first year as an undergraduate the screenrights to his novella ''The Existentialist Cowboy's Last Stand'' were bought and it was made into one of Australia's most successful short films of the 1990s, along the way earning Michael his first

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

(AFI) nomination. The second came with the Russian language, space-race short, '' Flying Over Mother'' (1996), cementing his reputation as an original screenwriter/director with a global audience.

First feature film

His first feature film,

Lucky Miles ''Lucky Miles'' is a 2007 Australian drama feature film based on several true stories involving people entering Western Australia by boat in order to seek asylum. Its director was Michael James Rowland and its producers were Jo Dyer and Lesley D ...

(2007), is set in 1990 Western Australia. Unfolding as a traditional Australian tale of men lost in the desert, Lucky Miles packs a bold twist updating the genre with an ensemble cast including Kenneth Moraleda, Rodney Afif and Srisacd Sacdapraseuth. Lucky Miles was chosen to be the highly successful opening night film of the

2007 Adelaide Film Festival The 3rd Adelaide Film Festival took place in Adelaide, South Australia, from 22 February to 4 March 2007.Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

. Other awards include; the Special Jury Prize at the 2007

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

International Film Festival; Best Screenplay at the Vladivostok International Film Festival; the

Black Pearl The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the merchant ship '' Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ship is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captain ...

for Best New Director at the Middle East International Film Festival; the Grand Prix at the 9th

Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma des Antipodes The Antipodean Film Festival (), variously referred to as Festival des Antipodes, Antipodes International Film Festival, Antipodes Film Festival Saint Tropez, Saint Tropez Film Festival and other variations, is a film festival showcasing New Ze ...

and Best Film at the

Asian Festival of First Films The Asian Festival of First Films () (AFFF) was an annual film festival held in Singapore from 2005 to 2009 to celebrate and provide a platform for emerging filmmakers. It was also part of the Asian Film Market. The festival focused on first-ti ...

. In 2008, Australia's national broadcaster, ABC1, programmed

at 8:30 pm Sunday night on the Australia Day long-weekend holiday. Its contribution to the nation's celebration.

First television feature

In 2008, Rowland co-wrote and directed the one-hour

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

drama ''

The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce ''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' is a 2008 Australian-Irish film directed by Michael James Rowland starring Irish actors Adrian Dunbar as Philip Conolly and Ciarán McMenamin as bushranger Alexander Pearce and an ensemble Australian cas ...

''. Set in 1824 Van Diemen's Land, ''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' tells the true story of an escape from the notorious British prison Sarah Island by eight convicts. Its Gothic narrative plots their privation and descent into cannibalism, through to the execution of the sole survivor,

Alexander Pearce Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a canniba ...

, for the murder of Thomas Cox. It was co-written and produced by

Nial Fulton Nial William Fulton is an Australian film and television director, producer and writer. Focused on social justice issues, his works include investigative documentaries ''Revelation'' ( Walkley Documentary Award), '' Hitting Home'' (AACTA and ...

drew TV industry nominations in both Europe and Australia. It was nominated for Best Telefeature at the 2009

(AFI) Awards, Best Drama at the 2009

Irish Film & Television Academy The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...

(IFTA) Awards and Best Drama in the 2010 Rose D'Or awards, Switzerland. Reflecting its 'factual' funding, in 2009 The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce won Best Documentary at the

IF Awards The IF Awards, formerly known as the Inside Film Awards, Lexus Inside Film Awards, Kodak IF Awards, and Jameson IF Awards, was an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry. Its name derives from its origins at ...

. For his work, Michael was nominated in the Best Telemovie Director category at the Australian Directors Guild Awards 2009, composer Roger Mason won Best Music for a Telemovie at the 2009 Australian Screen Music Award and Designer Felicity Abbott and props master Paul Stewart were both recognised for their work on the film at the 2009 Newport International Film Festival. In 2009 Australia's national broadcaster, ABC1, programmed ''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' in prime time on Sunday night over the Australia Day long weekend. The previous year ''

'' had been programmed in the same 8:30 pm slot, making it the second year in a row the ABC had screened a Rowland feature to mark the nation's celebration.

Series Television

During 2010 and 2011 Michael directed 8 episodes of AFI and IF award winning series My Place, produced by

Penny Chapman Penny Chapman is an Australian television producer. Her work includes the award-winning '' Brides of Christ,'' '' RAN Remote Area Nurse'' and ''My Place''. Penny received the Maura Fay Award for Services to the Industry at the 2013 Screen Produc ...

. He directed 3 episodes in the first series and was nominated for an Australian Directors Guild Award. He returned to the second series as set-up director and helmed a further 5 episodes. Early in 2011 he directed two episodes of the genre breaking comedy/drama/romance Spirited, produced by Jacquelin Perske and

Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress and producer. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in ''High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher in '' The Heartb ...

. Mid year he directed three episodes of the ballet-teen-drama

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen drama television series produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 Ma ...

, produced by Werner Film Productions for ABC, and in the second half of the year directed three episodes of the award winning Foxtel drama ''

Tangle Tangle may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Tangle, a character in '' The Golden Key'' by George MacDonald * Tangle the Lemur, a character from IDW Publishing comic series ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' Music * ''Tangle'' (alb ...

''.

Notes

External links

Official website
Australian Film Television and Radio School

The Internet Movie Database

Adelaide Film Festival

Variety

Cowboy Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowland, Michael James Australian film directors Mass media people from Adelaide 1964 births Living people Australian Film Television and Radio School alumni