Rachel Perkins (born 1970) is an Australian film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. She directed the films '' Radiance'' (1998), '' One Night the Moon'' (2001), '' Bran Nue Dae'' (2010), and ''

Jasper Jones ''Jasper Jones'', is a 2009 novel by Australian writer Craig Silvey. It has won and been shortlisted for several major awards including being shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. The novel was selected by the American Libra ...

'' (2017). Perkins is an

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Austral ...

and Kalkadoon woman from Central Australia, who was raised in Canberra by Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins and his wife Eileen.

Early life and education

Perkins was born in Canberra,

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

in 1970. She is the daughter of Charlie Perkins, granddaughter of Hetty Perkins, and has

, Kalkadoon, Irish, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

ancestry. Her siblings are Adam and Hetti Perkins, an art curator, and her niece is actress Madeleine Madden. For schooling she and her sister attended Melrose High School. At the age of 18 Perkins moved to

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

and entered into a traineeship at the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association.

Career

In 1992, Perkins founded Blackfella Films, a documentary and

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional ( memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller Thriller may r ...

production company creating distinctive Australian content for television, live theatre, and online platforms, with a particular focus on

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

stories. Its productions have included multi-award winning seven-part documentary series ''

First Australians ''First Australians'' is an Australian historical documentary series produced by Blackfella Films over the course of six years, and first aired on SBS TV in October 2008. The documentary is part of a greater project that further consists of ...

'', television film '' Mabo'', and TV series '' Redfern Now''. She served as Commissioner with the

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...

from 2004 to 2008, and since 2009 has been on the board of Screen Australia. She was also curator for the 2009 Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival. This tenth anniversary of the festival held at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

featured the premiere of '' Fire Talker'', a documentary film about her father Charlie Perkins by Australian filmmaker Ivan Sen. Since 2015, Perkins has been the president of the AIATSIS Foundation, which is part of the

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

. She has continued to make award-winning films and TV series (see below). In 2019, she was invited to give the ABC's annual

Boyer Lecture The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National. The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commis ...

, which she titled ''The End of Silence'', and broadcast on ABC RN in November and available as a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

Personal life

Perkins has a son with her ex-husband filmmaker Richard McGrath.

Selected filmography

*''

Blood Brothers (film series) ''Blood Brothers'' is a 1993 four-part Australian documentary series that tells the stories of three different Aboriginal Australian men and an Aboriginal ceremony. Overview Broken English "Broken English" is about Arrernte man Rupert Max Stu ...

(1993) – producer, director, writer *'' Radiance'' (1998) – director *'' One Night the Moon'' (2001) – director, writer *''Flat'' (2002) – producer *''Mimi'' (2002) – producer *''

'' (2008) – producer, director, writer, narrator *'' Bran Nue Dae'' (2010) – director, writer *'' Mabo'' (2012) – director *''Black Panther Woman'' (2014) – director *''First Contact'' (2014) – producer *''

'' (2017) – director *''The Prospector'' (TBD) – director * ''Mystery Road'' (2019 & 2020) TV series * ''Total Control'' (2019) TV series * '' The Australian Wars '' (2022), a three-part documentary series about the Australian frontier wars on SBS Television – director, producer and presenter

Awards

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 Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

*1998 – AFI Award Best Achievement in Direction: '' Radiance'' (1998) (nominated) *2002 – Byron Kennedy Award Australian Writers' Guild *2001 – Awgie Award Television – Television Original: '' One Night the Moon'' (2001) *2001 – Major Award: ''One Night the Moon'' (2001) Canberra International Film Festival *1998 – Audience Award: ''Radiance'' (1998) Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards *2002 – Special Achievement Award: ''One Night the Moon'' (2001) IF Awards *2001 – IF Award Best Direction: ''One Night the Moon'' (2001) (nominated)

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fes ...

*1998 – Most Popular Feature Film: ''Radiance'' (1998) New York International Independent Film & Video Festival *2001 – Genre Award Best Feature Film – Musical: ''One Night the Moon'' (2001)

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television indust ...

*2019 - Best Television Drama

Australian Directors' Guild Awards The Australian Directors' Guild (ADG) is an industry guild representing the interests of film, television, commercials and digital media directors, including documentary makers and animators, throughout Australia. With its headquarters in Sydney ...

*2019 - Best director in a television drama series, for ''

Mystery Road Mystery Road may refer to: * ''Mystery Road'' (film), a 2013 Australian neo-western crime film * ''Mystery Road'' (TV series), an Australian television drama series beginning in 2018 * ''Mystery Road'' (album), a 1989 album by Drivin N Cryin * '' ...

'', Series 1 Tudawali Film and Video Awards *1994 – The Tudawali Award: ''Blood Brothers'' (1993) *2000 – Best direction: ''Radiance'' (1998)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Rachel 1970 births Living people Australian film producers Australian film directors Australian women film directors Australian television producers Australian women television producers Australian television directors Indigenous Australian musicians Australian screenwriters Indigenous Australian filmmakers Arrernte Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of German descent Australian women television directors