Samantha Rebillet (8 January 1972 – 27 November 2017) was a French-born Australian film director, actress, screenwriter, producer, singer and songwriter. She had guest roles in various Australian television series and roles in several films. Rebillet wrote, directed and produced several films and documentaries including the 2004 documentary ''Butterfly Man'' which won a Silver Cub Award at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.

Early life and education

Rebillet was born in Paris, France, but moved to Australia with her family at an early age. She was fluent in French, Spanish and English. Rebillet attended

SCEGGS Darlinghurst SCEGGS Darlinghurst is an independent Anglican single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls, located in Darlinghurst, an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1895 as the Sydney ...

, an independent high school in

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 ...

. She grew up in the movie making world, accompanying her father, Chris Maudson and adopted father Richard Brennan around film sets. She completed a Bachelor of Drama at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

in 1998 and did further studies, obtaining two master's degrees - a masters in Media Arts and Production at the

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a technical institution can be traced back t ...

(UTS) in 2002, and a masters in Directing Drama 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 ...

in 2006. She was on her way to obtaining a Doctorate of Creative Arts at the UTS

Career

Rebillet first appeared on screen in the seminal Australian film ''

Newsfront ''Newsfront'' is a 1978 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce, and starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown. The screenplay is written by David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, and Noyce. The original ...

'', and in '' Going Down'' in 1983. Rebillet went on to gain credits in several other features including ''Heatwave'', ''

Così ''Così'' is a play by Australian playwright Louis Nowra which was first performed in 1992 at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia. Set in a Melbourne mental hospital in 1971, ''Così'' is semi-autobiographical, and is the sequel to his p ...

'' and ''

I Can't Get Started "I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (With You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the revue ''Ziegfeld Fo ...

'', and was cast in international commercials with

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

and

Kraft Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

. Other early guest roles included appearances in several Australian television series '' Water Rats'', ''

Murder Call ''Murder Call'' is an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and broadcast on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The series was inspired by the ''Tessa Vance'' novels by Jennifer Rowe, ...

'' and ''

All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...

''. Despite years as an actor, Rebillet always wanted to be a director and eventually, in her twenties, got behind the camera by working as a director's assistant to

Mark Joffe Mark Joffe (born 1956) is an Australian film and television director. He has directed feature films, telemovies, and drama series. Joffe learned his trade at Crawford Productions, working on ''Carson's Law'', '' Special Squad'' and ''Neighbour ...

(''

The Man Who Sued God ''The Man Who Sued God'' is a 2001 Australian comedy film starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis, and directed by Mark Joffe. The film was a financial success, debuting at number one at the Australian box office in the week of its launch. Plo ...

'') and

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas ( ; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian film director. He is known for directing the films ''The Crow (1994 film), The Crow'' (1994), ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot (film), I, Robot'' (2004) and '' ...

(''

Garage Days ''Garage Days'' is a 2002 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Alex Proyas and written by Proyas, Dave Warner and Michael Udesky. ''Garage Days'' is the story of a young Sydney garage band desperately trying to make it big in the competitiv ...

'' and '' iRobot''). Since graduating from the

in 2006, Rebillet has written and directed prize winning short films and documentaries, alongside TV commercials, corporate videos and music clips. Her documentary 'Butterfly Man' (2004) has picked up major awards both in Australia and abroad, including the Silver Cub Award at the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

( IDFA), while her short 'All Shook Up' was a finalist in the 2003

Tropfest Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. It has also become known as the world's first global film festival. Founded by actor/director John Polson, Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people at the 'Tropicana Caffe' in ...

Short Film Festival. Her drama films have featured some Australian actors such as

Mia Wasikowska Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in '' Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known t ...

and

Maeve Dermody Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1988) is a UK-based Australian actress. After a film appearance at 5 years old, her adult acting career has included work in Australian and British television, theatre, short films and movies. Early life She ...

. Rebillet was chosen as the Australian representative at the Artist Residency 5Sur5 in Belgium, and her work has screened regularly on television in Australia, International Broadcast and

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

Inflight. Rebillet has taught film studies at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

COFA The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public university, public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, ...

Metro Screen Metro Screen was a Paddington, Sydney based not-for-profit film, television and digital media training organisation. It was the NSW member of Screen Development Australia (SDA) and was located in the Paddington Town Hall, Cnr Oxford St & Oatley Rd ...

and NIDA and is currently a part-time lecturer and Doctorate candidate at the

. Rebillet is currently developing the

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

-funded feature-length film, The Last Goodbye as a part of her study. She also formed part of the electronic jazz pop outfit The Freaks in Love with her husband

Ilan Kidron Ilan Kidron (born 22 April 1976), also known as iKid, is a Sydney-based singer songwriter with over one billion combined streams, best known as the lead singer for Australia's multi-platinum selling dance music act The Potbelleez. As a writer ...

of the Potbelleez.

Style and process

Rebillets's approach to filmmaking is influenced by the handheld and improvisational approach preferred by filmmakers such as

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, dramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological realism. His accolades include a Golden Lion ...

Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker primarily known for making modern psychological drama (film genre), psychological drama films about the human condition. His most notable films include ''Amores perros ...

and

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures. His ...

. According to an interview with Filmink in February 2014, this is still a 'developing style'. Using this improvisational approach for her film ''The Last Goodbye'', Rebillet wrote the script in 'broad brushstrokes', allowing for the finer details to be further developed during filming itself.

Personal life

Rebillet was married to

from the Australian electro-house and dance music group, Potbelleez. She has two children, Remi (born 1993) and Gabe (born 2002). In 2010 she suffered from a life-threatening brain tumor, but recovered. Rebillet was an active supporter for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation in Australia and helped to organize the

Wayside Chapel The Wayside Chapel is a charity and parish mission of the Uniting Church in Australia in the Potts Point area of Sydney. Situated near Sydney's most prominent red-light district in Kings Cross, the Wayside Chapel offers programs and services w ...

's ''Art To Heart'' charity fundraiser.

Death

Rebillet took her own life on 27 November 2017 aged 45.

Filmography

Actress

Director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebillet, Samantha 1972 births Australian film actresses Australian women singer-songwriters Australian singer-songwriters Australian film directors Australian women film directors Australian film producers Australian screenwriters Australian Film Television and Radio School alumni Suicides in Australia French emigrants to Australia University of New South Wales alumni University of Technology Sydney alumni 2017 suicides 2017 deaths