Stephan Elliott (born 27 August 1964) is an Australian

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 ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. His best-known film internationally is '' The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' (1994).

Career

Elliott began his career as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

working in the Australian film industry in the 1980s. His first two feature films, '' Frauds'' (starring musician

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

) and '' The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'', along with his shorter films ''Fast'' and ''The Agreement'' were produced by Rebel Penfold-Russell's Australian production company Latent Image Productions. ''Frauds'', ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' and '' Welcome to Woop Woop'' were all officially selected to screen at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, with "Priscilla" winning the ''Prix du public'' as well as an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Costume Design. In 2004 Elliott had a skiing accident and was hospitalised for several months. He said the accident caused him to rediscover his sense of humour. His film '' Easy Virtue'', co-written with Sheridan Jobbins, is based on the

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

play of the same name. It stars Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes and was produced by Barnaby Thompson for

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

in the UK, and premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on 8 September 2008. It has also screened in the Rio Film Festival,

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

and London Film Festival. His next film, '' A Few Best Men'' starring Xavier Samuel and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

was released in 2012. He also wrote the script for the stage play of '' Priscilla'', which premiered in 2007 at

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 ...

's Lyric Theatre in Star City.

Personal life

Elliott came out as gay during his presentation at the inaugural AACTA Awards in Sydney on 31 January 2012. He has been in a relationship with his partner, Wil Bevolley, since the late 1980s. They had a civil partnership ceremony in London in 2008.

Filmography

*'' Frauds'' (1993) *'' The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' (1994) *'' Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997) *'' Eye of the Beholder'' (1999) *'' Easy Virtue'' (2008) *'' A Few Best Men'' (2011) *'' Rio, I Love You'' (2014) *'' Swinging Safari'' (2017)

References

External links

*
Unofficial fansiteOfficial website for 'Priscilla' the stage musicalToronto Film Festival review of Easy VirtueCompiled news articles about Stephan Elliott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Stephan 1964 births 20th-century Australian LGBTQ people 21st-century Australian LGBTQ people Australian film directors Australian comedy film directors Australian male screenwriters Australian LGBTQ screenwriters Australian gay writers Australian LGBTQ film directors Gay screenwriters Living people Film directors from Sydney People educated at Sydney Grammar School