Leah Purcell

Leah Purcell is a multi-award winning director, actor, producer, screenwriter and showrunner. In this moment of #MeToo, #PushBack, #TimesUp and #SheDirects, Leah Purcell is arguably one of Australia’s most outstanding cultural polymath’s She has written and directed landmark Australian film, television and theatrical work now part of the Indigenous canon such as Box the Pony, Redfern Now, Cleverman, The Secret Daughter and The Drover’s Wife. At the core of Leah’s storytelling are female and First Nations themes, characters and issues. The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson film started its life as a play, The Drover’s Wife written by and starring Purcell, which premiered in late 2016. The play swept the board during the 2017 awards season, winning the Australian equivalent of the Tony, Pulitzer, Olivier, Peabody and Booker Prize awards for Literature, Theatre and Excellence in Writing. The play was then adapted in to a screenplay also written by, directed and starring Leah Purcell and is slated for a late 2021 release. Leah is a proud Goa, Gunggari, Wakka Wakka Indigenous woman from Queensland, Australia. “She is a true penetrator and a true outlier” – Rachel Griffith, Oscar nominated Actress & Producer/Director ‘Ride Like a Girl’ feature film. “She is arguably Australia’s most outstanding cultural polymath” – Brett Sheehy AO, Artistic Director MTC. “Australia wouldn’t know itself without our Leah Purcell and her canon” – Kevin Whyte, CEO Token Group & Guesswork Television.