ABOUT

Shelly Lauman is an award winning screenwriter and director. Classically trained as an actor at the Victorian College of the Arts, Shelly's filmmaking career is preceded by nearly a decade of work as an actor and theatre-maker on some of Australia's most prestigious stages.

Earning her MFA at the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles, her multi-award winning graduate film WOMAN OUTSIDE screened at numerous international film festivals and was selected for the DGA / AFI directors’ showcase, where Shelly received the AFI Richard P Rogers Spirit of Excellence Award for her direction.

Shelly is the inaugural recipient of the Australian Directors’ Guild / Metro Screen Production Fellowship, with which she made her short film BIRDIE. BIRDIE premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival and was acquired by Searchlight Pictures ahead of its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was also nominated for Best International Short. BIRDIE was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, Live Action Short Film at AFI FEST, and Shelly received a nomination for Best Direction in a Short Film at the Australian Directors’ Guild Awards.

She is currently in development on several longform projects, including her first feature. Gender, body and voicelessness are main themes of her work.