PROFILE

Vanessa is an award-winning NZ screenwriter, director and editor with over 13 years of experience in the London film industry across a variety of formats and genres, including fiction, documentary, short films, feature films, music videos, commercials and corporate films.

After graduating with First Class Honours from Met Film School in the UK, she worked under BAFTA and SUNDANCE winning directors; Jerry Rothwell and Sarah Gavron. It was under these master storytellers that Vanessa learnt the art of crafting compelling narrative. Branching out, Vanessa began freelancing in roles such as Production Manager, Producer, Director and Editor for clients such as CNN, Bosch, Sony, Dyson, The British Museum and Cancer Research. After a period of consolidating this industry experience, Vanessa focused in on her passion of Screenwriting and Directing narrative content.

In 2016, her ambitious historical drama “The Widow’s Last” won the Pitch Film Competition UK and was awarded EU$25K production grant and development support. The film made its debut at the prestigious Galway Film Fledh 2017 and went on to play in 25 top tier film festivals globally. the film was officially selected for the 71st BAFTA Longlist and went on to win Best Short Film at Edinburgh Indie Festival and Best Production Design at Birmingham Film Festival.

Between 2017 and 2020 Vanessa took two career breaks to have children, however, during this time she has continued to pursue her passion for film. In 2017, she began collaborating with LA producer Larry Frenzel, to co-write and direct her first Feature Film, “Epie and the Moon Man” – based on the novel “Dandelion Summer” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate. Alongside this, Vanessa has a further slate of features and TV projects in development.

Vanessa is a member of Directors UK, WIFTB and Cinesisters, the UK’s collective for female directors. In 2021, she moved to Sydney, Australia, where she is excited to continue developing and creating film and TV content.

Working with actors, bringing scripts to life and crafting poignant cinematic moments are among her greatest passions and overarching all of her work is the desire to crate powerful, story driven films.