Spotlight on Women Directors: Gemma Lee
As part of a regular series with Free The Bid Australia, Campaign Brief shines the spotlight on top female commercials directors in Australia and New Zealand…
Gemma Lee was born on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. After attending Edinburgh College of Art, where she studied drawing and painting, Gemma immigrated to Australia at the age of twenty.
Four best spots:
Hunter Valley ‘Here’s To The Good Life‘
Tasmania Tourism ‘Go Behind The Scenes‘
In 2007, she graduated from The Victorian College of the Arts School of Film and Television (AUS) and holds a Master in Writing and Directing. Her graduating film Heaven won ‘Best Script’ and ‘Best Film’. Her short film The Wake starring Angus Sampson (Insidious, Mad Max: Fury Road) and Gulliver McGrath (Lincoln, Dark Shadows) screened at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York. In 2010, it won the SBS Award at the St Kilda Film Festival for ‘Best Film’ and went on to screen Palm Springs, where it was voted ‘Best of the Fest’ and the Oscar-Accredited Australian short film festival, Flickerfest.
Gemma’s work is known for its breathtaking imagery and her background in art gives her a finely trained eye. She has quickly made a mark for herself as a commercial and music video director, directing campaigns for Mitsubishi, Tampax, The Australian Defence Force, Destination NSW, Tourism Tasmania, RAM, Colgate, Weight Watchers, White Ribbon, HTC and Yalumba to name a few. Gemma is currently freelancing and is in development with Screen Austrlia for her first feature film, Blackwood.
Says Lee: “I have a fine arts degree and this has always influenced my filmmaking, particularly when working with a cinematographer. I believe my background gives me a highly trained eye and therefore I play careful attention to visual composition.
“I’m a storyteller at heart and I enjoy making narrative work. As much as I enjoy working with trained actors, I also love the authenticity that street casting can bring to a project. I have a natural affinity with nature and the majority of projects I’ve directed have been set outdoors. I feel growing up in the Scottish countryside has greatly influence the kind of stories I want to tell, creating images that are moody, evocative and iconic, showing nature to be both protective and obstructive.
Since launching a year ago, Free The Bid has 200 Australian Women Directors on its searchable database. Free The Bid now has over 20 major agencies that use the database to find the right director for each of their projects and have committed to putting one female director in the mix for every job.
2 Comments
Yeeewwww Go Gemma. Beautiful work
Big ups Gemma!