Alyssa McClelland

Alyssa McClelland
McClelland in December 2012
Born	1981 Sydney, Australia
Education	Newtown High School of the Performing Arts Australian Theatre for Young People University of Technology Sydney Atlantic Theater Company, New York
Occupation(s)	Director, writer, actress
Years active	2000–present
Known for	Second Best (director), Amandaland (BBC), Sex Education (Netflix), Everything Now (Netflix)

Alyssa McClelland is a director, screenwriter, producer and former actress. She directed the finale episodes of acclaimed Netflix series Sex Education and was the set-up director of Everything Now, also with Netflix. McClelland directed the successful BBC comedy series Amandaland and the award-winning short film Second Best. Prior to her directing career, she appeared in lead roles in Australian film, television and theatre. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Early life and education

McClelland is the daughter of an industrial chemist father and office manager mother. ^[4] McClelland was educated at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney and was Dux in her final year. She attended the University of Technology Sydney where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in Media Arts and Production, majoring in film. ^{[5] [6]} From the age of fifteen she trained and performed in productions with the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney, until she received a scholarship that enabled her to study abroad with the Atlantic Theater Company in New York. ^[7]

Career

Director / producer / writer

McClelland's short film Second Best won the Dendy Live Action Short Award at the Sydney Film Festival, the Australian Directors' Guild Award for Best Direction in a short film, Best Short Film at the Milano Film Festival, Best Foreign Film at Lake Shorts Film Festival, the Youth Award at 20MinMax Film Festival and Best Direction at Flickerfest .

McClelland directed, wrote and produced seasons 1 and 2 of the cult hit web series One Step Closer to Home, and the short film Nic and Shauna which was a finalist in Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival.

McClelland is also a respected international commercial director, having directed campaigns for Google Pixel, Apple, Air New Zealand, Samsung, Netflix and Vodafone, AEG, McDonald’s and Pot Noodle. Her advertising work has won awards such as the Black Pencil at the D&AD Awards and Best Direction at the London International Awards. ^[8]

She was the recipient of the InStyle Magazine Woman of Style Scholarship for her work as a filmmaker in Australia.

Actor

McClelland has had roles in the feature films A Man's Gotta Do , The Bet , Deck Dogz and in Australian television series Rake , Home and Away , Dance Academy and Canal Road . ^[9]

She received an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in Television, for her 2005 role in the Network Ten telemovie Small Claims: White Wedding . ^[9]

McClelland has performed leading roles in productions with the Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, and Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney. ^[10]

McClelland is a former Jan Logan star, and face of the annual campaign, alongside other Jan Logan ambassadors Rose Byrne, Elizabeth Debicki, and Teresa Palmer.

Director / producer / writer credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Type
2009	Emilia Eckle	Director, writer	Short film
2010	Nic and Shauna	Director, writer, producer	Short film
2011	The Bride	Co-producer	Short film
2011	Home	Producer	Short film
2018	Second Best	Director, writer, producer	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Type
2011–15	One Step Closer to Home	Director, writer, producer	TV web series, seasons 1–2, 19 episodes
2021	Home and Away	Director	TV series, 5 episodes
2022	Everything Now (aka The Fuck-It Bucket)	Director	TV series, 2 episodes
2022	Sex Education	Final block director	TV series, season 4, 3 episodes
2023	Class of '07	Splinter unit director	TV series, 7 episodes
2025	Amandaland	Lead director	Motherland spin-off, 6 episodes

Awards

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
2005	Small Claims: White Wedding	Australian Film Institute Award	Best Guest or Supporting Actress in Television	Nominated
2010	Emilia Eckle	Reel Shorts Film Festival, Canada	Best Short Film	Top 5
2010	Nic and Shauna	Tropfest	Best Short Film	Nominated (finalist)
2012	Alyssa McClelland	InStyle Magazine	Woman of Style Scholarship	Won
2014	The Duchenne Foundation Awareness for Muscular Dystrophy TVC	D&AD Awards	Black Pencil Award	Won
2018	Second Best	20MinMax Film Festival	Youth Jury Award	Won
2019	Second Best	Australian Directors' Guild Award	Best Direction in a Short Film	Won
2018	Second Best	Flickerfest	Best Direction	Won
2018	Second Best	Lakeshorts International Film Festival	Best Foreign Film	Won
2018	Second Best	Maryland International Film Festival	Best Short Film	Nominated
2018	Second Best	Milan Film Festival	Best Short Film	Won
2018	Second Best	Milano Film Festival (MIFF Awards)	Best International Short Film (15–30 minutes)	Won
2018	Second Best	Sydney Film Festival	Dendy Live Action Short	Won
	Alyssa McClelland	London International Awards	Best Direction	Won

References

1. Green, Ricki (26 June 2018). "FINCH's Alyssa McClelland wins Dendy Live Action Short Award at Sydney Film Festival". Campaign Brief.
2. Piña, Christy (27 September 2023). "'Sex Education' Director Unpacks Final Moments of the "Perfect Show"". The Hollywood Reporter.
3. Hankin, Kate (18 August 2022). "Alyssa McClelland Directs New Netflix Series". FINCH. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
4. "Alyssa McClelland – Giving It Everything". The Beast. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
5. "Alyssa McClelland biography". IMDb. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
6. "Alyssa McClelland". elCinema. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
7. "Alyssa McClelland profile, ATYP". Australian Theatre for Young People. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
8. "Alyssa McClelland". FINCH. 13 February 2025.
9. Alyssa McClelland at IMDb
10. "Ray's Tempest". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 May 2005.

External links

• Media related to Alyssa McClelland at Wikimedia Commons