Beck Cole

Last updated

Beck Cole
Born
Australia
Occupation(s) Screenwriter, film director
Years active2000–present
PartnerSamuel Cole (2016–c.2017)
ChildrenLuka May Glynn-Cole (Luka May)

Beck Cole is an Australian filmmaker of the Warramungu and Luritja nations. She is known for her work on numerous TV series, including First Australians , Grace Beside Me , Black Comedy and Wentworth , as well as documentaries and short films. She is based in Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory.

Contents

Early life, education and early career

Cole grew up in Adelaide and around the Port Adelaide area. [1]

Cole started working in media as a journalist when she got a cadetship at Imparja Television, when still at school. She gained experience in both writing and presenting stories, and also worked as a news and weather presenter. [1]

She graduated from Charles Sturt University with a BA in Communication and Sociology, and soon afterwards started work in the Indigenous Unit at ABC Television, where she started her filmmaking career. [1] In 2001, Cole graduated with a Master of Arts (Film & Television) Documentary from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), [2] where she was exposed to a number of Australian documentary filmmakers. [1]

Cole was mentored by photographer and filmmaker Michael Riley, who co-founded Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative, until his death in 2004. [3]

Career

While at AFTRS, Cole worked on and off for the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), with whom she has had an association ever since. [1]

Her early short documentary and drama films, starting with Flat (2002/3), were mainly focused on Aboriginal culture and family. [1] Flat and Plains Empty (2005 [4] ) premiering at Sundance Flat also screening at the Edinburgh Film Festival. [5]

Cole established a working as well as a personal relationship with cinematographer Warwick Thornton, [1] and along with producer Kath Shelper they called themselves "the trinity" since working together from 2004. [6] Wirriya: Small Boy (2004) is a short film about an eight-year-old boy who lives in Hidden Valley, an Indigenous town camp near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, with his foster mother. [7]

Cole worked as a writer-director on First Australians (2008), the acclaimed documentary television series about the history of Indigenous Australians, along with Rachel Perkins and Louis Nowra. [1]

In 2009 she wrote and directed Making 'Samson and Delilah', a 55 minute documentary on the making of the feature film Samson and Delilah , directed by Thornton. [5]

Her debut feature film was the drama Here I Am (2011), [3] which stars prominent activist and academic Marcia Langton. [8]

She directed several episodes over three series of the Black Comedy , which won a 2015 AACTA award for Best Direction in a Light Entertainment or Reality Series. [5]

After working on a number of series on Indigenous themes, she collaborated with Leah Purcell on several episodes of the popular prison drama series, Wentworth , between 2019 and 2021, [9] and with Bevan Lee on the Seven Network series Between Two Worlds , which premiered in 2020. [3] [5]

Cole was voice director for all three seasons of Little J & Big Cuz , and wrote two episodes of the series. [3] [5]

As of 2019 Cole was working on a horror film set in Alice Springs, based on a true story told by Aboriginal children who lived in a residential care home, where they were attacked by an evil entity. [3]

Cole and Sam Paynter workshopped ideas with local elders and young people to produce ideas for the storyline of the 2020 children's TV series Thalu , which was commissioned by National Indigenous Television and ABC Me. [10] She also co-wrote the screenplay for the series along with Paynter, Nayuka Gorrie, David Woodhead, and Donald Imberlong. [11]

Cole directed one of the segments of the anthology film We Are Still Here , which premiered as the opening film of the 2022 Sydney Film Festival. [12]

Recognition and accolades

Cole was one of seven filmmakers featured in the 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisbane [5]

Film awards

Personal life

Cole was formerly married to director Warwick Thornton, [4] whom she met in 1999. [16] They have a daughter, Luka May, [17] [16] an actress also known as Luka Magdeline Cole or Luka May Glynn-Cole. [18] The couple shared a personal as well as professional relationship. [6] By 2018 Thornton and Cole had separated. [19]

She is a cousin of filmmaker Danielle MacLean. [20]

Related Research Articles

The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is an organisation founded in 1980 to expose Aboriginal music and culture to the rest of Australia. It started with 8KIN-FM, the first Aboriginal radio station in the country. Based in Alice Springs, the organisation is particularly focused on the involvement of the local Indigenous community in its production. CAAMA is involved in radio, television and recorded music.

The Adelaide Film Festival is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented biennially in March from 2003, since 2013 AFF has been held in October. Subject to funding, the festival has staged full or briefer events in alternating years; some form of event has taken place every year since 2015. From 2022 it takes place annually. It has a strong focus on local South Australian and Australian produced content, with the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund (AFFIF) established to fund investment in Australian films.

Kath Shelper is an Australian film producer, known for Samson and Delilah. Her production company is called Scarlett Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Film, Television and Radio School</span> Screen and broadcast school

The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority.

Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the Screen Australia Act 2008. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecessor agencies the Australian Film Commission (AFC), the Film Finance Corporation Australia and Film Australia Limited.

First Australians is an Australian historical documentary series produced by Blackfella Films over the course of six years, and first aired on SBS TV in October 2008. The documentary is part of a greater project that further consists of a book, a community outreach program and a substantial website featuring over 200 mini-documentaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warwick Thornton</span> Australian film director

Warwick Thornton is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. His debut feature film Samson and Delilah won the Caméra d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the award for Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. He also won the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Film in 2017 for Sweet Country.

Here I Am is a 2011 Australian drama film written and directed by Beck Cole.

<i>Sweet Country</i> (2017 film) 2017 Australian drama film

Sweet Country is a 2017 Australian drama film, directed by Warwick Thornton. Set in 1929 in the sparsely populated outback of the Northern Territory and based on a series of true events, it tells a harsh story against the backdrop of a divided society in the interwar period in Australia.

Natasha Wanganeen is an Aboriginal Australian actress. She is known for her starring role in the 2002 feature film Rabbit-Proof Fence, aged 15, and numerous television roles. Her debut film as co-writer and co-producer is the 2022 short film, an Indigenous sci-fi drama entitled Bunker: The Last Fleet, about an alien invasion of Australia, in which she also takes the lead role.

Thalu is an Australian children's post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama television series made for National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ABC Me, broadcast in April 2020. All cast members are Indigenous Australians, and the children are first-time actors. There are guest appearances by seasoned actors Elaine Crombie, Trisha Morton-Thomas, and Hunter Page-Lochard. It was filmed in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Alfreda "Freda" Glynn, also known as Freda Thornton, is a Kaytetye photographer and media specialist. She is known as co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Group of Companies, which incorporates CAAMA and Imparja.

Catriona McKenzie is an Australian filmmaker. She is known for her film Satellite Boy and television series Kiki and Kitty and Wrong Kind of Black. Her production company is called Dark Horse.

Sally Riley is an Australian filmmaker, writer, producer and media executive, as of 2021 Head of Scripted Production at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Erica Glynn is an Indigenous Australian filmmaker, known for directing, producing and writing documentaries and other films.

Darren Dale is an Indigenous Australian film and television producer. Since joining Blackfella Films as a producer in 2001, he is as of 2021 co-director of the company, along with founder Rachel Perkins. Dale is known for co-producing many films and television series with Miranda Dear since 2010, with their most recent collaboration being the second season of Total Control.

Danielle MacLean is an Australian filmmaker. She is known for her writing on television series such as Little J & Big Cuz, 8MMM Aboriginal Radio and Redfern Now.

Steven McGregor is an Australian filmmaker, known for his work on Redfern Now, Black Comedy, Sweet Country, and numerous documentaries, including My Brother Vinnie.

David Jowsey is an Australian film producer, co-founder of Bunya Productions. He is known for producing many films made by Indigenous Australian filmmakers. Bunya Productions' co-owners are Indigenous filmmaker Ivan Sen, and Jowsey's wife Greer Simpkin.

Dena Curtis is an Australian film producer and director. Among others, she directed the ABC Television comedy series 8MMM Aboriginal Radio, and in 2024 co-produced Firebite for AMC+. She is the owner of production company Inkey Media in Brisbane, Queensland.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cole, Beck. "A filmmaking life". RealTime Arts (Interview). Interviewed by Stefanoff, Lisa. Retrieved 22 November 2021. [Reproduced from] RealTime issue #74 Aug-Sept 2006 pg. 19.
  2. ↑ "AFTRS Alumni Works Nominated for the 2020 Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network Award". Australian Film Television and Radio School. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Groves, Don (21 May 2019). "Writer-director Beck Cole moves between two worlds". IF Magazine . Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  4. 1 2 Cole, Beck (2 June 2011). "Here is Cole". Australian Screen (Interview). Interviewed by Gonzalez, Miguel. National Film and Sound Archive of Australia . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Beck Cole and Liz Hughes – Thursday 22 October 2020". National Institute of Dramatic Art . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  6. 1 2 Delaney, Colin (15 June 2011). "Here I Am's Beck Cole, Kath Shelper and Warwick Thorton are here to stay". Mumbrella . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Wirriya: Small Boy - Ricco". Australian Screen . National Film and Sound Archive of Australia . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Here I am at IMDb
  9. ↑ Beck Cole at IMDb
  10. ↑ Tan, Teresa (1 August 2020). "Kids TV show Thalu works with Pilbara community to create positive role models". ABC News . Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "Thalu: get ready for a bold new children's show". NITV . 26 March 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  12. ↑ Sandy George, "Indigenous anthology feature ‘We Are Still Here’ to open Sydney Film Festival 2022". Screen Daily , 4 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Here I Am: Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  14. ↑ "Adelaide Film Festival: Awards". Screen Australia . 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Montréal World Film Festival 2011". MUBI. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Finding salvation in film". The Sydney Morning Herald . 25 April 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "The Crew: Beck Cole, writer/director". Here I Am. 10 November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  18. ↑ Luka Magdeline Cole at IMDb
  19. ↑ Maddox, Garry (4 January 2018). "Director Warwick Thornton's film Sweet Country is a bold new take on the Western". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  20. ↑ "Danielle MacLean proudly carries the flag for Indigenous storytelling". IF Magazine . 13 June 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.