Gillian Armstrong

Born: 18th December 1950
Where: Melbourne, Australia

Gilian began her studies at Swinburne Technical College where she took part in various aspects of filmmaking, ranging from designing costumes to assisting director Fred Schepisi.

She first stepped behind the camera as producer-writer-director on the eight-minute short Roof Needs Mowing in 1971. After briefly working as an editor, Gillian earned a scholarship to the Australian Film and Television School's training scheme for directors.

Supporting herself as a waitress, she managed to complete three short films, including Gretel, a 27-minute work adapted from a Hal Porter short story that was tapped as Australia's official entry at the Grenoble International Festival of Short Films.

In 1975, Gillian made the first of three films, made over a 13-year period, that scrutinized the lives of three working-class Australian girls as they matured from teenagers to young women: Smoke and Lollies, Fourteen's Good, Eighteen's Better and Bingo, Bridesmaids and Braces.

She later assembled the footage into the award-winning feature-length documentary Not Fourteen Again.

Gillian gained real attention with her debut feature, My Brilliant Career, marking her as the first woman to helm a feature-length movie in her homeland in almost fifty years, and earning her seven Australian Film Institute Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Gillian's first American film was the underrated Mrs. Soffel, but she soon returned to Australia, directing High Tide, The Last Days of Chez Nous.

Gillian helmed a remake of the classic Little Women, starring Winona Ryder, then directed Cate Blanchett in a WW2 tale.