Biography
Vanessa is an award winning Director and Writer who grew up on the coast of New Zealand, where the dramatic landscape inspired her with a love for photography and great story. After graduating with First Class Honours from Met Film School, she worked with the BAFTA award winning Feature Doc Director, Jerry Rothwell as the Assistant Director on his films. Vanessa has since gone on to set up her own production company and has over ten years of directing experience across a variety of formats and genres, including: fiction, documentary, short films, music videos and corporate films.
Her first short 'The File Room' premiered at Oscar and BAFTA Qualifying festival LA Shorts Fest and played at several international festivals. In 2016, her ambitious historical drama "The Widow's Last" was selected amongst thousands of entries at The Pitch Film Competition UK to win the grand prize of a £25K production budget and development support. The film made its debut at the Galway Film Fledh 2017 and went on to play in 25 film festivals globally, several of which were BAFTA and Oscar Qualifying. The film was officially selected for the 71st BAFTA Longlist in 2018 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 two children, however, during this time she has continued to pursue her passion for film. In 2017, Vanessa was contracted by producer Larry Frenzel, to write and direct her first Feature Film, "Epie and the Moon Man". The film is based on the novel "Dandelion Summer" by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate and is currently in Development.
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 create powerful, story driven films.
Her first short 'The File Room' premiered at Oscar and BAFTA Qualifying festival LA Shorts Fest and played at several international festivals. In 2016, her ambitious historical drama "The Widow's Last" was selected amongst thousands of entries at The Pitch Film Competition UK to win the grand prize of a £25K production budget and development support. The film made its debut at the Galway Film Fledh 2017 and went on to play in 25 film festivals globally, several of which were BAFTA and Oscar Qualifying. The film was officially selected for the 71st BAFTA Longlist in 2018 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 two children, however, during this time she has continued to pursue her passion for film. In 2017, Vanessa was contracted by producer Larry Frenzel, to write and direct her first Feature Film, "Epie and the Moon Man". The film is based on the novel "Dandelion Summer" by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate and is currently in Development.
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 create powerful, story driven films.