Taxi director Leah Purcell praised for contribution to the arts, women and culture

Taxi Film Production is thrilled to announce that director Leah Purcell has been awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her significant contribution to the performing arts, women and First Nations culture.

Purcell, who is also a renowned actress and writer, is no stranger to awards, with the Member of the Order of Australia joining her impressive list of accomplishments including the 2017 AWGIE and Helpmann Awards for Best Play, UNESCO City of Film Award (2017); and the 2017 Victorian and NSW Premier’s Literary Award for The Drover’s Wife and her Honorary Master’s Degree from Central QLD University in 2002.

Alongside Taxi Film Production’s Andrew Wareham and producer Bain Stewart, Purcell is the founder and artistic director of Oombarra Taxi Productions, an award-winning content creation company working across film, TV and theatre, with a particular focus on bringing Indigenous stories to the forefront of Australian arts and culture. As a proud Goa, Gunggari, Wakka Wakka Indigenous woman, at the core of Purcell’s storytelling are female and First Nations themes, characters and issues.

Purcell’s latest work The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson feature film is a testament to her hard work and talent, as she wrote, directed, produced and starred in the film, and it has just recently been announced as the opening for MIFF’s 69th Film Festival on August 5th. Growing up reading The Drover’s Wife by Henry Lawson with her mother, Purcell was inspired by the story and has adapted the famous short story from the stage, to novel and now the big screen and soon to be small screen.

You can view the trailer for The Drover’s Wife here.