Certificate in Directing, 1973
Phillip Noyce’s first feature as writer-director came just four years after graduating. 1977’s Backroads was followed by Newsfront, which won the prize for best film at the Australian Film Awards, opened the London Film Festival and was the first Australian film to screen at the New York Film Festival. Phillip’s next film—1982’s Heatwave, starring Judy Davis—was chosen to screen at the Cannes Film Festival.
TV miniseries for Kennedy-Miller, The Dismissal and The Cowra Breakout, followed. One of Phillip’s co-writers on the latter was fellow alumnus Chris Noonan, and the two shared directing duties. His working relationship with George Miller also continued on 1989’s Dead Calm, and that film brought him to the attention of Hollywood, where he directed six films over the next decade, including Patriot Games (1992), Clear and Present Danger (1994), and The Bone Collector (1999).
2002’s The Quiet American was followed by Rabbit-Proof Fence, which won Best Picture at the Australian Film Awards. Subsequent films include political drama Catch a Fire, spy thriller Salt and The Giver, starring Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep. Working in American television, Phillip also directed the pilot for hit series Revenge and an episode of the HBO drama Luck, working alongside Michael Mann and David Milch.
AFTRS HIGHLIGHT
Professor Toeplitz [founding director of AFTRS]
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Rabbit-Proof Fence