Julie Kalceff is an award-winning writer, director and producer. A graduate of AFTRS with a Master of Arts (Film and Television) Scriptwriting, Julie has been working in the film and television industry for over 15 years.
Julie is the creator, writer, director and producer of the international hit multi-platform drama Starting From Now. Attracting both critical and popular acclaim, the series is one of Australia’s most successful multi-platform projects. It has amassed over 85 million views, been watched in over 230 countries, and was sold to and screened on broadcast television in Australia.
Starting From Now has played on the global festival circuit, winning a number of awards including the International Academy of Web Television Award of Recognition at Hollyweb Fest, 2017; the Outstanding Diversity Award at Melbourne WebFest, 2017; the Audience Award at the Mardi Gras Film Festival, 2016; Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Drama Series at LA WebFest, 2016; and Best Web Series at She Webfest, 2015. Julie also won the award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series at LA WebFest, 2016 and was nominated for Best Writing (Drama) at the International Academy of Web Television Awards, 2017; and Best Director at the Asia Web Awards, 2017.Julie was the sole writer and director on all 30 episodes of the series and was a producer on all five seasons.
Julie received development funding through Screen Australia’s Gender Matters initiative and is currently in development on her half-hour drama series Torn. She was also commissioned by the ABC to write and direct First Day, a stand-alone television episode about a 12 year-old transgender girl starting high school. Julie won the Best Screenplay Award (My Queer Career) at the Mardi Gras Film Festival, 2018, for her work on First Day, which also picked up the Audience Award. Julie was also nominated for an Australian Directors’ Guild Award, 2018, for Best Direction of a Children’s TV or SVOD Drama. First Day won two awards at the prestigious Prix Jeunesse International Children’s Television Festival, 2018 – 2nd prize in Best Children’s Television Episode and the Gender Equity Prize.
In 2018, Julie was selected to participate in Screen Australia’s Talent USA Program that introduces the best emerging Australian talent to the international market. Julie’s award-winning short films have also screened in numerous festivals around the world. Her short, ex, was an official selection at over 20 film festivals, winning awards such as the Panavision Award, My Queer Career: Mardi Gras Film Festival, and Best Gal’s Short, Phoenix International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. She was a writer/director on the 2011 web series The Newtown Girls.