Director Kate Woods discusses returning to Australian feature film and how television storytelling has changed in her 40-plus year career.
Reflecting on her debut feature film, Kate Woods was surprised to be offered the project at all. An established television director at the time, the film adaptation of Australia’s most stolen library book Looking for Alibrandi was hot property. “25 years ago, television directors very rarely moved across [to film],” she says. “I love the fact that [now] actors, directors, writers, DPs and everybody are moving between television and film, and it opens up so much more opportunities.”
Now based in the US, Woods has seen the television market evolve from broadcasters and legacy programs to streamers and limited series, and attributes the longevity of her career on preparation. “Be prepared to do things, work on things, direct things that mightn’t be your cup of tea. It might not be the thing that you most want to do, but it will teach you your trade. It’s a craft – directing – and you have to practise it,” she says.
In the latest episode of the Screen Australia podcast, Woods shares her experiences working in the industry across film and TV in Australia and abroad, her approach to selecting projects, the influence of music in her work and why she ignored the screen adage to never work with children or animals in her latest project, Kangaroo.
The family-friendly feature has officially become the highest-grossing Australian film of the year at the domestic box office. Filmed in Alice Springs, Kangaroo stars Ryan Corr as a recently cancelled TV personality who teams up with 12-year-old Indigenous girl Charlie (newcomer Lily Whiteley) to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned joeys. It also features a packed cast with Deborah Mailman, Brooke Satchwell, Rachel House, Wayne Blair and Roy Billing. Find out Where to Watch Kangaroo at the Screen Guide.
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