Steven McGregor facts for kids

Steven McGregor is an amazing Australian filmmaker. He is known for his work on popular TV shows like Redfern Now and Black Comedy. He also helped create the movie Sweet Country and many documentaries, including My Brother Vinnie.

Early Life and Learning

Steven McGregor grew up in a place called East Arm, near Darwin. There was a special place nearby called a leprosarium, where people with a skin condition called leprosy lived and were cared for. His mother worked there as a health worker.

Steven and his brothers and sisters often played at the leprosarium, especially enjoying the swimming pool. He remembers that the people living there seemed happy, even though they missed their families.

From a young age, Steven loved looking at black and white photos. The movie Papillon, made in 1973, really captured his imagination when he was a child.

He later went to the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. There, he earned a Masters degree in Drama Directing, learning how to lead actors and create stories for the screen.

When Steven was 25, he had an accident while playing hockey and lost an eye.

Making Films and TV Shows

Steven started his career working for the Northern Territory Chief Minister in Darwin. He helped with media for six years. After that, he became a cameraman for Imparja Television in Alice Springs. His first big documentary was about Australian rules football in the mid-1990s for Channel 7.

After his accident, Steven could no longer work as a cameraman. A company called CAAMA offered him a job. There, he trained in writing and directing. He met many other talented filmmakers at CAAMA, like Warwick Thornton, Erica Glynn, and Beck Cole.

Since the mid-1990s, Steven has written, directed, and produced many different types of films and TV shows. He has made documentaries, feature films, TV dramas, and even comedy series.

Some of his projects include:

• Arafura Pearl (2003), a documentary about an Aboriginal leader named Kathy Mills.
• Writing for the TV drama Redfern Now.
• Blue Water Empire, a documentary series about the Torres Strait Islands.
• Directing for the comedy show Black Comedy.

He also helped write the movie Sweet Country with David Tranter. In 1999, he worked on a documentary about the famous musician Archie Roach.

In 2006, Steven directed My Brother Vinnie. This short documentary was about actor Aaron Pedersen and his brother. Aaron Pedersen wrote the film, and Warwick Thornton filmed it. It was shown at big events like the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Around 2007, Steven worked with famous director Baz Luhrmann. He was a script consultant for Baz's movie Australia, helping with the story.

Telling Important Stories

Steven directed and co-wrote Croker Island Exodus (2012) with Danielle MacLean. This film tells an amazing true story from 1942. During World War II, Japanese planes were bombing northern Australia. To keep them safe, 95 Aboriginal children and their carers traveled all the way from Croker Island to Sydney. Steven used local people to play all the roles in the film.

His 2016 documentary, Servant or Slave, shared powerful stories from Indigenous Australian history. It featured five Aboriginal women who were part of the "Stolen Generation". This was a sad time when many Indigenous children were taken from their families. The film brought their true experiences to life.

Servant or Slave was shown at film festivals and won the Audience Choice Award at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival. It was also shown on NITV.

In 2022, Steven co-directed and co-wrote the SBS Television drama series True Colours with Erica Glynn. He also co-wrote the Netflix series Territory, which came out in 2024.

Awards and Achievements

Steven McGregor has won and been nominated for many awards for his work in film and television. Here are some of them:

• 2013: Won an AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television for Redfern Now.
• 2015: Won an AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series for Ready for This (he was a co-writer).
• 2016: Won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program for Ready for This (as a co-writer).
• 2018: Won an AACTA Award for Best Screenplay for Sweet Country (shared with David Tranter).
• 2019: Won the Kate Challis RAKA Award for Sweet Country (shared with David Tranter).
• 2021: Won an AIDC Award for Best Documentary / Factual Single for Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky.
• 2021: Won an AACTA Award for Best Telefeature or Mini Series for Fires (as a co-writer).
• 2022: Won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Miniseries or Telemovie for Fires (as a co-writer).

A Special Award for New Talent

There is even an award named after Steven McGregor! The Steve McGregor Award for Best Emerging Talent in Film/Television started in 2009. It celebrates new and promising filmmakers and TV creators. The first person to win this award was Bernard Namok Jnr.