Steven McGregor facts for kids

Steven McGregor is an Australian filmmaker. He is famous for making movies and TV shows. Some of his well-known works include Redfern Now, Black Comedy, and Sweet Country. He has also made many documentaries, like My Brother Vinnie.

Early Life and Learning

McGregor grew up in East Arm, a suburb of Darwin. This area is in the Northern Territory of Australia. He lived near a place called a leprosarium. This was a special hospital for people with leprosy, a skin disease.

His mother worked there as a health worker. She had grown up on a mission. Steven and his brothers and sisters often played at the leprosarium. They used its swimming pool. He remembers that people there seemed happy, even though they missed their families. The leprosarium closed around 1970.

Steven was always interested in black and white photographs. When he was a child, the movie Papillon (1973) really captured his imagination.

He later studied at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. He earned a Masters degree in Drama Directing there.

When he was 25, Steven had an accident. He was playing hockey and was hit in the head with a hockey stick. This caused him to lose one eye.

Steven McGregor's Career

Steven McGregor started his career in Darwin. He worked for six years as a production assistant. This was in the media unit for the Northern Territory Chief Minister.

After that, he became a cameraman for Imparja Television in Alice Springs. His first big documentary was about Australian rules football. He made it in the mid-1990s for Channel 7.

Changing Roles in Filmmaking

After losing his eye, Steven could no longer work as a cameraman. A company called CAAMA offered him a job. There, he trained in writing and directing. At CAAMA, he met other famous filmmakers. These included Warwick Thornton, Erica Glynn, and Beck Cole.

Since the mid-1990s, Steven has done many things in film. He has written, directed, and produced many documentaries. He has also worked on fictional feature films, TV dramas, and comedy shows.

Key Projects and Collaborations

Some of his varied works include:

• Arafura Pearl (2003): A documentary about Aboriginal leader Kathy Mills.
• Redfern Now: He worked as a writer for this TV series.
• Blue Water Empire: A documentary series about the Torres Strait Islands.
• Black Comedy: He was a director for this comedy show.

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

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

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

Stories from History

Croker Island Exodus (2012) is a documentary Steven directed and co-wrote. He wrote it with Danielle MacLean. The film tells a true story from 1942. During World War II, Japanese forces were bombing northern Australia. Because of this, 95 Aboriginal children had to leave Croker Island. They traveled across Australia with their missionary carers to safety in Sydney. Steven cast local people to play all the roles in the film.

His 2016 documentary, Servant or Slave, shared important stories. It showed the experiences of five Aboriginal women. They were part of the Stolen Generation. Their stories were recorded by Hetti Perkins and Mitch Stanley.

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

Recent Television Work

Steven McGregor was a co-director and co-writer for the 2022 SBS Television drama miniseries True Colours. He worked with Erica Glynn on this project.

He was also a co-writer for the Netflix series Territory, which came out in 2024.

Awards and Recognition

Steven McGregor has been nominated for and won many awards. These are for his work on different films and TV shows. 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 (as 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. He shared this award with David Tranter.
• 2019: Won the Kate Challis RAKA Award for Sweet Country. He shared this award 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).

Steve McGregor Award for Best Emerging Talent

An award was created in Steven McGregor's honor in 2009. It is called the Steve McGregor Award for Best Emerging Talent in Film/Television. This award is given at the National Remote Indigenous Media Festival. The first person to win it was Bernard Namok Jnr. He worked for the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association (TEABBA).