RACHEL ROSS, WRITER/DIRECTOR
Originally from New Zealand now based in New York, Rachel is an award-winning writer/director with a sensibility for character-driven stories. She draws most of her storytelling from personal experiences, with a strong dedication to crafting authentic, honest, and empowering stories. Her tonal style dances between vulnerable grit meets wit.
Notable credits include Winner of the People’s Choice Award at 2021 Oscar-accredited Show Me Shorts Film Festival for short film 'GREEN,' Best Screenplay Nominee at 2019 Show Me Shorts Film Festival and BAFTA Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival for comedy piece 'NUMBER TWO,’ and 2017’s Melbourne International Film Festival and New Zealand International Film Festival selection for short film 'HAVE YOU TRIED, MAYBE, NOT WORRYING?'
In 2024, she was selected for a TV Writer’s Attachment for Roadshow Productions funded by Screen NSW. Her accolades include selection for the 2020 Directors and Editors Guild of New Zealand Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator and a nomination for Outstanding Newcomer at the 2020 NZ Women In Film and Television Awards. Notably, she received a prestigious New Zealand Film Commission Funding Grant in 2019 for ‘He Kauahi Catalyst,’ enabling her to create the acclaimed short film 'GREEN' and advance the feature screenplay ‘EXHALE.’ Her career highlights also include a 2017 New Zealand Film Commission Talent Development Grant, facilitating an intensive eight-week course at the New York Film Academy to develop her debut feature screenplay, ‘EXHALE.’ Additionally, she was selected for the 2017 Accelerator Lab in Melbourne for her short film 'HAVE YOU TRIED, MAYBE, NOT WORRYING?'
Current projects include feature films ‘EXHALE’ and ‘SICK.’
READ NZ “CANVAS” INTERVIEW HERE: LIGHTING UP THE SCREEN