Internationally acclaimed director, Shannon Murphy (Directing, 2007), has carved out an exciting career since graduating from NIDA. Her directorial odyssey has taken her from premiering her debut feature film at the Venice Film Festival, directing Emmy-nominated television and, most recently, to the premier of her new series Dying for Sex in New York City.
Shannon’s new darkly comedic series inspired by the true story of a woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer who ends a 15-year marriage to fully explore her sexuality. The powerhouse cast includes Michelle Williams, Sissy Spacek, Jenny Slate, Rob Delaney and Jay Duplass among others. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have been a part of this project,” Shannon said. “It’s an extraordinary cast.”
This milestone is the latest in a string of high-profile achievements. Shannon’s 2019 feature film Babyteeth garnered international attention and critical acclaim at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, receiving positive reviews from Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Variety, who consequently listed Shannon as one of the “10 directors to watch” in 2020. That year, Shannon took on another major international project directing two episodes of Killing Eve S3, a highly commended British spy thriller with impressive psychological depth and cinematic flair.
Shannon remains deeply grounded in her Australian roots and credits NIDA as a formative force in her career. “NIDA is incredibly important to me because I would not be here today, had it not been for the extraordinary training and year of complete creative exploration that I had during that time and the most amazing teachers.”
Shannon’s philosophy around cross-disciplinary engagement her method of directing is rooted in her time at NIDA. “I really loved being pushed to be an informed artist and told you need to walk into a room and know exactly what everyone’s body of work is and not just in theatre but also in art and music and dance and it’s an ideology that I kind of live my life by now and I keep myself engaged in all forms of art and it’s a huge inspiration to what I do so I am just incredibly indebted to NIDA.”
“I believe it’s the backbone of our industry and it comes with an understanding of how to see the world but also to have an extraordinary work ethic which I think is why so many of us are so successful because we are taught at a very young age how seriously to take this as a profession and how to value it.”
Shannon’s success adds to the growing list of NIDA-trained artists working and thriving internationally. Her journey is a powerful reminder of the far-reaching impact of Australian storytelling and the growing demand for professionally trained creative exports. The Hulu original series Dying for Sex is available to stream now on Disney+.
Shannon Murphy – Shannon Murphy is an award-winning theatre, TV and film director from Australia. Shannon has most recently shot and EP’d DYING FOR SEX, starring Michelle Williams for FX, including the pilot episode. Just before that, Shannon directed and EP’d the opening block of Polly Stenhem’s DOPE GIRLS for Bad Wolf and the BBC. Her first feature film BABYTEETH, EP’d by Jan Chapman with Essie Davis, Ben Mendelsohn, and Eliza Scalen starring, premiered in main competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Film and Toby Wallace was awarded the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor. In 2021 Shannon received a BAFTA nomination for Best Director for BABYTEETH and that same year won the Kering Women in Motion prize, which is presented annually at the Cannes Film Festival in recognition of promising female talent. BABYTEETH was also nominated for and won several international awards, including being nominated for Best International Film at the BIFAS and winning 9 awards at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts awards including Best Director and Best Film. Shannon directed two episodes of KILLING EVE for BBC America / Sid Gentle, a block of THE POWER for Amazon / Sister Pictures, and an episode of the award-winning comedy DAVE for Temple Hill/FX. In the feature space she is developing an adaptation of THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE for Origin and Searchlight and MIGRATIONS for SunnyMarch/Anonymous Content (with Claire Foy attached to star).