Kate Dennis: Emmy Award nominee for The Handmaid's Tale

Before she hit the big time in the US, the UTS communications graduate first earned her stripes as a clapper loader, focus puller and script supervisor on the sets of homegrown classics such as Babe and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Working alongside film and TV greats including Bryan Brown, George Miller, Amanda Higgs and John Edwards, she went on to direct episodes of some of the country’s most beloved television series, including Offspring, Rake and Love My Way.

A tale for the times

"I think when you’re working on content that is so profoundly affecting, it resonates with every fibre in your being and you’re able to bring so much more to it."

Based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, the dystopian future depicted in the critically acclaimed television series The Handmaid’s Tale has struck many as highly relevant in today’s world. For Australian director Kate Dennis, who was nominated for an Emmy for her work on one of the episodes, The Bridge, the timeliness of the material presented an opportunity to bring an urgency and truthfulness to the storytelling.

The Handmaid's Tale rails against racism, sexism, bigotry and ignorance and that’s something that clearly hits a chord right now.

Alongside her Emmy nomination, Dennis was this year awarded the Create NSW Annette Kellerman Award, which honours trailblazing women in Hollywood, at the Australians in Film Awards in LA. And after the “rollercoaster ride” of the Emmys, it looks like there’s no slowing down for Dennis, with directing projects including GLOW, The Tick and Heathers on her slate.

Before she headed to Belfast to film for the big budget sci-fi show, Krypton, Dennis took the time to share some of her breakthrough moments, inspirations and advice for budding UTS filmmakers.

Read more about Kate's successes on the UTS Alumni website