I was also interested in the possibility of shooting in Northern Queensland in Autralia (offers tax rebates and grants) as I have strong ties to Australia, having lived there on and off for 18 years and working in the industry there. Plus there is a Papua New Guinean community in Cairns, a city in Queensland.
HELLO!
My name is Veialu (aka Lulu) and I'm a screenwriter specializing in female-driven dramas.
My work explores the complexities of underrepresented females finding their voice in the world.
I also write/direct some film projects and have over 15 years of experience as an award-winning television creative producer and promo director.
Read about my recent screenplays, The Defiant One, and War Dancer here.
The Defiant One made The Black List's 2021 CAPE List, a list of 10 screenplays centered on Asian and Pacific Islander stories, and I was awarded the 2022-2023 Armed With a Camera Fellowship.
My writing was selected for Round 2 of the 2022 Sundance Development Track and made the Long List for the 2023 Black List x WIF Residency.
My hand-drawn animated short film, Blue Willow, (which I produced, wrote, directed, and illustrated) screened at 30 festivals including the Berlinale Film Festival.
Originally from Papua New Guinea and Aotearoa New Zealand, I'm based in Los Angeles, California (USA), the unceded ancestral homeland of the Tongva people.
MY VOICE
Expect nuanced female protagonists on the brink of a life-changing experience. They will be forced to come to terms with their identity and will endure journeys that are emotional, unexpected, and transformative.
I have a particular passion for historical dramas, biopics, and true events told from the point of view of females of color. I also love writing contemporary stories.
Feeling like an outsider has hugely influenced my work. Losing my culture and homeland at a young age and living between different cultures and worlds has given me an unrelenting curiosity about identity and the extent to which we get to define that for ourselves. I explore this in my work.
AND I INSTA BLOG
@hollywood.diversity profiles old Hollywood trailblazers
@united.we.rawr supports underrepresented filmmakers
I'M A FILM NERD
I meditate.
I have two master's degrees.
I once did a Goddess workshop in Egypt, journeyed overland from Tibet to India, and saw a ghost in Rome.
29 is the number of countries I've traveled to.
5 of them I've lived in.
A punnet is what you get berries in where I'm from.
I've watched more movies and series than is probably medically advisable.
I believe self-love is the key to inner peace.
Poet Hone Tuwhare, singer/songwriter Nina Simone, and author Anne Frank are my first storytelling heroes.
MY BACKGROUND
I found my happy-place screenwriting after 15+ years in the game as an award-winning television creative producer and promo director for Australia's largest commercial television networks (NINE and TEN).
My specialties: Leading the creative development of television campaigns (including the launch of two TV channels and 100s of promo campaigns), having plenty of creative ideas, directing film shoots, and project managing campaigns through the entire production process from concept to launch.
I also directed social impact shorts in Mumbai, India.
I'm an alumna of Berlinale Talents, Victoria Univerisity of Wellington, Auckland University of Technology, and New Zealand's national drama school, Toi Whakaari, where I studied stage directing.
Say Hi
I recognize that I live on land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva People. Indigenous communities have lived in and moved through this land over hundreds of generations and Indigenous peoples from many nations make their home in this region today. Please join me in recognizing and honoring them.