Maddie Grammatopoulos studied a Bachelor of Journalism at the University of South Australia.
She worked in long-form news/documentary on ABC’s science program Catalyst, The Feed on SBS, and interned in the newsroom at Channel Ten News Adelaide.
She was the Video Producer at the Australian Science Media Centre, and then moved on to produce and direct at Run Wild Productions.
In 2019, she wrote and directed her first narrative short as part of the Adelaide 48 Hour Film Project, which won Best Writing, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Short Film. The team flew to Rotterdam for the international premiere at Filmapalooza in 2020.
She studied Directing for Stage and Screen at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), a Directing Intensive at the Australian Film and Television School (AFTRS) and the Director’s Series at the National Film and Television School (NFTS, England).
She was offered a 12-month residency at Carclew House to develop further her craft, where she created Which Made This Place Home, an immersive film piece as part of the South Australian Living Artists’ Festival (SALA). This project won the UnitCare Digital Media Award for Excellence in Screen Media. It was nominated for Best Production Design, and WON Best Cinematography at the South Australian Screen Awards (SASA’s) in 2021. It has since been exhibited at Praxis Artspace (Australia) and NG Arts Vernissage (France).
She then travelled to France for a writing residency at the NG Art Creative Residency in 2022, where she developed a feature script, supported by Carclew, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, and the Independent Art Foundation.
She has worked on various music videos, commercials, films and corporate content in a variety of roles, including Director, 1st Assistant Director, 2nd AD, 3rd AD, Producer, Production Assistant, Writer and Production Designer.
She was the writer, director and production designer on her short film Maggie Makes A Cherry Pie, which was nominated for Best Screenwriting at the South Australian Screen Awards (SASA’s).
She then went on to make Cordelia, Daughter of the Sea, another short film, which was considered one of the ‘Best Australian Films of 2024’ by Curb Magazine. It was a contender for the 2024 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards (AACTA) Best Short Film, and was nominated for Best Achievement in a Screenplay at St Kilda Film Festival. The film premiered at BAFTA and Academy Qualifying Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, where it was selected as one of the top ten films of the year as part of the Best Of Australian Shorts Tour. It was chosen to be part of Adelaide Film Festival’s Shorts In Cinema Program, where it screened in selected cinemas before selected feature films. It was nominated for Best Actor, Best Production Design, Best Editing and Best Costume at the South Australian Screen Awards (SASA’s). It was a semi-finalist for Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival, and will screen next at CineFestOz in Western Australia.
Separately to Film and TV, she has also worked in various care sector roles -
in disability support, elderly support and as a private nanny.
She is now living in London, developing her next short film and her first play.
