Hello
About sofya_
Multi-disciplinary Artist, Writer & Director Sofya Gollan is an award-winning filmmaker and a graduate from both NIDA and AFTRS. As an actor she has worked with the Sydney Theatre Company, the National Theatre of the Deaf USA, ABC TV drama, but is best loved for being on Play School, normalising Disability before it was recognised as essential representation. She is currently the Authorial (Screen Director) for the board of Screen Rights, having previously served on the board of the Australian Theatre of the Deaf and as a committee member for Film in Revolt.
As a playwright she has created a number of plays for the Australian theatre of the Deaf, and more recent works have been supported by the Griffin Theatre as Studio Resident Playwright and for further development by Creative Australia (formerly Australia Council for the Arts)
As a filmmaker she has been nominated for 4 ACCTA Awards (Best Screenplay & Best Director) for her films which have screened and broadcast extensively here and internationally. IMAGINED TOUCH, her latest documentary screened at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in NYC and Melbourne’s ACMI in 2023, and was nominated for Director of Best Short Documentary from the Australian Directors Guild. In 2024 she won an AWGIE for Best Screenplay for Documentary (Community) in 2024. She has written episodes for Jungle Entertainment's RESURRECTION BAY and for Lingo Pictures for a TV series in development.
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia exhibited her most recent video artwork THRESHOLD in November, 2023 and is now commencing its festival run.
She began her career at a time where diversity and inclusion were not part of the common vernacular and has seen that understanding evolve and profoundly change the arts and film industries to become more welcoming of alternative visions of the world. The years of advocacy are starting to bear fruit!
Sofya’s expertise has been called on to host panels for Flickerfest, Art Gallery of NSW, Accessible Arts, Screen NSW, Regional to Global Screen Forum, Flow Festival and Sydney Film Festival. She has been an early Director of The Other Film Festival and curator for the Screenability Film Strand for Sydney Film Festival.
She has a slate of projects in development across a range of genres and platforms, but is open to writing and directing work, I love to collaborate!
Work &
Projects_
Imagined Touch is under development with the support of ACMI Doc.Lab 2024 to create an immersive VR work recreating the award-winning world of Heather Lawson and Michelle Stevens.
Ballpark Normal, a TV series under development with Drama Queen.
I have a number of projects in early development but is open to writing and directing work, I love to collaborate!
Awards_
Imagined
touch
Nominated - Best Director of Short Documentary - Australian Directors Guild Awards 2023
Australian Writers Guild AWGIE Award for Best Screenplay for Documentary (Community)
GIMPSEY
Nominated - ACCTA Best Short Film
DRESSING
DAD
ATOM Award Best Student Documentary
Preservation
Hors Concours Award – BANFF TV Market 2004
Nominated – ACCTA Best Short Film Nomination
Nominated – ACCTA Best Screenplay
See some of Sofya's
Film & Television Projects
Advocacy work_
Her advocacy to encourage the Australian screen industry to elevate and support DDN talent spans 20+ years, as an actor she is best loved for being on ABC’s Play School for over 20 years, normalising disability onscreen well before it was recognised as essential representation. She has held arts and executive development roles, implementing significant cultural change around the inclusion of diverse, disabled voices on screen. Since returning to industry, she was the first to complete training to be an Access Coordinator, a worldwide emergent BTL production role intended to support Deaf, Disabled & Neurodivergent (DDN) creatives and crew to deliver their best work on and off set. She set up the first Access Coordinator workshop in Australia in October 2023, producing with Screen Australia to bring out UK experts Bridge 06 to train Australia’s first cohort, now in employment across the industry.
DDN Advocacy
& Access Coordination_
Her advocacy to encourage the Australian screen industry to elevate and support DDN talent spans 20+ years, as an actor she is best loved for being on ABC’s Play School for over 20 years, normalising disability onscreen well before it was recognised as essential representation. She has held arts and executive development roles, implementing significant cultural change and elevation of diverse voices on screen. This advocacy has seen her complete training to be an Access Coordinator, an emergent BTL production role intended to support DDN creatives in their work on and off set. She set up the first Access Coordinator workshop with Screen Australia in Oct 2023, bringing out Bridge 06 from the UK to train Australia’s first cohort on Oct 2023.
Advocacy work_
Her advocacy to encourage the Australian screen industry to elevate and support DDN talent spans 20+ years, as an actor she is best loved for being on ABC’s Play School for over 20 years, normalising disability onscreen well before it was recognised as essential representation. She has held arts and executive development roles, implementing significant cultural change around the inclusion of diverse, disabled voices on screen. Since returning to industry, she was the first to complete training to be an Access Coordinator, a worldwide emergent BTL production role intended to support Deaf, Disabled & Neurodivergent (DDN) creatives and crew to deliver their best work on and off set. She set up the first Access Coordinator workshop in Australia in October 2023, producing with Screen Australia to bring out UK experts Bridge 06 to train Australia’s first cohort, now in employment across the industry.
