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Hi, I'm Lucy Schacher, a filmmaker passionate about storytelling and connecting with people, both on screen and in life. Whether it’s through the spoken word, a gesture, or an unspoken moment, I’m always seeking to understand relationships and the emotional truth at the heart of every story.
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I’m obsessed with bringing stories from script to screen and thrive on creative challenges that push me to think laterally, collaborate with others, and add a personal touch to every project. For me, the most rewarding work comes from the relationships we build and a shared creative journey.
In kindergarten, I was called 'bossy'—a trait I now recognise as the mini director in me. In Year 4, I watched in awe as my teacher, Ms. Gurietto, edited the school concert on Final Cut Pro. After that, I started making my own films—documenting school camps, creating stop-motion shorts, and, like many filmmakers of my generation, building an archive of terrible iMovie trailers. In high school, I took Media Studies (my favourite class) where I wrote stories, worked with the camera, edited projects, and soaked up theory like a sponge. I also loved Drama, often stepping naturally into directing roles.
In 2019, I co-wrote and directed Phoenix Gold, a noir short film. I loved making it, I was completely in my element. But at the final screening, my co-writer turned to me and said, “That’s not how I imagined it.”
I felt terrible, like I had done something wrong, like I had missed something in the process. But looking back, I realise he hadn’t spoken up during production, and I couldn’t satisfy everyone’s expectations. Since then, I have made communication and collaboration a key part of how I direct, making sure everyone feels heard and connected to the project.
I was a high achiever in school, at least in the creative fields. I was the DUX of Drama and Media and was accepted into Top Arts in my final year. So, starting my Bachelor of Film and Television at Swinburne, I felt out of place. I didn’t know where I stood compared to my peers. Some were freelancing, others had studied elsewhere, and some, like me, were fresh out of high school. It was 2021—a strange, isolating year—and I was struggling, depressed actually. I didn’t have any projects to work on or people to create with. And without that, I felt a bit lost.
Slowly, things changed. I worked as a writer, directed a small-scale documentary, and made friends on set as a behind-the-scenes photographer. And with every project, I started to trust myself again.
When I was 16, I picked up a short story at a zine fair titled “Tall Sad Girl and Short Punk Girl Are Friends” and dreamed of one day adapting it. Years later, I pitched it as my graduate film, and it got selected. It was my first narrative project in years, and the thought of directing again was both exciting and terrifying.
Until then, my directing had been intuitive, but for this project, I immersed myself in books like Judith Weston’s Directing Actors and Steven D. Katz’s Shot by Shot. I found joy in writing backstories and dialogue, then dissecting them to understand the relationships I was building on screen. I revised my shooting script so much that the ratio of words to scribbly annotations was almost 50/50!
Despite all my preparation, I lost sleep the night before the shoot, nervous about the one thing I couldn’t control: the crew dynamic. But it turned out better than I had imagined, thanks to the trust, friendship, and camaraderie I built with my team. This project taught me so much about communication, leadership, and storytelling—and remains one of my proudest moments.
Along the way, my work has received recognition, including the RUOK? Award for my film Still There? at the Peninsula Film Festival and the Eva Haller Women Transforming Media Award for my documentary Hello Anna!.
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The 2022 short Bloody Brilliant, which I wrote, was showcased in the 2023 St Kilda Film Festival’s Under the Radar category.
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Tall Sad Girl and Short Punk Girl Are Friends is currently in the final stages of post-production.
I’m excited for projects that will help me grow as a storyteller and eager to learn from experienced professionals while offering my perspective as a younger creative. Currently, I’m seeking experience in editing, writing, directing, script supervision, and production design.
If you’re working on something that could use an extra creative brain or a helping hand, I’d love to connect and work with you!
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