Lily Drummond

I am an Adelaide-based screenwriter and director who takes pride in telling stories where disabled and queer young people are reflected in funny, complex, joyful and real ways. I live with a neuromuscular condition, and I am neurodivergent, and this informs both my artistic identity and the communities I write from and for. Throughout my emerging career, I have recognised that access is not a creative limitation, but one of the conditions that allows better work to happen. It asks us to communicate clearly and build creative environments where people are supported to do their best work.

I have written and directed a number of internationally acclaimed short films including ‘With Love, Lottie,’ ‘Hypothetically, the End,’ ‘The Bear Hunt’ and ‘Illustrating Sam Newton.’ My work has screened at Sydney Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, SXSW Sydney, Raindance, St Kilda and Mardi Gras Film Festival. With Love, Lottie won the 2025 Iris Prize Youth Jury Award, the Mardi Gras Emerging Filmmaker Award and two South Australian Screen Awards.

Throughout my artistic practice and PhD research, I have come to realise that better disability representation will not come only from nuanced and diverse representation of disabled characters, but from more disabled people in positions of creative authority. This has made me increasingly interested in the gap between disabled creatives being offered early opportunities, and having clear pathways into paid, ongoing screen careers.

My Churchill Fellowship project will investigate how disabled writers and directors in the UK and US progress into professional scripted screen careers. I will learn from models that connect disabled creatives with mentorship, access support, industry relationships and commissioning pathways. Long term, I hope to help build an Australian screen industry where disabled writers and directors can move from early opportunities into sustainable, paid and creatively ambitious careers.