Annette Shun Wah
Annette Shun Wah (born 26 March 1958) has an extensive career in the Australian screen and performance industries, particularly in television, film and theatre. She is currently a freelance writer, director, actor, and broadcaster.
Early life
A fourth-generation Chinese Australian, Annette Shun Wah was born in Cairns, Queensland.
She has a standing interest in Chinese Australian history, and her family's narrative is included in the National Archives of Australia (NAA) collection, Family Journeys,[1] and featured on their website.[2]
Career
Earlier in her career, Shun Wah produced and presented for a number of television series on the ABC and SBS. These include Eat Carpet, The Movie Show, Studio 22, Media Dimensions, and The Big Picture.[3]
As well as television, she has appeared in a range of films (including documentaries).[4] Her role in Clara Law's 1996 film Floating Life as a Chinese wife of a German national in Germany won her a nomination for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. In addition, she was a writer and director for China Heart, a mobile phone application and website that provided insight into the heritage of Sydney's Chinatown through a love/mystery narrative.[5]
Currently, Shun Wah is perhaps best known as Executive Producer with Asian Australian professional arts company, CAAP (Contemporary Asian Australian Performance). CAAP is formerly known as Performance 4A, and is unique in generating opportunities for development and support for Asian Australians in the performing arts. CAAP was incorporated in 2004, and Shun Wah was a key member of its management committee until 2013 when she became the company's Executive Producer.
Shun Wah is an active commentator on diversity issues in Australia's entertainment industry[6], and has been a keynote speaker at various academic and community conferences.[7]
Publications
Shun Wah's writing has appeared in several anthologies, including Growing up Asian in Australia, Grandma Magic (Allen and Unwin)[8], and Come away with me (Penguin)[9]. She has also published, with Greg Aitkin, a book on Chinese-Australian cuisine entitled Banquet (Doubleday ).
Awards and appointments
- Executive producer, Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) (2013-present)
- Board member, Sydney Theatre Company (2018-present)[10]
- Artistic director, National Theatre of Parramatta (2015-2017)
- Nominated for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Floating Life (1996)
References
- ↑ "Family Journeys National Archives of Australia". eshop.naa.gov.au. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ↑ "The Shun Wahs". www.naa.gov.au. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ↑ Corporation, Australian Broadcasting (2008-01-02). "Annette Shun Wah". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- ↑ "Annette Shun Wah". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
- ↑ "China Heart". Radio National. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
- ↑ Annette Shun Wah on diversity in Australia's entertainment industry, 2016-09-29, retrieved 2018-07-06
- ↑ "Asian Australian Film Forum keynote address by Annette Shun Wah - Peril magazine". Peril magazine. 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- ↑ Grandma magic. Hutchinson, Janet, 1952-. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. 2010. ISBN 9781742372662. OCLC 541525155.
- ↑ Come away with me. MacDonald, Sarah. Milsons Point, N.S.W.: Bantam Books. 2004. ISBN 1863254579. OCLC 62546231.
- ↑ "Annette Shun Wah and Heather Mitchell appointed to STC board | News". AussieTheatre.com. 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-06-01.