Roseanne Liang is a director and screenwriter, born in Aotearoa New Zealand of Hong Kong Chinese descent. Her autobiographical feature film My Wedding and Other Secrets was the top-grossing NZ-made film in the year of its release, adapted from her sold-out film festival documentary, Banana in a Nutshell. 

Roseanne worked across TV comedy and short film including Berlinale-awarded Take 3 and webseries Flat3/Friday Night Bites. She found Hollywood representation with break-out Sundance-SXSW action short, Do No Harm. Her first US film - WWII action-thriller Shadow in the Cloud - won the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award at TIFF. Roseanne then turned her focus to premium TV series - co-writing, directing and showrunning two seasons of cult-hit post-apocalyptic dramedy Creamerie in Aotearoa, before serving as a director and co-executive producer on Netflix’s big budget live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

Most recently, Roseanne has directed on Apple TV’s Murderbot series starring Alexander Skarsgard, based on the popular novelette series written by Martha Wells and showrun by Chris and Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy). Roseanne is now sharpening her focus on her next action film. 

Panel Statement: “From her groundbreaking debut feature My Wedding and Other Secrets to the cult web series Flat3, the dystopian television series Creamerie, and the internationally acclaimed action-horror Shadow in the Cloud, Roseanne Liang creates films with a strong – and often humorous –  cinematic voice, frequently placing kick-ass women at their centre. As one of the co-founders of the Pan-Asian Screen Collective (PASC), she has provided much-needed support for the Asian filmmaking community and remains a steadfast advocate for equity and representation. Through talent, craft, tenacity, and unapologetically bold storytelling, Roseanne Liang has offered audiences fresh perspectives and profoundly enriched the tapestry of Aotearoa’s cinematic landscape.” – Laureate Selection Panel 

Thank you to Corner Store for helping us tell these stories of impact.