Hi! I’m Laura Nagy. (It’s pronounced sorta like ‘Noj’ but most people say ‘Nag-ee’. Either’s good. Don’t feel bad. I can barely pronounce my own name, to be honest). I’m a Hungarian-British-Australian writer and filmmaker, living and working on Gadigal-Wangal land, Eora Country (Sydney, Australia).
Since graduating from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in 2010, I have been on a mission to create films that crack open your heart, rip out your guts, and make your eyeballs sparkle. (They may also make you realise that you’re at least a little bit gay).
I have loads of experience in both the production and development sides of film & TV. Here’s the lowdown on my career so far:
I currently work as the Head of Development at Ian Collie's award-winning Easy Tiger Productions, a boutique drama company under the Fremantle Global Drama banner. Easy Tiger’s credits includes Rake (ABC), Jack Irish (ABC), Sunshine (SBS), Saving Mr Banks (Disney) and Doctor Doctor (Nine Network). I get to help some pretty incredible writers bring TV into the world. It’s sort of like being a story doula, and it’s the best.
My recent short film Hook Up, a queer coming-of-age drama for the #metoo era, was funded by the Melbourne Queer Film Festival’s inaugural Pitch, Pleez! competition in 2019. Hook Up premiered on Opening Night of MQFF 2020, where it won the Film Victoria Award for Best Director. Hook Up has since played at the Brisbane International Film Festival, Cinefest Oz and Flickerfest, and the Brisbane Queer Film Festival.
I am currently developing a short film anthology which I co-created with Madeleine Gottlieb. Supported by Screen Australia, Masc tells 8 stories about men and masculinity from the perspective of female and non-binary filmmakers. Along with myself and Madeleine, the writer-directors include Renee Marie Petropoulos, Hyun Lee, Cloudy Rhodes, Shari Sebbens, Moreblessing Maturure and Imogen McCluskey. Our Executive Producers are Rob Gibson at Easy Tiger, and Martha Coleman.
I am also developing Fish, a 6 x 1 hour mystery drama series created by Stef Smith and supported by Screen NSW.
In 2017, I was awarded Screen NSW's Generator: Emerging Filmmaker's Fund to write and direct Bodies, a short drama exploring the intersections of mental illness and disability, co-written with Daniel Monks. Executive produced by Aquarius Films (producers of the Academy Award-nominated Lion), Bodies premiered at the 2018 Vancouver International Film Festival.
I have extensive experience as an Assistant Director, having worked on such productions as The Great Gatsby, The Wolverine, Unbroken, Gods of Egypt, Peter Rabbit, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Top of The Lake, Wonderland, Redfern Now, and 2:22, as well as dozens of TVCs. I’ve had the pleasure of working with world-class directors, including Baz Luhrmann, Angelina Jolie, James Mangold, Jane Campion and Alex Proyas. Watching these total guns work their magic has been pivotal to developing my style and methodology.
In 2015, I joined the team at Paper Moose - an award-winning production company in Sydney - as their first female director. There I created music videos for Universal Music's Vera Blue and Alfie Arcuri and Sum Management’s Woodes, as well as content for clients such as Virgin Australia, The Starlight Children’s Foundation and City of Sydney.
My short film promoting marriage equality - We Will - went viral in January 2016, with over 4 million views. We Will was covered extensively online, including articles by The Huffington Post, Pink News, Curve Magazine and The Star Observer, and was hand-picked by Google-YouTube for inclusion in their Celebrate Brave Voices Creators for Change 2017 campaign.