Samantha Rebillet (8 January 1972 – 27 November 2017) was a French-born Australian film director, actress, screenwriter, producer, singer and songwriter. She had guest roles in various Australian television series and roles in several films. Rebillet wrote, directed and produced several films and documentaries including the 2004 documentary ''Butterfly Man'' which won a Silver Cub Award at the

International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Early life and education

Rebillet was born in Paris, France, but moved to Australia with her family at an early age. She was fluent in French, Spanish and English. Rebillet attended

SCEGGS Darlinghurst , motto_translation = Let Your Light Shine , established = , type = Independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Anglicanism , oversight = , educational_authority = New South Wales Departm ...

, an independent high school in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. She grew up in the movie making world, accompanying her father, Chris Maudson and adopted father Richard Brennan around film sets. She completed a Bachelor of Drama at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

in 1998 and did further studies, obtaining two master's degrees - a masters in Media Arts and Production at the

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

(UTS) in 2002, and a masters in Directing Drama at the

Australian Film Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

in 2006. She was on her way to obtaining a Doctorate of Creative Arts at the UTS

Career

Rebillet first appeared on screen in the seminal Australian film ''

Newsfront ''Newsfront'' is a 1978 Australian drama film starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown, directed by Phillip Noyce. The screenplay is written by David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, and Phillip Noyce. The original mus ...

'', and in '' Going Down'' in 1983. Rebillet went on to gain credits in several other features including ''Heatwave'', ''

Così ''Così'' is a play by Australian playwright Louis Nowra which was first performed in 1992 at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia. Set in a Melbourne mental hospital in 1971, ''Così'' is semi-autobiographical, and is the sequel to his pr ...

'' and ''

I Can't Get Started "I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (with You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the film ''Ziegfeld Fol ...

'', and was cast in international commercials with

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

and

Kraft The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

. Other early guest roles included appearances in several Australian television series '' Water Rats'', ''

Murder Call ''Murder Call'' is an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and broadcast on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The series was inspired by the ''Tessa Vance'' novels by Jennifer Rowe, bot ...

'' and '' All Saints''. Despite years as an actor, Rebillet always wanted to be a director and eventually, in her twenties, got behind the camera by working as a director's assistant to

Mark Joffe Mark Joffe (born 1956) is an Australian film and television director. He has directed feature films, telemovies, and drama series. Joffe "learned his trade at Crawford Productions", working on ''Carson's Law'', ''Special Squad (1984), Special S ...

(''

The Man Who Sued God ''The Man Who Sued God'' is a 2001 Australian comedy film starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis, and directed by Mark Joffe. The film was a financial success, debuting at number one at the Australian box office in the week of its launch. Plot ...

'') and

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films ''The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ' ...

(''

Garage Days ''Garage Days'' is a 2002 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Alex Proyas and written by Proyas, Dave Warner and Michael Udesky. ''Garage Days'' is the story of a young Sydney garage band desperately trying to make it big in the competitiv ...

'' and ''

iRobot iRobot Corporation is an American technology company that designs and builds consumer robots. It was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for space exploration and military defense. The com ...

''). Since graduating from the

in 2006, Rebillet has written and directed prize winning short films and documentaries, alongside TV commercials, corporate videos and music clips. Her documentary 'Butterfly Man' (2004) has picked up major awards both in Australia and abroad, including the Silver Cub Award at the

( IDFA), while her short 'All Shook Up' was a finalist in the 2003

Tropfest Tropfest is the world's largest short film film festival, festival. It has also become known as the world's first global film festival. Founded by actor/director John Polson, Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people at the 'Tropic ...

Short Film Festival. Her drama films have featured some Australian actors such as

Mia Wasikowska Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in '' Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known t ...

and

Maeve Dermody Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1985) is a UK-based Australian actress. After a film appearance at 5 years old, her adult acting career has included work in Australian and British television, theatre, short films, and movies. She characterises ...

. Rebillet was chosen as the Australian representative at the Artist Residency 5Sur5 in Belgium, and her work has screened regularly on television in Australia, International Broadcast and

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

Inflight. Rebillet has taught film studies at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

COFA The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

Metro Screen Metro Screen was a Paddington, Sydney based not-for-profit film, television and digital media training organisation. It was the NSW member of Screen Development Australia (SDA) and was located in the Paddington Town Hall, Cnr Oxford St & Oatley ...

and

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

and is currently a part-time lecturer and Doctorate candidate at the

. Rebillet is currently developing the

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

-funded feature-length film, The Last Goodbye as a part of her study. She also formed part of the electronic jazz pop outfit The Freaks in Love with her husband

Ilan Kidron Ilan Kidron (born 22 April 1976), also known as iKid, is a Sydney-based singer songwriter with over one billion combined streams, best known as the lead singer for Australia's multi-platinum selling dance music act The Potbelleez. As a writer ...

of the

Potbelleez The Potbelleez are a three-member Irish-Australian Electro (music), electro-House music, house and dance music group, which formed in 2003 as a duo by Disc jockey, DJs Dave Goode (a.k.a. David Greene) and Jonny Sonic (Jonathon Murphy). In 200 ...

Style and process

Rebillets's approach to filmmaking is influenced by the handheld and improvisational approach preferred by filmmakers such as

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Aronof ...

Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (; American Spanish: ; credited since 2016 as Alejandro G. Iñárritu; born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the hum ...

and

Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...

. According to an interview with Filmink in February 2014, this is still a 'developing style'. Using this improvisational approach for her film ''The Last Goodbye'', Rebillet wrote the script in 'broad brushstrokes', allowing for the finer details to be further developed during filming itself.

Personal life

Rebillet was married to

from the Australian electro-house and dance music group,

. She has two children, Remi (born 1993) and Gabe (born 2002). In 2010 she suffered from a life-threatening brain tumor, but recovered. Rebillet was an active supporter for the

Cure Brain Cancer Foundation A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...

in Australia and helped to organize the

Wayside Chapel The Wayside Chapel is a charity and parish mission of the Uniting Church in Australia in the Potts Point, New South Wales, Potts Point area of Sydney, Australia. Situated near Sydney's most prominent red-light district in Kings Cross, New South ...

's ''Art To Heart'' charity fundraiser. Rebillet took her own life on 27 November 2017 aged 45.

Filmography

Actress

Director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebillet, Samantha 1972 births Australian film actresses Australian women singer-songwriters Australian film directors Australian women film directors Australian film producers Australian screenwriters Australian Film Television and Radio School alumni Suicides in Australia French emigrants to Australia University of New South Wales alumni University of Technology Sydney alumni 2017 suicides