Natasha Wanganeen | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1984-06-20)20 June 1984 (age 41) Point Pearce,South Australia, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, producer |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Relatives | Gavin Wanganeen,Trevor Jamieson |
| Awards | AFI Young Actor's Award, 2004 |
Natasha Wanganeen (born 20 June 1984) is anAboriginal Australian actress. She is known for her starring role in the 2002 feature filmRabbit-Proof Fence and numerous television roles. She made her debut as co-writer and co-producer in a 2022 short film, an Indigenoussci-fi drama entitledBunker: The Last Fleet, about an alien invasion of Australia. She also played the lead in the film.
Wanganeen was born inPoint Pearce, South Australia, moving toPort Adelaide when she was five years old.[1] She is aNgarrindjeri,Narungga,Kaurna andNoongar woman.[2]
Wanganeen appeared inRabbit-Proof Fence (released 2002), playing adormitory boss[2] at the age of 15,[3] and the made-for-TV filmJessica directed byPeter Andrikidis and released in 2004.
In 2017, she starred as azombie-killer[2] in thedystopian thrillerCargo.[3][2] Also in 2017, she played the role of Gilyagan inKate Grenville's playThe Secret River presented during theAdelaide Festival in March, having previously played a different role in the 2015 two-part TV series of the same name.[4]
She played Mary, mother of a talented gymnast, in feature filmA Second Chance: Rivals!, released in 2019,[5][6] and in the same year played aghoul in the horror filmDark Place.[2]
In June 2020, Wanganeen was writing a script for her own independent film,Battle of the Ancestors, set 60,000 years ago against a backdrop ofAboriginal mythology, includingDreamtime stories and characters she knows from here childhood years. She is being supported byScreen Australia and theSouth Australian Film Corporation in this endeavour, and is in talks with local production companies who are interested in seeing it made.[2]
Wanganeen was on thejury for the Feature Fiction and Documentary awards at the 2020Adelaide Film Festival.[7][8]
Television roles include playingMary Ann Bugg, a late 19th-centurybushranger, inDrunk History Australia (Network 10, 2020) and achef inAftertaste (Closer Productions/ABC Comedy, 2021). She plays a government official in2067, asci-fi thriller feature film directed bySeth Larney released in 2020.[8][9]
Originally intended as asci-fi series,[2]Bunker: The Last Fleet, co-written by Wanganeen, Stephen Potter, and Rowan Pullen, directed by the latter two, and co-produced by the three of them and others,[10] was inspired byAfrofuturism.[2] It was first released as ashort film, with the intention of growing into afeature film. It had its Australian premiere at theSt Kilda Film Festival in June 2022, with multiple screenings following around Australia (includingRevelation Perth International Film Festival andAdelaide Film Festival) and internationally. Wanganeen plays Tjarra, an Aboriginal warrior in Australia 37 years in the future, andKaurna elder UncleFred Agius plays the role of an elder.Trevor Jamieson (who is a cousin) gave cultural advice and also plays a role in the film.[11] The film was filmed entirely in theSouth Australian desert.[12] As the first Aboriginal sci-fi move, it is described as a "cheeky take on theFirst Fleet in Australia".[11]
In 2023, she appeared inIvan Sen's mystery, crime dramaLimbo, which was nominated in 'competition section' at the73rd Berlin International Film Festival, to be held from February 16 to 26, 2023.[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Rabbit Proof Fence | Nina, Dormitory Boss | Feature film |
| Australian Rules | Nunga family member (uncredited) | Feature film | |
| Black and White | Extra (uncredited) | Feature film | |
| 2017 | Cargo | Josie Bell, a zombie | Feature film |
| 2018 | Konya | Angelica | Short film |
| Wild | Rosie | Short film | |
| White Lies | Nurse Lilian | Short film | |
| 2019 | Storm Boy | Susan Franklin | Feature film |
| Dark Place | Ghoul | Segment:Killer Native | |
| A Second Chance: Rivals! | Mary | Feature film | |
| 2020 | Waiyiri | Lacardi | Short film |
| 2067 | Government Official | Feature film | |
| A Sunburnt Christmas | Nurse | Feature film | |
| 2021 | Djaambi | Tjarrah | Short film |
| 2022 | Fate of the Night | Kate | Feature film |
| Bunker: The Last Fleet | Tjarra | Short film | |
| The Survival of Kindness | Waiting Woman | Feature film | |
| 2023 | Limbo | Emma | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jessica | Mary Simpson | Miniseries |
| Through My Eyes | Interpreter | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 2007 | Sacred Ground | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2013 | Redfern Now | Emily | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2015 | The Secret River | ||
| 2017 | Lost in Pronunciation | Woman in pub | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2018 | Sisters | Online miniseries | |
| 2019 | Lucy and DIC | Christina | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Drunk History Australia | Mary Ann Bugg | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2021 | Aftertaste | Line Cook | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2021-22 | Firebite | Rona | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2022 | The Tourist | CCTV Gift Shop Employee | TV series, 2 episodes |
| MaveriX | Trish Peterson | TV series, 6 episodes | |
| The Australian Wars | Enslaved Woman | Miniseries, 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Secret River | Gillyagan | Adelaide Festival |
In 2018, Wanganeen advocated for greater cultural diversity in Australian screen culture, saying "There are not enough black faces on our screens and talking about it is a constructive conversation that we need to have".[15] She expressed her pleasure at the portrayal of Aboriginal people inCargo (2017) as "living free and strong on the land".[16]
Wanganeen was one of the organisers of theBlack Lives Matter protest in Adelaide on 6 June 2020, which focussed on racism and injustices againstIndigenous Australians, in particular high rates of incarceration andAboriginal deaths in custody.[17][18]
As of 2017[update] Wanganeen lives inPort Adelaide. She is related to Australian rules footballerGavin Wanganeen,[4] and actor and playwrightTrevor Jamieson is a cousin.[11]