John Sheedy

Director | ‘Book to Screen Adaptations’ panel guest

A multi award-winning Australian Director whose work has been staged extensively throughout Australia, John has directed productions for Belvoir, Bell Shakespeare, Parramatta Riverside, Black Swan State Theatre Company, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin and Opera Australia. John’s work has been recognized with multiple nominations and wins for Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Awards.

John’s first short film Mrs McCutcheon travelled to more than 140 festivals, winning 49 awards including Best Australian Short at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2017, Screen Producers Awards 2017, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Best Direction of a Short Film at the Australian Directors Guild. John’s first feature film H IS FOR HAPPINESS for Cyan Films, Universal Pictures Australia and Level K won the Film Prize at CinefestOz 2019 and had its European premiere at Berlin International Film festival in 2020, where it garnered a Special Mention for the Generation Kplus International prize. The film is based on the celebrated children’s book by Barry Jonsberg My Life as An Alphabet, adapted for the screen by Lisa Hoppe and released theatrically in Australia this year.