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Anyone who’s sat in a room with Steph Liquorish will tell you about a maturity and mastery of craft beyond her years; her cheeky candour (read: no bullshit and charming wit); but most of all they’ll tell you about her rampant love of movies.
Liquorish brings with her in to directing, a decade-spanning career as an editor; with credits spanning television series and high end commercials internationally. She has creatively led teams as a senior editor on multiple broadcast television shows; and has brought her craft and sensibilities to high end advertisements for international brands such as Cadbury, Domino’s and Volvo. “I’ve been schmoozing big dogs for ten years!” she jokes.
Highly sought after for her editorial instincts, it seems only natural for her to finally step in to the director’s chair. “I think my career in post means I understand story, rhythm, pace. Having that kind of foresight to bring into my jobs is awesome; to know what we need, how to deliver; how to present to client.”
“Traditionally, Chop’s always been positioned as a post-production company, but in a very organic way, their walls between production and post have sort of dissolved,” says Liquorish, “It makes total sense that I’ve found a home with them as a director.”
Most recently, Liquorish has received a nomination in New Talent - Direction at the 2023 Ciclope Asia awards. Sunny Death Metal, is described as “the world’s first-ever death metal Public Service Announcement for Skin Cancer.” a brainchild of VMLY&R Brisbane’s Executive Creative Director Ben Davies, Guido Pecego, Cam McDonald and Shaun McMahon.
“Unique concepts are what I love as a director; the ability to imagine a whole new world, conjure a genuine original thought; I think it is just such a special talent. So getting the chance to translate that to the screen for an audience to experience is both a privilege and a joy.”
The young talent won’t let you put her in a box though, with Steph completing a film on a semi-professional wakeboarder and their physical and mental health journey. A far cry from the camp, sunscreen corpse-paint of Sunny Death, Liquorish states that Beneath the Wake has allowed her to lean into her more human sensibilities as a director. “Being able to tell these really personal stories with such beautiful vulnerability is super rewarding. Everyone should be able to tell their truth and be proud of who they are.”
Being a proud, queer, female voice is something that she believes is a really important addition to the directing landscape. With representation on screen being more important than ever before, Liquorish firmly believes that it is imperative for everyone to see themselves on screen. “It’s just so liberating! It’s like it gives you permission to be who you are, if she can kick ass and kiss girls then so can I.”
