William Duan
- Producer
- Costume Designer
- Director
William Duan (he/they) is an award-winning filmmaker based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. As a queer Chinese-Australian, they are inspired by stories heralding from other queer and cultural diasporas - particularly those from Asian voices.
Their first foray into film was an art film, Pensato Panoply (2014), which premiered at the Centre Pompidou in Paris after being selected by a panel including Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dries Van Noten & Diane Pernet. Most recently, they have embarked on writing-directing their first narrative short film, Tui Ná, which recently had its world premiere at the 70th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF 2022) as a part of the prestigious Accelerator Lab program, after winning Queer Screen's Pitch Off competition. The film has gone on to win Best Film at the 30th Mardi Gras Film Festival at Sydney WorldPride, being nominated for the prestigious Iris Prize (the world's largest short film prize), as well as being nominated for Best Direction in a Short Film by the Australian Directors Guild.
They are most known for their work as a producer specialising in narrative film & arts films. Some notable works include Mestiza (dir. Ranima Montes) which premiered at the 67th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF 2018), as well as Yaz Queens (2022), which was commissioned by ABC ME with support from Screen Australia. In 2017, William produced their first micro-budget feature film Daydreams (dir. Jim Muntisov). They have also worked for brands like Campari, Melbourne International Film Festival, Multicultural Museums Victoria & RISING Arts Festival.
William was selected as a Screen Producer's Australia 'Ones To Watch', i-D Magazine's 'Asian-Australian Filmmakers To Watch' and is an alum of Melbourne International Film Festival's prestigious Accelerator Lab, as well as Sydney Film Festival's Platform Incubator Lab.
Their first foray into film was an art film, Pensato Panoply (2014), which premiered at the Centre Pompidou in Paris after being selected by a panel including Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dries Van Noten & Diane Pernet. Most recently, they have embarked on writing-directing their first narrative short film, Tui Ná, which recently had its world premiere at the 70th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF 2022) as a part of the prestigious Accelerator Lab program, after winning Queer Screen's Pitch Off competition. The film has gone on to win Best Film at the 30th Mardi Gras Film Festival at Sydney WorldPride, being nominated for the prestigious Iris Prize (the world's largest short film prize), as well as being nominated for Best Direction in a Short Film by the Australian Directors Guild.
They are most known for their work as a producer specialising in narrative film & arts films. Some notable works include Mestiza (dir. Ranima Montes) which premiered at the 67th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF 2018), as well as Yaz Queens (2022), which was commissioned by ABC ME with support from Screen Australia. In 2017, William produced their first micro-budget feature film Daydreams (dir. Jim Muntisov). They have also worked for brands like Campari, Melbourne International Film Festival, Multicultural Museums Victoria & RISING Arts Festival.
William was selected as a Screen Producer's Australia 'Ones To Watch', i-D Magazine's 'Asian-Australian Filmmakers To Watch' and is an alum of Melbourne International Film Festival's prestigious Accelerator Lab, as well as Sydney Film Festival's Platform Incubator Lab.