Name: Samskara
Released: 2009

The Filmmaker

Scott Lewis is a Melbourne-based writer, director and producer.

Twenty years behind the camera have taken him across France, the USA, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, India, Sweden, Iran and Australia, and he is cinematographer on two feature documentaries — The Architecture of Ra, which screened on SBS TV, and Myth, Mayhem & Metropolis.

Project Bluebird is his debut narrative feature — written over five years, with the screenplay complete and distribution interest secured. The film is now two years into late stage development, seeking finance and production partners.

2009SamskaraShort film — Writer · Producer · DOP · Director · Editor 2010TrinityShort film — Producer · DOP · Editor 2010Best of ThreeShort film — DOP · Editor 2010AllegroExperimental — Editor 2011LilyShort film — Writer · Producer · DOP · Director · Editor 2012Shadow DreamsShort film — Writer · Producer · DOP · Director · Editor 2012Encounters in CommunicationDocumentary — DOP · Editor 2012The Unity ProjectDocumentary — DOP · Editor 2013Nature In The DarkShort film — Director · Editor 2013Queen of HeartsShort film — Writer · Producer · Director · Editor 2015EvangelineExperimental — Writer · Producer · DOP · Director · Editor 2016PunkturedTV series, Foxtel — DOP 2016Keep Me in MindWeb series — DOP 2017The Architecture of RaFeature documentary, SBS TV — Cinematographer 2017Myth, Mayhem & MetropolisFeature documentary — Cinematographer 2018The ReunionFeature film — DOP 2018Di Atas AwanShort film — Editor 2019The Case of the Shanghaied SongbirdShort film — Writer · Producer · Director · Editor 2023The Light BetweenExperimental — Writer · DOP · Editor 2024The Lost PharaohDocumentary series — DOP 2026Project BluebirdFeature film — Writer · Producer

Two decades
of film

Scroll the filmography

01Short film

The Case of the Shanghaied Songbird

2019

1954 Melbourne. PI Frank Drennan is a shadow of a once successful detective. A new case reluctantly takes him into a world of sultry jazz club singers, surreal dreams, a mysterious comet and a sleeping beauty. Its world premiere came at the 2019 Noir Film Festival at Křivoklát Castle in the Czech Republic, where Scott was invited for the festival Q&A.

PremiereNoir Film FestivalKřivoklát, Czech Republic

Official selectionVästerås Film FestivalSweden

Official selectionSetting Sun Film FestivalMelbourne

Official selectionCanberra Film Festival

Official selectionNth Bellarine Film Festival

Written and Directed by Scott Lewis. Starring Jack Campbell, Gabrielle Sing, Zelia Rose, Monique Kathleen Wright and Brenda Palmer. Director of Photography David Rusanow. Production design Fiona Delalande. Composer Ben Keene. Sound design Adam Hunt. Producers Scott Lewis, Jack Campbell and Lucinda Bruce.

Read the interview →

Poster for The Case of the Shanghaied Songbird

02Short film

Shadow Dreams

2012

A twisted tale of miscommunication between two lovers.

Official selectionPoetry Film FestivalMelbourne

Official selectionFilm & Poetry FestivalMinnesota

Written, produced, shot, directed and edited by Scott Lewis. Starring Georgia Kelly and Nicholas Wheeler. Costume Leeana Chaouki. Music Saskia Sansom. Sound editor Jan Hendrik Brueggemeier.

03Short film

Evangeline

2015

A young woman’s meditation on form and spirit.

Written, produced, shot, directed and edited by Scott Lewis. Starring Rachael Lever. Composer Daniel Buckland. Sound editor Jan Hendrik Brueggemeier.

04Short film

Lily

2011

A dream-like film that explores the theme of loss.

Official selectionCyprus International Film Festival

Official selectionÎle Courts International Film FestivalMauritius

Written, produced, shot, directed and edited by Scott Lewis. Producer Hannah Deans. Starring Rhia Taranto, Glenn Mossop and Matthew O’Sullivan. Original music by Catnip. Sound Oren Gerassi and Richard Luke.

05Exhibition work

The Light Between

2023 · Experimental

The Old Melbourne Cemetery under Queen Victoria Market. Made for the Beneath the City exhibition during a 2023 Testing Grounds residency.

Written, produced, shot, directed and edited by Scott Lewis. Starring Julia Herfurth and Melissa Mikletic, with Chelsea Blake, Alan Jones and Nicholas Wheeler. Screenings: The Emporium, Testing Grounds, Melbourne · Meadow Festival, Bambra, Vic · Tehran International Short Film Festival, Iran · Zero Pixel Film Festival, Hobart

06Short film

Samskara

2009 · 20 min

Gaia is personified as Isobel, who follows a totem animal guide (a dingo) through a labyrinth of environmental destruction.

Official selectionMumbai International Film FestivalIndia

Written, produced, shot, directed and edited by Scott Lewis. Starring Chelsea Blake and Rishana Luca, with the Moira Mob Dancers. Music Frogg and Suntribe. Co-editor Curtis Moyes.