Australia Day Ambassador
Allanah Zitserman
Ambassador for Albury City Council
Allanah graduated with a BA in Business and Communications from the University Of Technology, Sydney in 1998. While still at university she established an events company, which operated the themed nightclub Barbarella for two years. In 1999, Allanah crossed over to film, teaming up with Stavros Kazantzidis to produce and pen RUSSIAN DOLL, starring Hugo Weaving. The film garnered Allanah an AFI Best Original Screenplay Award and was a commercial success locally and internationally.
Following this she wrote and produced the Melbourne Cup comedy HORSEPLAY starring Abbie Cornish. Over the next few years Allanah was based overseas. While there she staged gala film events at the Cannes and Marrakech Film Festivals.
In 2005 she returned to Australia, committing her time to script development and setting up the Dungog Film Festival. In 2006 she was awarded the Australian Film Commission’s prestigious Writers Fellowship. In 2008 Dungog Film Festival was included on the coveted Premier Master Events Calendar. In late 2008, Allanah set up the film distribution company Australian Film Syndicate (AFS), quickly establishing it at the forefront of new Australia Cinema. Allanah now divides her time between making, distributing and showcasing Australian films.