Member Spotlight: Lisa Wang
“This is what I love about film and TV – it’s all an adventure.”
When Lisa Wang first stepped into the Australian screen industry, she had no film school degree or industry contacts. She was a single mother of three, returning to the workforce after six years at home, with a background in fashion design, retail, and wholesale—and simply needed to make ends meet. What she didn’t know then was that her transferable business skills, tenacity, and deep sense of purpose would not only carry her through, but carve a unique path for her in film and television.
Lisa’s journey into film began in 1994 through a simple, life-altering suggestion: join WIFT Vic. “It changed my whole life!” she says. At the WIFT office she met Lisa Horler who suggested a production role on what would become the iconic ABC series Frontline.
Even with that early momentum, Lisa wrestled with imposter syndrome and anxiety. “I walked around the block to calm my nerves first and then went to work,” she recalls. After years away from the workforce, she found herself facing a whole new technological world but she adapted quickly, learning on the job, mastering Excel, and absorbing production lingo. She leaned into her strengths and built confidence with each challenge.
That sense of adventure and dedication has defined her career. From production accounting to managing and line producing, Lisa’s built her reputation on precision, leadership, and collaboration.
Later working alongside her husband‑, Andrew McVitty, who founded Black Sheep Films in 1982, she quickly developed a deep understanding of how things run on set. Today, with over 30 years in the industry, she’s known for her leadership on productions like Please Like Me, Late Night with the Devil and White Fever.
Even as her career flourished in scripted work, Lisa made space for passion projects. Her directorial debut, Reunion (SBS), examined cultural identity and life in Australia post–White Australia policy. It screened at film festivals internationally, including at IDFA (1998). She followed this with P.S. I Love You (ABC), a portrait of teen girls navigating life in a remote high school.
That same passion led Lisa to found Screen Presence, a not-for-profit platform dedicated to amplifying Asian Australian voices in the screen industry. “The absence of Asian Australians on screen doesn’t just limit what audiences see — it weakens our shared cultural fabric. Screen Presence was created to amplify our voices and weave them into the bigger story of who we are,” she says.
Through monthly events at the Chinese Australian Museum in Naarm/Melbourne, Screen Presence offers mentorship, professional networks, visibility, and a safe community where creatives can connect. “I love being able to help people understand the culture of the industry — because that knowledge can so simply change someone’s career trajectory.”
