Film Biography
Hailed by Musical Notes Global (NY) as “a true Renaissance woman,” Aminah Hughes is an Australian writer, director, producer, photographer and musician.
Aminah’s most recent directing project is an 18 minute proof-of-concept for an original television series. Co-written with Dylan Kussman, the film stars Kussman and Allelon Ruggiero and is the first film the actors have appeared in together since playing Richard Cameron and Stephen Meeks, respectively, in Peter Weir’s DEAD POETS SOCIETY. She previously collaborated with Kussman on the music video, What Are We Fighting For (If Ain’t Love)? which draws attention to the CDC’s determination that “firearms are now the number one cause of death for children in the United States” and acts as an offering to the families who are suffering, to give voice to those who need to be heard now more than ever.
Aminah spent many years as an assistant director and camera operator before stepping into directing. The founder of Sky Woman Productions, her short projects have screened in numerous festivals throughout the US, Europe and Australia. Her screenplays have won multiple contests and taken her to Austin Film Festival as a semi-finalist. In 2020, Aminah became a member of the Australian Directors Guild and in 2021, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she worked on features for Disney, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Warner Bros, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate, Focus Features, New Line Cinema, Annapurna, Sony Pictures, Netflix and HBO Max, and a variety of television series. She is a member of Women in Film and the LA-based Independent Writers Caucus.
A prolific songwriter and seasoned performer, Aminah has appeared on 14 releases in Australia, Europe and the US. Her vocals have featured on film, TV, and game soundtracks, including the highly anticipated BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: DEADLOCK, based on the popular NBCUniversal television Series. A former radio presenter and theatre actor, Aminah is also a voice over artist, recording audiobooks, commercials, and audio description for film and TV.
To support her creative lifestyle, Aminah worked in a variety of intriguing industries. She was a covert writer of witness statements, working alongside state and federal police, and a researcher at the Department of Justice Crime Prevention Unit.
Her writing focuses on trauma recovery, women’s stories and examining male characters through a feminine lens. Her visual style integrates truth, power and beauty.
View her studio work on IMDB Pro.
Writer’s Statement
“I write because I want people to know that they no longer have to carry shame that does not belong to them. I want my audiences to feel the empowerment that comes with healing trauma through truth telling. I write to challenge the acceptance of unacceptable things, and because I am passionate about the interweaving of power and beauty in storytelling. My characters embody the tenet that true strength lies in gentleness – that at the root of all healing is the love and acceptance of self.”
Gallery
NEED A PITCH DECK?
Aminah creates rich, sleek, and professional pitch decks for writers, directors, and producers. Get in touch via sheherself@aminah.com.au Here’s a testimonial:
“A gracious, brilliant, multitalented creative with an outstanding work ethic, Aminah is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and lucky for me, an excellent editor. After years of impassioned writing, I realized I’d finally found the person who could professionally translate my storytelling into the visual and emotional representation my work deserved. She is an expert guide in the creation of pitch decks, an often intimidating but necessary marketing tool.
As a WGA screenwriter with two optioned screenplays and over ten years’ experience working with industry professionals, I’d wasted a couple of weeks trying to teach myself to create a clean, intriguing, story-infused deck when Aminah answered my rather desperate Women in Film call-out for assistance. After perusing her amazing CV and website and meeting with her, I knew she had exactly the right combination of heart, professional experience, industry savvy, and pure artistry to create a deck I’d love.
Along with Aminah’s creative expertise, her project commencement, responsiveness to questions and suggestions, and delivery of the final, perfect product were timely and always inspired. Thank you, Aminah, for my beautiful pitch deck, of which my team and I are very proud!”
– Kathryn Machi, ViviLu Productions (repped by Bohemia Group)
CURRENT PROJECT
RECENT PROJECTS
REEL
RECOGNITION IN FILMMAKING
SOLACE (short) 2023 – as writer/director/producer/cinematographer/editor
Winner (2024) Breathtaking Visuals Award, Valkyrie International Film Festival (Buffalo, NY).
Official Selection (2025) Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival; (2024) New York Lift-Off Film Festival, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival, Austin Lift-Off Film Festival, WA Made Film Festival.
Nominee (2023) Best Narrative Short, Montreal Women Film Festival.
WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR (IF IT AIN’T LOVE)? by Aminah Hughes and Dylan Kussman
(music video) 2022 – as writer/director/producer
Official Selection (2023) Los Angeles Independent Women Film Awards.
TELL ME IT’S OVER by Aminah Hughes (music video) 2020 – as writer/director/producer
Official Selection (2022) Paris Lift-Off Film Festival, Austin Lift-Off Film Festival, Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival; (2021) London Lift-Off Film Festival, Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival, Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival, New York Lift-Off Film Festival, Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival, Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival; (2020) Melbourne Lift-Off Film Festival.
Exclusive Premiere (2021) American Songwriter Magazine (Nashville)
I NEED TO LEARN by Aminah Hughes (music video) 2019 – as writer/director/producer
Winner (2020) Best Director of Short Form Music Video, Vox Pop Award – Independent Music Awards (New York).
Official Selection (2022) Paris Lift-Off Film Festival, Austin Lift-Off Film Festival, Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival; (2021) London Lift-Off Film Festival, Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival, Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival, New York Lift-Off Film Festival, Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival, Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival, European Cinefest Golden Nika (Prague); (2020) Melbourne Lift-Off Film Festival; (2019) Revelation Perth International Film Festival, WAMFest Mini Music Video Festival.
Exclusive Premiere (2019) Musical Notes Global (New York).
NAF NAF by Steve Hensby Band (music video) 2019 – as writer/director/producer
Winner Best Video (2019) Revelation: Perth International Film Festival.
Official Selection (2023) Austin Lift-Off Film Festival; (2022) Paris Lift-Off Film Festival, New York Lift-Off Film Festival, Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival; (2019) WAMFest Mini Music Video Festival.
BLUE WOODEN BOAT by Aminah Hughes (music video) 2018 – as writer/producer
Semi-Finalist Best Music Video (2018) International Songwriting Competition Music Video Category (Nashville).
Official Selection (2022) Paris Lift-Off Film Festival, Austin Lift-Off Film Festival; (2021) London Lift-Off Film Festival, Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival, Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival, New York Lift-Off Film Festival, Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival, Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival, Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival; (2020) Melbourne Lift-Off Film Festival; (2019) WA Unlocked Film Festival.
Exclusive Premiere (2018) Scenestr (Melbourne).
RECOGNITION IN WRITING
WE CAN NEVER GO BACK (short screenplay) – co-write with Dylan Kussman
Semi-Finalist (2023/24) Cinequest Screenwriting Competition. Second Rounder (2023) ScreenCraft Film Fund (LA).
THE INSIDE OF A SHELL (feature screenplay)
Top 10% (2022) The Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Quarter-Finalist (2021) The Script Lab Free Screenplay Contest.
THE YARD (short screenplay)
Top 6% of short projects on Coverfly; Top 11% of all projects on Coverfly. Finalist (2020) California Women’s Film Festival. Semi-Finalist (2020) ScreenCraft Short Screenplay Contest, Filmmatic Short Screenplay Awards.
THE RUBICON (short screenplay)
Top 1% of short projects on Coverfly; Top 2% of all projects on Coverfly; #13 Drama Short of All-Time, The Red List (April 2021); #12 Drama Shorts of the Year, The Red List 2019; #10 Drama Shorts of the Month, The Red List November 2019
Winner (2021) Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival; (2020) Melbourne Lift-Off Film Festival; (2018) ScreenCraft Short Screenplay Contest; (2019) Filmmatic Short Screenplay Awards.
Finalist (2019) Katra Film Series; Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, Hollywood Screenplay Contest.
Semi-Finalist (2020) Cinequest Screenwriting Competition; (2019) Austin Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.
Official Selection (2019) Florence Film Awards, Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards.
THE LOUNGE WITH AMINAH HUGHES (non-fiction vodcast)
2020-2021: #5 Other Podcasts of the Year – The Red List; #5 Other Podcasts of the Month – The Red List; QUARTER-FINALIST – ScreenCraft Podcast Writing Competition (LA)
