I was also interested in the possibility of shooting in Northern Queensland in Autralia (offers tax rebates and grants) as I have strong ties to Australia, having lived there on and off for 18 years and working in the industry there. Plus there is a Papua New Guinean community in Cairns, a city in Queensland.
Veialu is a multiracial writer, director & television creative producer. Papua New Guinea born. Aotearoa New Zealand raised. Gadigal Land / Sydney based.
Veialu's creative journey spans short films, scriptwriting, theatre, television, advertising, and fiction writing.
Currently, she is in the prestigious 'Writing a Novel' program at Faber Writing Academy at Allen & Unwin, an independent Australian publishing company, and is a freelance creative producer.
Leaving her ancestral homeland as a child and growing up the only Papua New Guinean in a small town had a profound effect on her which is why Veialu is passionate about telling thought-provoking, female-driven stories that explore identity, history, and underrepresented females finding their voice in the world.
Her award-winning animated and live-action short films, BLUE WILLOW and BUTTERFLY/BATAPLAI, have screened at 69 festivals including Berlinale, imagineNATIVE, Maōriland, Mill Valley, and more.
On the TV side, Veialu has 20 years of experience as an award-winning creative producer, copywriter, editor, and promo director working with Australia's largest free-to-air commercial TV networks, NINE and TEN.
Places she's lived in include Wellington, Auckland, Tauranga, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Mumbai.
While living in Mumbai, she directed doco-style short films for MEWSIC, the charitable foundation of former Australian cricketer Brett Lee.
She was awarded the 2025 FABER SCHOLARSHIP, the 2023 ARMED WITH A CAMERA (AWC) FELLOWSHIP (she also mentored the 2024 AWC cohort in Los Angeles), and her historical screenplay, THE DEFIANT ONE, was selected for The Black List's 2021 CAPE LIST.
Passionate about Indigenous cinema, Veialu was invited to be a festival screener (watching and evaluating films) for the 2025 and 2024 Pacific Cinewaves program at the LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL, an Academy Award®-qualifying film festival for Short Film Awards, and FESTPAC 2024.
Veialu is an alum of Berlinale Talents, the International Institute of Modern Letters, and Aotearoa New Zealand's national drama school, Toi Whakaari, where she did a master's degree in theatre directing.
When she’s not watching movies or traveling (34 and counting!!), Veialu is making blanket forts for her cat to play in and writing her film blog @hollywood.diversity
I respectfully acknowledge all Traditional Indigenous Custodians of the lands, waterways, and skies. I recognize that I live on land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and pay my deepest respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.
NewFilmmakers LA interview, MAY 2024
Veialu talks about her short film "Butterfly/Bataplai"