AustLit

Film director, screenwriter, producer.

Aleksi Vellis studied English literature, classics, and drama at Melbourne University before completing a three-year film directing course at the Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne). After graduating with first-class honours he wrote and directed his first feature film, Nirvana Street Murder. A gritty low-budget production, it was well received by the critics and won several awards in Australia and overseas. His third feature film, The Wog Boy, a mainstream comedy, is one of the five highest grossing Australian films of all time.

His television directing credits include episodes of Acropolis Now, The Genie from Down Under, and Raw FM. He has also written scripts for the television programs Acropolis Now and Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left.

Vellis operates The Film Space, a specialist film acting studio in Melbourne, and has directed music videos, documentaries, television series, and commercials. From the potent tragedy of the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' campaign for the Transport Accident Commission (a Gold winner at New York's prestigious One Show) to the slick and precise wackiness of his 'Specialist' advertisement for Pepsi, Vellis's output demonstrates his ability to work in a variety of cinematic styles and genres.

Vellis was the inaugural winner of the Greg Tepper Memorial Award (1992) for a filmmaker who has made a significant contribution to Victorian filmmaking in the previous year.