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  • Nel Minchin

    Nel Minchin

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Nel Minchin

Graduate Diploma of Broadcasting, 2006

Winner of the 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alumni Award

In the early days of her studies at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Nel Minchin clearly remembers chatting with her fellow classmates about where they hoped their studies would take them.

For Nel, all she ever wanted to do was to make documentaries.

“I didn't know what the steps would be and I didn't really realise there was actually an industry here in Perth,” she said.

“It’s kind of my natural inclination and love of human stories, curiosity in people, what makes people tick. The pursuit of that is pretty fulfilling on a day-to-day basis, ultimately.”

Nel has made a name for herself in the cut-throat world of documentary film making, and has worked as a director, writer, and producer.

She has created visually appealing and compelling stories that reflect diverse Australian stories including cricket, fashion, mental health and indigenous dance.

She has worked with leading organisations including In Films, ABC, CJZ and Fremantle Media Australia.

Her screen credits demonstrate excellence, longevity and great diversity, and her works include Matilda and Me, Making Muriel, and the feature documentary Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra.

Her work is currently available across ABC iView, SBS On Demand, Stan, and Netflix.

Recently, Nel pivoted to producer roles, a move that has seen her team up with Easy Tiger Productions with a senior creative leadership appointment within one of Australia’s most respected production companies.

“Becoming a producer is probably not where I necessarily thought I was going about five years ago,” she said.

“You need to be innovative, you need to be entrepreneurial to be able to adapt to the really fast changing life that we all live, but also obviously the media environment's changing so much as well.”

Nel has become a vital industry mentor to ECU graduates and often gives her time to Screen and Broadcasting students, where she delivers free specialist sessions and tuition videos to help them develop the skills and confidence of future documentary makers.

A key piece of advice Nel has for fellow ECU students keen to make a career in documentary filmmaking was to be a good team player.

“It's about knowing that you're always going to be working in teams… be a good team player, respect everyone, including the people on screen, or the people you're interviewing,” she said.

“Treat your stories on screen as you would expect you would want to be treated.”

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