CREATORS
We are Sangeetha and Marshall, the couple behind NOAH Films, launched officially in 2019. Through NOAH Films, we have created, written, produced, directed & starred in 7 short films, 1 featurette and 2 web series, all which have received international success on the festival circuit. Our first featurette ‘Lost Focus’ (2019) was awarded ‘Best Mental Health Awareness’ at the Sydney Indie Film Festival.
Following on, our web series ‘Social Murderer’ (2021) created on no budget, brought together 90 cast and crew across production all from Diverse backgrounds. The series was awarded and nominated at Web Festivals internationally - including ‘Best Directors’ & ‘Best Production Design’ wins along with 9 other nominations at the British Web Awards, ‘Best Web Series’ & ‘Best Ensemble’ at the Independant Shorts Awards Los Angeles, as well as ‘Best Writing’, ‘Best Drama’, ‘Best International Series, ‘Best Ensemble’ & ‘Best Actress’ nominations at both the Rio & Asia Web Awards. The series was also selected to showcase at NZ Web Fest, Miami Web Fest and the Melbourne Women in Film Festival.
Most recently, we were one of 5 teams selected and commissioned to create a short film through Blacktown Arts and supported by Create Australia through the Australian Government. Our short was 'Red Lantern' (2023) and is about to hit the festival circuit.
To further provide a space for Diverse Australian stories, we founded the independent online platform - Diversity Australia Magazine in 2021.
Our mission is and has always been to represent Ethnic Diversity & practice Equal Casting across all our productions and work, all while bringing light to issues that are usually swept under the carpet.
Sangeetha Gowda
ACTOR-WRITER-DIRECTOR-PRODUCER
Sangeetha Gowda is an Award Winning Actress, Writer, Director & Producer. She graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Acting in 2016 where she was awarded the college's 'Best Actress' Award. Her first role out of college was the Lead in Ryde Youth Theatre's production of 'Inside'. Initially Sangeetha auditioned for the Supporting role, but her audition was so strong that the play was rewritten to be a Female Lead. Continuing on, she performed in many film and stage productions including 'Hamlet' at the Casula Powerhouse where she opened and closed the show.
After meeting Marshall and witnessing a need for more diverse content and lack of good Female Leads, NOAH Films was established in 2018. Sangeetha's work through NOAH Films has been recognised and awarded at film festivals internationally, including 'Best Director' and 'Best Production Design' at the British Web Awards for the web series 'Social Murderer' (2021) - which also received 'Best Drama', 'Best Writing' & 'Best Actress' nominations in Britain, Rio & Asia. She also received an Actress of the Year Nomination for her performance in 'Perpetua' (2022) at the LA Actors Awards, which she starred in and produced. Recently, 'Red Lantern' (2023) which she co-wrote and Directed was commissioned by Blacktown Arts through Create Australia and the Australian Government.
Sangeetha brings a background in writing to her work, self publishing her first book at 16 on Wattpad which has now amassed over 140k reads, and her screenplay 'Her, Unwritten' was a finalist in the London Independant Story Prize and the ScreenWriters Network Competition.
Sangeetha's work often involves social impact storytelling, with her mission to shine a light on important topics, spread awareness on mental health, and be inclusive in providing opportunities to Actors and Filmmakers of all Ethnic backgrounds. In 2021, she co-founded the online platform Diversity Australia Magazine - to showcase and provide more opportunities to Ethnic Australians from all backgrounds to be seen and celebrated.
Marshall-Weishuai Yuan
ACTOR-WRITER-DIRECTOR-PRODUCER
Marshall-Weishuai Yuan is a Australian Chinese award winning actor, writer, director and filmmaker based in Sydney.
He started out as a background extra on film and television sets before making the transition into full-time acting. Marshall eventually graduated from the New York Film Academy with a Diploma of Acting in 2017.
After finding the lack of roles for Asian Australians in the film industry, Marshall decided to create an independent film productions company with his partner, Sangeetha Gowda, which became NOAH Films. The goal of the company was to combat the lack diversity in the industry through their work. Having no prior experience behind the camera, Marshall self taught himself craft of filmmaking through trial and error of making films.
In 2020 Marshall received his first ‘Best Actor’ award at the New York International Film Festival for his self written and directed short film 'Superhero' (2020). The story was about a Chinese Australian who faced racism at work. Other important accolades including ‘Best Web Film’ and ‘Best Screenplay’ at the British Web Awards for his film ‘Starving Artist’ (2022). He starred and co produced in his first project commissioned by Blacktown Arts under the NSW Government, 'Red Lantern' (2023).
Marshall also co-founded the online magazine Diversity Australia Magazine (DAM) in 2021 as a means to showcase the ethnic talent in Australia. The company's singular goal is to promote individuals of Ethnic-Australian backgrounds through interviews, photoshoots and articles.
A lot of Marshall's work revolves around social impact, particularly on promoting diversity in films. His ultimate goal is to support his community through his creative work and help inspire others to believe that they can achieve anything.
Recommendations
"What an amazing team!! Marshall and Sangeetha are 2 very talented movie directors and writers whom we had the pleasure to work with over the weekend. They were very professional & welcoming & were such a delight to work with! Natasha had so much fun onset and we would love to work with them again! Highly Recommend."
- Earle Family, Actors/Models/Singers
"I recently worked with Marshall on his Web Series and it was an absolute pleasure and an amazing experience to be directed by such a professional. Marshall is an extremely unique and creative Director and delightful to collaborate with on set, he is definitely one of the best directors Ive worked with and would recommend him to direct any project if you want the best quality film, tv series or commercial!" - Baylee Arndt, Actor (Standing Up for Sunny, Cooked)
"I was fortunate enough to be part of a project that Sangeetha was making and have had very positive experiences. Sangeetha was professional, while also being approachable, easy to talk to and was always checking on me to see if all was okay on my end. I have been impressed with the way she has undertaking managing the aspects of the project and am keen to work with her and the team again soon." - Lawrence Ola, Actor/Voice Artist/Songwriter (This Little Love of Mine, Kennards Hire, Step One, Sleeping Duck, Kathmandu)
'Sangeetha is among the most professional people that I have worked with. Passionate, skilled and caring leader on set. The shoot was well-planned and went very smoothly. The culture on set was welcoming, efficient and encouraging. I whole-heartedly recommend Sangeetha and personally look forward to future opportunities where I can work with her again.' - Dante Florez, Sound Crew (multiple shorts, features, music videos)
"Worked with Marshall and he was fantastic. He had a clear vision of what he wanted and I wasn't left standing around for hours. Would highly recommend him and hope to work with him again in the future." - Hudson Brande, Actor (Benefited)
'Sangeetha has the ability to create characters, and write dialogue, in a manner that allows important issues to be addressed in a natural and compelling way. She is also a sensitive and collaborative director who knows how to get the best out of her team.' - Geoff Cordner, Actor (Event Zero, Xavier's Harvest)