Santilla Chingaipe is a Zambian-born filmmaker, historian and author whose work excavates the stories Australia has long chosen to forget.
Her debut book of non-fiction, Black Convicts, was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and longlisted for the prestigious Cundill History Prize, cementing her place among Australia’s most important historians.
The critically acclaimed documentary inspired by the book, Our African Roots, made history as the first time an African-Australian host interrogated the nation’s colonial past on Australian television.
A former SBS World News journalist, Santilla spent nearly a decade reporting across Africa, interviewing some of the continent’s most prominent leaders while also covering Australia’s diverse African diasporic communities.
Her influence extends well beyond Australia’s borders. In 2019, she was recognised at the United Nations as one of the most influential people of African descent in the world under 40. She has delivered the annual E.W. Cole Lecture at the Wheeler Centre. She is a regular contributor to The Saturday Paper and a columnist for The Monthly.
Santilla is also a committed champion of inclusive storytelling. She is the founder of Behind The Screens, a VicScreen-supported program increasing representation for people historically excluded from the Australian film industry.
She hosts two monthly cultural events: the literary series First Chapter and its sister event, No Skips: A Listening Party. Because she loves reading. And dancing.
She lives and works in Melbourne.
MAIN TOPICS
History, Culture, Gender, Erasure, Power, Memory, Storytelling