“Banks epitomises the brazen forthright nature of unstoppable women everywhere and brings a sense of beauty and style to all her projects.”

Sophia Banks has an impressive point of difference. The “fashion forward” director has also won or been nominated for more than 34 awards.

Filmgraphics executive producer, Anna Fawcett, commented, “Sophia is a great addition to our roster. We have always supported female directors.  But more importantly, she is a true filmmaker who understands the value of her craft, the foundations that Filmgraphics were built on.”

Her recent short for US designer label, Christian Siriano, Making It On Time, was nominated for over 15 awards. It won at Film Fest Miami and was nominated for Best Short, Best Fashion Film, and Best Director at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Moët & Chandon Tribeca Film Festival, Berlin and Milano Fashion Film Festivals and Los Angeles Film Awards. The standout film features woman wearing couture gowns while skateboarding through the streets of LA.

Banks’ enduring passion for the arts, and in particular fashion, led her first into roles across 15 years as a fashion designer, celebrity stylist, creative director and fashion editor. Vogue Australia named her Top Fashion Export and Harpers Bazaar Fashion Leader many years in a row.

Her ultimate goal, however, was to be behind the camera, and while living in the US, she studied at USC, UCLA, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts before the ultimate lesson – shadowing famed German director, Wim Wenders.

She has directed numerous music videos, branded content, short films and commercials.

She is also a self-professed “tech geek” who loves cameras and has a knack for visual effects.

“I bring a unique perspective that is both tender and unabashedly bold. My voice is as courageous, outrageous and outlandish as that of any man,” Banks writes about herself on her website.

“I focus on forms in the frame that others overlook, and I know how to arrange a shot to highlight subtext and innuendo. Like many of the directors I admire most, including Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese, I rely on the power of imagery to tell my stories.”

She added, “There is no place I am happier than behind a camera.”

View Banks’ reel here.