Biography
Susan Lambert is a prominent Australian filmmaker known for producing and directing award-winning films for both Australian and international broadcasters, with her work being released theatrically worldwide. Her recent feature documentary, Tyke Elephant Outlaw (2015), garnered critical acclaim at major international film festivals and was acquired globally by leading broadcasters and Netflix. She has also written and directed documentaries for Australia's top production companies.
Earlier in her career, Lambert's experimental documentary feature Landslides (1990) was shown theatrically in Australia, and her feature film Talk had theatrical releases in Australia and the USA in 1995. Her television credits include the acclaimed observational series Under the Hammer (ABC Australia), Risky Business (SBS), DIY Law, and Love and Money (both for ABC Australia). In 2001, her provocative documentary Tokyo Bound: Bondage Mistresses of Japan aired on Channel 4 in the UK and SBS. She directed Deadly Enemies for ABC and Channel 5 (UK) in 2004. Her 2006 documentary The Good, The Bad and The Ugg Boot became one of ABC’s highest-rated programs.
In 2007, Lambert co-produced The Cars That Ate China, a co-production involving ABC, NDR Germany, CICC China, Electric Sky UK, and Jumping Dog Productions. She directed episodes of two significant ABC series: The Making of Modern Australia and the landmark courtroom series On Trial. In 2011, she produced the award-winning docu-drama Recipe For Murder, a top-rating documentary for ABC1. In 2013, she wrote and directed the 10-part children’s series Dancing Down Under. In 2014, Lambert directed episodes of Outback Coroner for Foxtel CI Channel, wrote and directed My Big Fat Bar Mitzvah for Compass (ABC), and in 2018 directed Mateship - Australia and America: A Century Together for Foxtel History Channel.
Lambert’s films have been featured at major international film festivals such as London, Toronto, Chicago, Edinburgh, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Seattle, New York, Cannes, Oberhausen, San Francisco, Sunnyside, Portland, Sarasota, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. In 2016, she and Stefan Moore were nominated for Best Director of a Feature Documentary by the Australian Directors Guild for Tyke Elephant Outlaw.
As the sole director of Jumping Dog Productions since 2001, Lambert has produced Tokyo Bound: Bondage Mistresses of Japan (Channel 4 UK, SBSi), Love and Money (ABC), Deadly Enemies (Channel 5 UK, ABC TV), The Good, The Bad and The Ugg Boot (ABC TV, TVF International), The Cars That Ate China (NDR Germany, CICC China, Electric Sky UK, ABC TV), Recipe For Murder (ABC1), and Tyke Elephant Outlaw (Netflix Worldwide, Channel 9 Australia, Storyville BBC, CBC Canada, DR9 Denmark, Nat Geo Latin America, among others).
