Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri man. Storyteller. Advocate.#
Tony Briggs is a proud Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri (Woiwurrung) theatre, television, and film practitioner working as an actor, writer, director, and producer.
He is the creator and writer of the internationally acclaimed feature film The Sapphires, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. For The Sapphires, Tony received two Australian Writers Guild Awards (AWGIES), and the film went on to win 11 out of 12 categories at the 2013 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTAs). Based on the film, Tony also wrote the stage play The Sapphires, which had sell-out seasons across Australia and won two Helpmann Awards.
Tony co-originated, executive produced, and wrote the eight-part TV series The Warriors. As a director, his short film Elders premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was screened at imagineNATIVE, Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, and numerous other national and international festivals.
As an actor, Tony has delivered memorable performances in major film and television projects, including Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024), Population 11 (2024), The Newsreader (2023), The Twelve (2021), Cleverman (2015), Redfern Now (2012), and The Slap (2010). On stage, he has performed with distinction in celebrated productions with leading companies such as MTC, STC, Melbourne Workers Theatre, and NYID.
Tony is the Artistic Director of the Birrarangga Film Festival, which biennially showcases Indigenous films from around the globe to audiences in Naarm. He is also the Company Director of Typecast Entertainment, a respected First Nations-owned business that champions Indigenous storytelling in film and television. The company fosters a sustainable creative landscape where Indigenous voices are nurtured and empowered to thrive.
In collaboration with friend and artist David Pledger, Tony co-created Tomorrow’s Pasts, a multi-platform concept spanning digital art, theatre, video games, and television. The project centres on an alternate Australian history shaped by a race-based civil war. Address to the Nations, a digital art series part of Tomorrow’s Pasts, is the focus of this residency. The work integrates new and emerging technologies, consistent with Tony’s vision for creative practice.
Tony believes:
First Nations peoples must embrace and master emerging technologies to harness their potential and avoid a new wave of colonisation. We must take control of our narrative in this changing world.