roger Scholes

Roger was born in Launceston, Tasmania in 1950. He was educated at Swinburne Film School [VCA] in Melbourne receiving a BA and Post Graduate in Film & TV. He lived and worked in France as an artist for much of the 1970’s and returned to Australia in 1980 and has lived in Tasmania for the past 20 years with his wife, the novelist Katherine Scholes with their two sons.

Roger has been an artist, film and tv writer-director, cinematographer, production designer, stills photographer, mentor and designer/builder for 40 years. His first exhibition of paintings and sculptures was in Tasmania in 1968 at Court Gallery in Launceston. He has been shown in London, York, Oxford, Boston, Lyon, Melbourne, Sydney, Launceston and Hobart and has been commissioned to make works throughout his career. In 1982 he had a major Australian exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in Sydney. His work is in public and private collections in the US, UK, France, Switzerland and Australia, including the John Fairfax Collection Sydney, Clowney Collection, Edinburgh, the Queen Victoria Art Gallery and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. He has published drawings and prose in the UK, US and France, and spent many years documenting oral histories with the women and men of rural and remote regions of Tasmania. He is currently preparing for a new show of art works in Hobart. 

Of his 25 released films many have received critical acclaim. His feature film THE TALE OF RUBY ROSE was nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and won 4 critics prizes including Best Actress and Best Director. His documentary HOME OF THE BRAVE won First Prize at the International ITVA American Film Awards and First Prize at the Mobie Awards, the documentary THE VALLEY won Best Film Media, Atom Awards and a United Nation Media Peace Award, the cinema feature THE COOLBAROO CLUB won the Human Rights Award for Media and the Honourable Mention at the Columbus International Film Festival, the 3 hour teleseries THE HUMAN JOURNEY won the Eureka Prize for Science Media and Best Film, Atom Awards. The 3 hour teleseries STORIES FROM THE STONE AGE gained a record viewership for ABC TV, S4C UK and Channel4 UK. His documentary series LAST PORT OF CALL and FUTURE SHACK gained a record documentary rating when screened for the ABC with 1.2 million viewers and his series THE PASSIONATE APPRENTICES gained the highest ‘Inside Australia’ rating ever for SBS TV. 

Roger work as a lecturer and mentor in film writing, directing, and production for many institutions include the Australian Film Television Radio School, Swinburne Film and Television School, York University, Deakin University, Film Victoria, Australian Film Commission, Screen Tasmania, Latrobe University, Wide Angle Tasmania and has served as a board member for the Swinburne Film School and Screen Tasmania. He works as a story editor for published fiction. Roger’s international work as a designer-builder with over 35 years’ experience in community housing and independent projects, includes 4 complete house designs and construction projects, 4 studio design and constructions, and many renovation and restoration projects - all as the physical builder and cabinetmaker.