The Adelaide Film Festival Board proudly presents the Don Dunstan Award, recognising an exceptional individual who has made an outstanding contribution to Australian screen culture.
As Premier of South Australia, Don Dunstan led an ambitious cultural agenda that inspired a nation. He advocated for diversity in storytelling and promoted the state’s cultural vibrancy, establishing the first government film agency, the South Australian Film Corporation.
The Award honours his legacy with previous recipients including Robert Connolly, Don McAlpine, Andrew Bovell, Judy Davis, Rolf de Heer, Freda Glynn, David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil AM, Scott Hicks, David Jowsey, Dennis O’Rourke, Bruna Papandrea, and the combined contributions of David Stratton AM and Margaret Pomeranz AM.
2026 Don Dunstan Award Recipient
This year's Don Dunstan Award recipient is internationally acclaimed actor, writer and director Leah Purcell AM.
A proud Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri woman from Queensland, Leah’s debut feature film as a writer, director, producer and lead actor The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson premiered at SXSW 2021. Her adaptation of The Drovers Wife – The Opera premiered at QPAC Brisbane in 2025 followed by a season at the Sydney Opera House in August 2026.
As one of Australia’s most in demand actors, Leah has appeared in films such as The Last Cab to Darwin (2015), Lantana (2001), Jindabyne (2006) and The Proposition (2005) and in TV series Wentworth (2018-2021), Police Rescue (1996), Redfern Now (2012-2013), Janet King (2016), The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (2023) and High Country (2023-2024).
An extraordinary voice in any medium, Leah Purcell refuses to work within anyone else’s limits. In a specially commissioned essay, Andrew Bovell reflects on the significance of her voice as an artist and cultural leader.
