An internationally acclaimed playwright, screenwriter, director, novelist and actor, not to mention cultural icon and activist, Leah Purcell stands at the forefront of the Indigenous cultural renaissance and protest movement. A proud Goa-Gungarri-Wakka Wakka Murri woman, she is well known to audiences in Australia and around the world for her many roles, including in Wentworth, Redfern Now, Jindabyne and Lantana. In this conversation, Leah takes a deep dive with Simon Moore into her new film, The Drover’s Wife the Legend of Molly Johnson, which is in cinemas from 5 May.

Leah talks fondly about her mother reading the original Henry Lawson short story to her as a child, and she gives incredible insights into her inspiration and the creation of the film, which she developed from her own play and novel. She often talks emotionally and with great candour about her own experiences and those of her family, which informed the expansion of the story from the original.