I’s been a spectacular year for Miranda Tapsell.
Not only did the talented and versatile actress get engaged to the love of her life, James Colley, but her feature film Top End Wedding, in which she starred, as well as wrote and produced, has been chosen to be premiered at the Sundance Movie Festival in 2019.
To celebrate, WHO caught up with Tapsell, who was more than happy to spill on what has been an incredible 12 months, both career-wise and personally. “It’s been an exciting year,” Tapsell, 31, says.
The Darwin local, who shot to fame in The Sapphires in 2012 and captured hearts across the nation on Channel Nine drama Love Child, is ecstatic about her recent Sundance nomination and she can’t wait to head to the US next year for her movie’s world premiere.
“It was one of shock and awe,” she says of the special moment she heard the news.
“I was very philosophical about the outcome when we entered, but when I found out we’ve been chosen, it’s beyond my wildest dreams.”
Top End Wedding tells the story of Lauren, a lawyer played by Tapsell, and her fiancé Ned, played by British actor Gwilym Lee. With a wedding in sight, Lauren and Ned have to find Lauren’s mother who has gone missing somewhere in the Northern Territory, reunite her parents, and pull off their dream wedding.
With an all-star cast, including Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires), Kerry Fox (The Dressmaker) and Ursula Yovich (Redfern Now), the film also features breathtaking landscapes of the Australian outback including Darwin, Katherine, Kakadu as well as the Tiwi Islands.
“It’s everything I ever wanted,” Tapsell enthuses of how the movie turned out.
“I was just a girl from Kakadu, from the bush, and I always wanted this. To be able to do what I love and for it to be recognised on the world stage is amazing.”
She says her inspiration for the film came from a mix of her love of rom-coms and of the Territory.
“Just the way I know and love Australia has been my inspiration really,” Tapsell explains.
“Now people want to visit the area and I’m so happy. Growing up in the Territory, I took the beauty of my hometown for granted. It made me realise how lucky I was. I’m still taking it all in.”
But it hasn’t always been plain sailing, with Tapsell the first to admit writing the script was tough and time consuming. It took her four years to get it right.
“Sometimes the process was intimidating, especially bringing the Territory and my world into the film was challenging, but I am proud of the outcome.”
In fact, she enjoyed the process so much, she’s considering supplementing her acting.
“I’ve fallen in love with writing and I’ve really enjoyed the creative process on the other side of the camera,” Tapsell says.
“It’s something I want to continue doing. But I don’t necessarily think I’ll step away from acting.”
Her movie aside, Tapsell has her own wedding to plan in the new year after boyfriend Colley popped the question earlier this year.
“I’m very excited to get married,” says the bride-to-be.
