MORE BACKGROUND

Dee McLachlan has lived in Southern Africa, the United Kingdom and California, worked in Sri Lanka, and now resides in Australia. She made her first film documenting a climbing expedition to Mount Fitz Roy in Argentina and, over a career spanning more than four decades, has produced television series—including the 1980s Soweto action series Steelman—directed nine feature films, and written more than fifteen screenplays.

Dee first collaborated with producer Andrea Buck in 1992 on the road thriller Deadly Chase. The pair have since worked together on numerous productions, most notably the award-winning feature film The Jammed. Andrea now returns as Executive Producer of Hostage of the State, continuing a creative partnership that has endured for more than three decades.

Beyond filmmaking, Dee is also an author, investigative journalist and publisher. In 2013, she founded Gumshoe News, an independent news and commentary platform that has since published more than 4,000 articles from a diverse range of contributors. Her work has examined issues including government accountability, media integrity, child protection, family law and human rights.

She is also the author of the children's book series Awaken Your Kids, together with several non-fiction works, including The Truth in Journalism and The Child Protection Racket, an examination of state guardianship, child protection and the impact of family separation.