Mary-Lyn Chambers, a Writer-Director based in Tāmaki Makaurau, was born in Fiji and raised in Nauru and Aotearoa New Zealand. Known for exploring inequality in mixed languages, she's a directing Fellow from the Sony Pictures Television Diverse Directors Program, Film Independent, and prestigious residencies like the Château de la Napoule in France. Diversity in Cannes named her one of the top ten female directors to watch.
In 2024, Chambers’ pilot, The Lads, was selected for The Women’s List and Roadmap Writers Over 45 initiative. In 2023, Chambers joined the inaugural Five in a Room: A Television Series Writer's Room, cultivating New Zealand showrunners. She's currently developing a diverse female-driven historical crime drama set in 1920s Tijuana and a New Zealand-based series exploring the impact of a toxic man during the 1981 Springbok Tour. She is attached to direct an episode of Headlands, an anthology TV series about mental health.
Chambers' projects include Karanga, a collaboration with Māori choreographer Merenia Gray for SkyTV and Māoriland and also opened the 2024 Melbourne Women in Film Festival. Her award-winning short pilot Tijuana received acclaim at Slamdance and HollyShorts and was invited to Content London's Short2Series program. She has earned awards such as Best TV Pilot at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival and Best Female Director at HollyShorts, and her work has been shown on Amazon Prime.
Chambers cut her teeth in the industry working in LA for international film festivals and the Spirit Awards. And in the Middle East for the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. Chambers advocates for justice, inclusion, and equality across all sectors of her life work.