Docklands filmmaker Emily-Kate Murphy returns from New York with major award for debut feature

For Docklands resident Emily-Kate Murphy, a recent trip to New York ended with more than just festival memories.

The 28-year-old filmmaker and actor returned home with a major international win after her self-produced debut feature The Unspoken took out a Diamond Globe award at the New York State International Film Festival.

It is a remarkable result for a first-time feature filmmaker, particularly one who financed the project herself, stepped back from full-time work to make it happen, and built the film largely through determination, instinct and the support of collaborators taking a leap alongside her.

Murphy, who has lived in Docklands for around two-and-a-half years, said the project began as a script she wrote in 2020 and initially never expected to make.

“The Unspoken I wrote years ago,” she said. “I never was going to really do anything with it … but it’s a really powerful story.”

The film centres on a young woman who falls pregnant during lockdown and makes the decision not to keep the baby. Murphy said the story took on new meaning after a 2024 trip to the United States, where conversations around reproductive rights felt far more immediate and politically charged than they had in Melbourne.

“I came home and I just had a lot of females around me that had just gone through something similar and hadn’t told anyone about it,” she said. 

To do that, Murphy dropped down from her full-time management role at Goodlife Docklands, saved what money she could, and assembled a cast and crew largely through personal connections. Many involved were doing things for the first time, including the cinematographer, who had never shot a feature before.

“It was a lot of everyone’s firsts,” she said.

The 46-minute film was shot in Brunswick, mostly inside an Airbnb that Murphy gained permission to use. In one example of low-budget creativity, a bedroom was transformed into a doctor’s office using blankets, first aid kits, wall signs and carefully controlled lighting.

The entire production was filmed in just four days.

Murphy also acted in the film herself, while taking on writing, producing and directing responsibilities. She said she wanted the set to feel collaborative rather than hierarchical.

“If you’ve got an opinion or an idea, I want you to be comfortable to share it,” she said. “That’s why everyone was happy to do the long days and just push through because we were all involved.”

In New York, Murphy sat at the back of the cinema to watch audience reactions. She said the film resonated deeply, including with men, and that one couple described it as “emotionally captivating”.

Winning the award was a moment of validation in an industry better known for rejection than recognition.

“To actually have that 10 minutes of just recognition makes it all worth it,” she said. “When I was finally alone, I did have a good cry of, ‘oh my gosh, I did it!’”

Murphy is already moving on to her next projects, with another film set to shoot within weeks.

Longer term, Murphy hopes the momentum can help her break further into the Australian screen industry, while keeping one foot in both acting and filmmaking. And living in Docklands, she knows exactly what one dream milestone would look like: one day working just down the road at Docklands Studios.

But Murphy’s New York success marks an important milestone: proof that a passionate Docklands local with a script, a small budget and plenty of courage can make something that connects far beyond Melbourne. •