William Plant as
W I L H E L M
My director’s style shines brightest through powerful, irrational, imaginative and visceral scenes and symbols, which engross the audience in a rich emotional journey.
I do not work within genres; rather, my screenplays begin with a burning message or the desire to provoke new feelings and sensations in my work. The former is best seen in my grounded Australian drama, BURIED. The latter can be felt in my more experimental works, such as INK and HYENAS.
Why WILHELM?
William is a derivation of Wilhelm, a name as old as recorded history itself.*
I chose WILHELM as it represents a step back in time, to when the spoken story was our most powerful tool for communicating, developing culture and expressing identity.
Although film still does this today, I believe we have become too concentrated on film’s entertainment value that we neglect the most important stories that need to be told.
We are nothing without stories to share; a mere envelope holding a fraction of our everyday experience. Stories are subjective and chaotic, but their empathy informs our cultures and identities more than we could ever understand.
Cinema stands as one of the most powerful mediums to tell these stories.
Even the name, WILHELM, has a story to tell.*
AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE
“I want to pioneer a new frontier of Australian that is current and listens. From film, to fashion and even architecture, everything I seek to create will shock, inspire and celebrate all that is local, rural, ancestral and indigenous, so Australia’s creative industries become a centre point for empowered.”
*References.
Campbell, M 2022, Meaning, origin and history of the name William, Behind the Name.
Origin and history of William 2025, etymonline, viewed 23 May 2025, <https://www.etymonline.com/word/William>.
William 2020, Wikipedia.