Ursula Grace Williams

Ursula Grace Williams is an award-winning director whose storytelling has sparked global conversations, engaged millions, and even influenced legislative change.

Her debut short documentary The King (2016), made as part of her Master’s thesis (First Class Honours), won the Audience Award at NZIFF and screened at the Sydney Film Festival, also earning her the Bright Sunday Emerging Pasifika Director Award at the Wāiroa Māori Film Festival. She has since built a career on impactful, thought-provoking work that challenges perspectives and amplifies underrepresented voices.

From 2017–2019 she was the head of production at VICE New Zealand whilst directing and producing for the channel. Her work there reached global audiences, with Deportees of Tonga: Gangsters in Paradise (2019) amassing over 15 million views and her series Zealandia gaining over 30 million views worldwide. The latter has been nominated for multiple Voyager Media Awards, including Best Feature Video, Best News Video and Best Cinematography.

From 2021–2022, she directed the acclaimed six-part series Milk & Money (TVNZ/NZoA), which examined the far-reaching impacts of New Zealand’s dairy industry. She also co-created the seven-part podcast He Kākano Ahau (winning Best Podcast of the Year), directed Young and… A Siren King (Re: News/TVNZ) and executive produced and supervised directed STILL HERE, which won Best Documentary Series at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.

2025 marks Ursula’s release of her first feature-length documentary Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds, made in collaboration with producer Alex Behse and performer Marlon Williams. The film received a standing ovation at its world premiere in Auckland and has since played to acclaim at major festivals including MIFF, Revelation, and the BFI in London, as well as the Sydney Film Festival, where it was nominated for the prestigious First Nations Award.

She lists female directors Alma Har'el, Sofia Coppola, Maite Alberdi and Jane Campion as some of her filmmaking role models.

Awards

  • Winner Best Documentary Series, Voyager Media Awards (2023) - Still Here

  • Joint Podcast of the Year Winner (2020) - He Kākano Ahau

  • Best Feature Video, Voyager Media Awards Finalist (2020) - Deportee’s of Tonga - Gangsters in Paradise

  • Best Team Video, Voyager Awards Finalist (2019) - Lost Boys of Taranaki

  • Best Team Video, Voyager Awards Finalist (2019) - Syn City

  • Winner of Best Cinematography, Voyager Awards (2019) - Lethal Ladies, Alien Weaponry and Lost Boys of Taranaki

  • Bright Sunday Emerging Pasifika Director Award, Wāiroa Maori Film Festival (2016) - The King

  • NZCS Bronze for Cinematography (2017) - Aupito the High Chief

  • Audience Award, NZIFF (2016) - The King