Sally McLean wins Best Actress at the 2025 IOWF in Milan, Italy

So thrilled (and somewhat shocked) to be announced as the winner of the Best Actress Award at the IOWF in Milan, Italy last week from a field of super talented nominees in series and short films from around the globe for my work as “Hecate MacFindlay” in Dark Arcadia.

The series also won Best Cinematography and Best Web Series and I am so grateful to the jury of international film industry people for this amazing acknowledgement of the work.

This series has been a seven year journey, starting back in 2017 to it’s release in 2024. It has changed format several times, been rewritten more times than I care to think about, had several false starts for production and there were many times when I thought the scripts would stay in a virtual drawer, never to be realised. And it may never have happened, if it weren’t for my amazing core team of collaborators – Billy Smedley, Christopher Kirby, Phoebe Anne Taylor and Sass Pinci – who kept me motivated and actively backed me up on the circuitous road to filming and then release. We went through some really tough times and there were days when I thought it would never be completed – it was truly a passion project and it tested myself and the team to the limit. But we got there in the end and that was completely down to those four amazing people who never let me fall. So much gratitude to all of them, always, for that effort and so much more.

Huge thanks to so many of our amazing crew who gave their all and made the series everything it could be and more. And to the incredible cast we managed to bring together, who were all pure joy to work with.

And shout out to everyone who supported the work and me personally through this process – couldn’t have done it without you all.

Ten years of producing, adapting and directing Shakespeare for the screen. It seems so much longer on some days, and no time at all on days like this. Truth be told, this series was probably the hardest to produce, which makes any success it achieves all the more sweeter.

As Dark Arcadia nears the end of it’s international festival run, having racked up 27 official selections, 69 nominations and 18 award wins, which is extraordinary, I am humbled and so grateful for everyone’s work on this series and support of and trust in me as writer/director. So much thanks and love to everyone who has been part of this work across the years – from supporters to collaborators – you are all so appreciated, always.

Love to all x