Australian actress, writer, producer and director Charmaine Bingwa has been announced as the winner of the 2018 Heath Ledger Scholarship.
Now in its 10th year, the Heath Ledger Scholarship was founded five months after Ledger passed in early 2008. According to organisation Australians In Film, the scholarship is awarded to an Australian actor who exhibits distinctive and unique potential, helping them relocate and break into the US industry.
Born in Western Australia, Australian/Zimbabwean Bingwa has been riding high on the festival success of her recent web-series Little Sista, which was awarded Best Screenplay at the LGBT Toronto Film Festival and earned selections in the Out Fest LA, Sicily Web Fest, Roma Cinema DOC, and Melbourne Web Fest.
The series follows a 30-something black lesbian, played by Bingwa, as she attempts to mentor a young at-risk girl as part of a court-mandated 'Big Brother, Big Sister' program.
After being announced as the winner Bingwa said: “I’m completely taken aback and so honoured to be 2018’s winner of the Heath Ledger Scholarship.”
She continued, saying there were “so many beautiful people” she wanted to thank.
“I heard the other day someone say that the most powerful currency you have is the impact you have on other people and I think Heath epitomises that. Heath personally taught me what the power of a performance can do.”
Bingwa then said Ledger's performance in Brokeback Mountain had inspired her both professionally and personally.
Openly lesbian, Bingwa has previously spoken out about the "mixed" reaction she got from family members after coming out, saying that while her brothers had been accepting, her mother "had a tough time".
"It’s my mission to normalise the LGBTQ+ community," Bingwa said in an interview with Cliché magazine.
She continued: "There has been so much progress – marriage equality exists in many parts of the world, laws preventing discrimination based on sexuality exist – but there is still a stigma around it.
"Suicide is the leading cause of death in people aged 10 to 24, five times more likely for LGBTQ+ youth compared to heterosexuals. I want the next generation to grow up knowing it’s okay to be exactly who they are."
