Pete Williams

Pete Williams is an Australian filmmaker, known for his 2024 debut feature fiction film Emotion is Dead.

Early life and education Pete Williams grew up in the northern Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia. From a young age, he would borrow equipment from his grandfather, who was an amateur cameraman, for school projects. He was a fan of punk rock and emo music as a youth.

He worked in advertising through most of his twenties, before "taking a gamble" and moving to London to attend the Met Film School run by Ealing Studios in 2006. about three social entrepreneurs who created social enterprises. The film premiered at the Sustainable Living Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkiye, and was late aired on SBS Television. At this time, Williams was living in the United States, living in Portland, Oregon, after spending 10 years in the UK. He directed the film, which was produced by Vincent Vittorio.

Other television projects include Fearless: The Inside Story of the AFLW and Making Their Mark, for which he was the story producer (2021, Amazon Prime Video). The film was a passion project for Williams, and looks at "the impact of disability, class, and the power of employment in Australia". The film features actors who live with disability in prominent roles, including Isi Sweeney, an actress with Down syndrome, and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and grief are also portrayed by several characters. Its title is derived from the 2000 album Emotion Is Dead by American emo band The Juliana Theory.

A cast and crew screening in August 2023 received a standing ovation. Emotion Is Dead had its world premiere at the 2023 Adelaide Film Festival. and was thereafter shown in other Australian cinemas.