{{Short description|New Zealand production designer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}} {{infobox person | name = | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = New Zealand | citizenship = | occupation = [[Production design]]er | years_active = 2000–present | alma_mater = [[Elam School of Fine Arts]] ([[Bachelor of Fine Arts|BFA]])<br>[[Australian Film Television and Radio School]] (MA Hons, 1999) | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = }} '''Felicity Abbott''' is a New Zealand [[production design]]er, who has worked in the film and television industry in many countries. Her many film and television credits include ''[[Redfern Now]]'', ''[[Upgrade (film)|Upgrade]]'', ''[[The Luminaries (miniseries)|The Luminaries]]'', ''[[The Invitation (2022 film)|The Invitation]]'', and the upcoming series ''[[My Brilliant Career (TV series)|My Brilliant Career]]''.
==Early life and education== Felicity Abbott was born in [[New Zealand|New Zealand / Aotearoa]], of [[Māori people|Māori]] and Scottish descent.<ref name=aftrs>{{cite web | title=Felicity Abbott | website=Australian Film Television and Radio School | date=2 December 2025 | url=https://www.aftrs.edu.au/alumni/alumni-showcase/felicity-abbott/ | access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref>
She completed a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Sculpture, at [[Elam School of Fine Arts]], [[University of Auckland]], New Zealand.<ref name=aftrs/>
She graduated from the [[Australian Film Television and Radio School]] in 1999, after completing an MA (Film & Television) (Hons) in Production Design.<ref name=aftrs/> For her MA thesis, she collaborated with [[cinematographer]] Cordelia Beresford, to investigate the relationship between production design and cinematography.<ref name=aftrs/> She was awarded the [[Fox Studios Australia]] Award for Excellence in Design in 1999.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090912180642/http://www.aftrs.edu.au/downloads/file/pdfs/ar99.pdf AFTRS Annual Report 98/99], Appendix 5, p.99. (archived 2009)</ref>
Later in her career, she completed a post-graduate diploma in [[art psychotherapy]] and community arts at Metaforà School of Art Therapy in [[Barcelona]], Spain.
==Career== Abbott has worked in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Europe, the Balkans, on film and television productions in a range of genres.<ref name=aftrs/> She is a professional member of the [[Australian Production Design Guild]], the [[British Film Designers Guild]], and the [[Art Directors Guild|Art Directors Guild Local 800]].<ref name=aftrs/>
She co-designed the [[short film]] ''Restoration'', directed by Cordelia Beresford.<!---, won best film in the general category of the Dendy Awards, at the Sydney Film Festival in 1999. ''Restoration'' also won the Jury Prize, Short Film Competition, at the Long Beach International Film Festival, US, 2000.---> She also collaborated with Beresford on ''The Eye Inside''.<!---, won best film at both the [[Sydney Film Festival]] Dendy Awards and [[St Kilda Film Festival]] Melbourne in 2005 and received a nomination at the [[Australian Film Institute Awards]] in 2005.--->{{cn|date=February 2026}}
In 2006, Abbott completed ''The Catalpa Rescue'' (US title ''Irish Escape''), directed by Lisa Harney for PBS (US), ABC (Australia), and RTÉ (Ireland) and ''Playground'' for director Eve Spence.{{cn|date=February 2026}} In 2007, Abbott designed the Goalpost Pictures/[[Channel 4]] film, ''[[The Eternity Man]]'', a film opera about the life of Australian [[Arthur Stace]], by British director [[Julien Temple]]. The world premiere screening of ''The Eternity Man'' was at the [[Sydney Opera House]] in June 2008 as part of the [[Sydney Film Festival]].{{cn|date=February 2026}}
She did the production design for [[Bruce Beresford]]'s 2018 comedy-drama ''[[Ladies in Black (film)|Ladies in Black]]''.<ref name=aftrs/> She collaborated with [[Rachel Perkins]] on the 2009 musical film ''[[Bran Nue Dae (film)|Bran Nue Dae]]'', and again on ''[[Mabo (film)|Mabo]]'', a 2012 biopic about the life and work of [[Indigenous land rights in Australia|Indigenous land rights]] campaigner [[Eddie Koiki Mabo]].<ref name=aftrs/>
For the 2020 New Zealand miniseries ''[[The Luminaries (miniseries)|The Luminaries]]'', the design crew had to build more than 105 unique sets from scratch, to recreate the West Coast of the [[South Island]] during the [[gold rush]] of the 1860s. This took a year to complete.<ref name=aftrs/>
Other work by Abbott includes ''[[The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce]]'', directed by [[Michael James Rowland]];<ref name=aftrs/> the 2022 American horror film ''[[The Invitation (2022 film)|The Invitation]]'';<ref name=mbc2025/> [[Amazon Studios]]' 2022 film ''[[Don't Make Me Go (film)|Don't Make Me Go]]''; and the 2024 American horror feature ''[[Tarot (2024 American film)|Tarot]]''.<ref name=aftrs/>
She is production designer for the upcoming [[Netflix]] series ''[[My Brilliant Career (TV series)|My Brilliant Career]]'', which was being filmed in [[South Australia]] and produced in the [[Adelaide Studios]] in 2025.<ref name=mbc2025>{{cite web | title='My Brilliant Career' Series Adaptation Now in Production in South Australia for Netflix | website=About Netflix | date=June 2025 | url=https://about.netflix.com/en/news/my-brilliant-career-series-adaptation-now-in-production-in-south-australia | access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref>
==Awards and nominations== * 2014: Winner, [[Australian Cinematographers Society|ACS]] Award for Design on a Television Drama in the [[Australian Production Design Guild]] (ADPG) Awards, for ''[[The Outlaw Michael Howe]]''<ref name=adpg2014/> * 2014: "Highly commended" in the ADPG Award for Design on a Television Drama, for ''[[Redfern Now]]''<ref name=adpg2014>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apdg.org.au/awards/past-winners/2014-2/|title=2014 APDG Award Winners|website=[[Australian Production Design Guild|APDG]]|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222336/http://www.apdg.org.au/awards/past-winners/2014-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 2015: Nominated, ADPG Award for Design on a Television Drama, for ''[[Redfern Now]]''/''Promise Me''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apdg.org.au/awards/2015-winners/|title=2015 WINNERS|website=APDG|access-date=2016-04-21|archive-date=29 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229032924/http://www.apdg.org.au/awards/2015-winners/|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 2018: Nominated, [[AACTA Award for Best Production Design]] in the [[8th AACTA Awards]], for ''[[Upgrade (film)|Upgrade]]'' (with Katie Sharrock)<ref>{{cite web | title=Winners & Nominees | website=AACTA | url=https://www.aacta.org/aacta-awards/winners-and-nominees/2018-aacta-awards/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260122071254/https://www.aacta.org/aacta-awards/winners-and-nominees/2018-aacta-awards/ | archive-date=22 January 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref> * 2020: Winner, [[New Zealand film and television awards|New Zealand Television Award for Best Production Design]], for ''The Luminaries''<ref name=aftrs/> * 2023: Nominated, Best Production Design, [[British Film Designers Guild]] Awards, ''Don't Make Me Go''<ref name=aftrs/> * 2023: Nominated, Best Production Design, British Film Designers Guild Awards, ''The Invitation''<ref name=aftrs/><ref>{{cite web | title=The Invitation | website=British Film Designers Guild | date=11 October 2024 | url=https://britishfilmdesigners.com/winner-finalist/the-invitation/ | access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref> * 2025: Winner, Docklands Studios Melbourne Award for Best Production Design at the ADPG Awards, for ''Tarot''<ref name=aftrs/>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb name|2199622}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Felicity}} [[Category:Australian production designers]] [[Category:People from Wellington City]] [[Category:Elam School of Fine Arts alumni]] [[Category:Australian Film Television and Radio School alumni]] [[Category:20th-century births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Australian women production designers]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]