Dale Crawford: Lilith, Chinese-Australian History & The Paradox of Purpose

This week on Founders & Funders Australia, Ray sits down with filmmaker and multidisciplinary creative Dale Crawford, founder of Moon Room Films.

Dale grew up in Melbourne surrounded by early computers, robotics, and animation thanks to two programmer parents. From childhood inventions to studying fine arts, screenwriting, and philosophy simultaneously, his early life set the foundation for a career that spans fashion design, independent film, and deep historical storytelling.

Ray and Dale explore the extraordinary Chinese-Australian history that inspired Dale’s decades-long research project, including secret societies on the Bendigo goldfields, clan wars, and the origins of Australia’s oldest Imperial Dragon. Dale shares why he closed a fashion label invited to New York Fashion Week to pursue filmmaking, and how acting and modelling became tools to study film sets from the inside and reinvest into his creative work.

They also dive into the reality of producing independent films: building teams, sustaining multi-year projects, navigating distribution, and shaping meaningful work in a fast-content world. The discussion moves from TikTok attention loops to the “paradox of purpose,” and why creative people must learn to consume less and make more.

If you’re a founder, creative, or someone navigating long-term meaningful work, this episode will resonate deeply.

In this episode, Dale shares:

• Growing up with early computers, robots, and stop-motion animation
• Childhood plans to invent an electromagnet motor and build a “perma jungle”
• Studying fine arts, screenwriting, and philosophy across three universities
• Building a made-to-measure fashion label later invited to New York Fashion Week
• Closing the label to focus on filmmaking
• 16+ years researching Chinese secret societies in Australia
• The story behind the Imperial Dragon and the Bendigo goldfields
• How a stolen script pushed him to start his own production company
• Using acting and modelling gigs to learn filmmaking and fund projects
• The 10-year journey from writing to releasing his feature film Lilith
• How rapid media consumption affects our emotional processing
• Why creators need to bring “nutritious work” into an oversaturated world
• The paradox of purpose — why achieving goals can erase meaning
• Why aspiring filmmakers must start small, iterate, and learn by doing

Where to watch

Lilith

• Australia: Vimeo On Demand
• North America: Fandango

Connect with Dale

• Instagram: @moonroomfilms
• Film company: Moon Room Films