Jane Oehr travelled from Melbourne, Australia, to study overseas as an actress before joining BBC TV as a Trainee Director in London. There she made documentaries about the cinema including a film about French director, Agnes Varda. She returned to Australia to work as an independent director, making Tamu - The Guest about the life of Australian painter Donald Friend in Bali. Later Jane travelled through Niugini and the Trobriand Islands to direct Niugini Culture Shock which won the Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Film in 1975 at the Sydney Film Festival.