Born in St Kilda,[1] Melbourne, the eldest of three boys, Hannam lived in his youth in Sydney and was educated at Wollaroi College[1] in Orange, New South Wales.
He worked in English television, and returned to direct Australian feature films.
[5] His first feature Sunday Too Far Away (1975) marked the emergence of an internationally recognised Australian film industry.
"[7] The following year he did an interview where he criticised the state of Australian filmmaking and admitted "When I see a rough cut of a film I've done I'm usually suicidal."
His third wife was actor Madlena Nevada; they married in 1990 and remained together until his death; they adopted a son, Christopher.