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Developing Local Talent

Screenwest is committed to developing local WA talent and has delivered and supported...

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Thursday, 27 February 2020

Screenwest is committed to developing local WA talent and has delivered and supported a plethora of opportunities for screen industry practitioners throughout January and February!

Screenwest recently funded The Art and Craft of Development Workshop with Stephen Cleary through Feisty Dames Productions and the Women in Film and Television WA Women in Leadership Workshop.

Through a partnership with Perth Festival, Screenwest co-hosted In Conversation with Maya Newell, Director of In My Blood It Runs and Gaby Baby, which explored the triumphs, challenges and considerations of documentary filmmaking in Australia.

The Small Screen In Focus: In Conversation with Niki Aken event saw Niki, a television screenwriter across drama and comedy, visit Perth and speak about navigating the television industry and the world of screenwriting in addition to hosting one-on-one meetings with current funded Small Screen Projects. The In Conversation was live-streamed, but you can still watch the recording below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ee_-JbV_tc

Screenwest hosted the Screen Australia Perth Roadshow – Development and Online where a captive Perth audience of practitioners listened to presentations from Screen Australia Development Executive Ester Harding and Junior Investment Manager Online, Alyce Adams about what great applications and projects look like. The audience was also given the opportunity to ask questions and network after the event.

Screenwest’s Talent Development Manager, Eva Di Blasio explained, “Perth has such a talented screen industry, and Screenwest wants to make sure we provide opportunities to learn from screen practitioners and programmers locally, from Australia and around the world. Providing these opportunities is not only important to develop new talent in the emerging sector, they also provide mid-career and established practitioners with new insights, skills and solutions, as well as a competitive edge when applying for national funding.”

What’s Coming Up?

Coming up, Screenwest will host In Conversation with Sudeep Sharma, a Sundance Programmer, one of the world’s most independent and well-known film festivals. Sharma has been brought out by Screenwest for this special event for Perth practitioners after his trip to the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) The event will take place on 5 March, 2020 and will be live-streamed. This incredibly special event and provide an insight into what a programmer looks for when curating a festival program. To watch the live stream, or catch up after the event has passed, you can visit the Screenwest Youtube Channel.

Screenwest has supported 22 WA Screen Practitioners with travel funding to attend the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) which takes place from 1 to 4 March in Melbourne.

“Attendance to key industry conferences provide practitioners with a platform to sell Western Australian screen projects, set up new projects and network with practitioners and distributors from around Australia and the world,” explained Di Blasio.

Imagine Impact, a successful development initiative originally created by screen industry heavyweights Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Tyler Mitchell will also launch in Melbourne this year. Screenwest is supporting the initiative to give WA screen writers the opportunity to apply for the unique eight-week intensive program.

“Screenwest aims to give WA practitioners as many opportunities for development and networking as possible and we are looking forward to sharing more with the industry in the coming months. We encourage practitioners to look out for upcoming announcements regarding our Elevate funding round and our updated West Coast Visions program,” Di Blasio said.

To keep up to date with our latest events, funding round announcements and initiatives make sure you view the WA Screen Industry Calendar , follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and subscribe to our newsletter.

Screenwest also produces a regular podcast In Conversation with Screenwest, where industry experts are interviewed and invited to share their insights, tips and tricks for filmmakers. You can listen to them now on the Screenwest website.