17 03 2017 - Media release Recipients of Seeing Ourselves: Developing the Developer revealed
Seeing Ourselves: Reflections on Diversity in TV Drama.
Sixteen creatives from across Australia have been selected to come to Sydney for the three-day intensive Developing the Developer workshop, designed to give professionals from diverse backgrounds greater access to the screen sector.
We know people from non-Anglo Celtic backgrounds, and those who identify as being LGBTQI or having a disability are all chronically under represented on our screens, said Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia. It's going to take the whole screen sector to work together to get to a place where the Australia we all experience in our day to day lives is actually represented on screen. For our part, Screen Australia is focussing on the early stages of creating a screen project development.
We want to work with the 16 successful Developing the Developer applicants to help them in enhancing their story development skills and to be equipped to work on projects page to screen. We want to empower these creatives with the knowledge of how to leverage the funding and networking opportunities available to them, so they can inject new ideas, perspectives and authentic stories into an industry that is ready for change, but needs new voices in story development to be able to drive this change.
Louise Gough, Development Executive at Screen Australia added; When we first announced Developing the Developer, our hope was to have 10-12 solid workshop participants. We ended up receiving 89 applications and the standard was so high, we have extended the program to take 16 creatives. To see creatives joining us from all over the country, and from such incredibly different life experiences, gives me a quiet confidence that we can engineer some real change in the development of works that more accurately reflect the Australia of today .
The Developing the Developer workshop will begin on 31 March 2017 and is provided to the recipients at no cost, including sponsored travel and accommodation where applicable. After the three-day intensive is complete, each creative will plan their next career steps with Screen Australia staff.
The list of successful applicants is included below.
REFERENCE DATA
The creation of Developing the Developer was motivated by the findings of Screen Australia's 2016 study Seeing Ourselves: Reflections on Diversity in TV Drama.
The study analysed all 199 Australian TV dramas (fiction excluding animation) that aired between 2011 and 2015 inclusive, finding 18% of main characters in the period were from non-Anglo Celtic backgrounds, compared to 32% of the population. A notable exception to this trend is Indigenous representation, making a dramatic turnaround in screen presence.
Only 4% of main characters had an identified disability compared to an estimated 18% of Australians, whilst 5% of main characters were identified as LGBTQI, yet this group is estimated to be up to 11% of the population.
For the full report, click here.
SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS (in alphabetical order) Gary Abrahams (VIC)
Since graduating from the Victorian College of The Arts in 2009, Gary has worked extensively as a director, writer, dramaturge and actor. Recent credits include the national tours of Resident Alien and Bad Jews, and Buyer and Cellar for Melbourne Theatre Company. Through his company Dirty Pretty Theatre he has directed and written several plays. The latest, Therese Raquin, will tour nationally from May this year. He received a Green Room Award for Best Director in Independent Theatre in 2010. From 2010-2014 he was the dramaturge in residence at Red Stitch Theatre and developed several new Australian works for the company. A gay male artist from a Jewish background, he has a strong sense of otherness and is devoted to the creation and production of stories for diverse audiences.
Violeta Ayala (NSW)
Violeta is an award-winning filmmaker of the First Nations Peoples of the Americas. Her credits include Stolen (2009) which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, has won 15 awards and aired on PBS in the USA, and The Bolivian Case (2015), which premiered at HotDocs, was nominated for Premios Platino and Fenix (the two most prestigious awards in Ibero-America) and was distributed across Latin America to an audience of 625 million. Her films have been supported by Sundance, MacArthur Foundation and Tribeca amongst others. Violeta is currently finishing Cocaine Prison and The Fight whilst writing the screenplay El Comunista about her grandfather a Serbian Jew, leader of the Bolivian Communist party and friend to Che Guevara. Violeta wants to produce for other filmmakers of colour and push for change in the Australian screen industry.
Candice Bowers (VIC)
Candy is an award-winning playwright, performer and activist. As co-artistic director of Black Honey Company, she has pioneered a sub-genre of radical feminist hip hop theatre. Born of multi-racial South African parents and raised in Western Sydney, her work is rooted in her outlier positioning. Upon graduating NIDA in 2001, she initially struggled in an industry closed to actors and practitioners from culturally diverse backgrounds, instead making her own work. Candy's accolades include the Edinburgh Fringe Total Theatre UK Award, British Council of the Arts Realise Your Dream Award, Australia Council of the Arts Cultural Leadership Fellowship, NIDA Glorias Fellowship and Philip Parsons Young Playwright Award Short List. Candy is interested in all forms of storytelling, and wants to shift the current paradigm to shape the next decade of diverse Australian stories.
Elena Carapetis (SA)
Elena is of Greek Cypriot heritage, born on Barngarla land, now living on Kaurna country. She is a graduate of NIDA who has appeared on
Asia, Australia & Oceanic Stories
09/07/2025
Explore Love Without Limits in a bold, funny and unapologetic SBS Audio podcast ...
08/07/2025
SBS strengthens commitment to inclusion with new commissioning guidelines
8 July, 2025
Media releases
SBS has launched new Commissioning Inclusion Guidelin...
08/07/2025
Secrets, Spies and Sabotage: 40 years on, SBS podcast investigates historic bomb...
07/07/2025
SBS Farewells Chair George Savvides AM
7 July, 2025
Media releases
Born of Greek Cypriot parents, Mr Savvides joined the SBS Board as Deputy Chair in Febru...
30/06/2025
SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel
30 June, 2025
Media releases
SBS is expanding its international news offeri...
27/06/2025
27 06 2025 - Media release Game, set, action! Screen Australia and ABC announce new mini-series Goolagong
Marton Csokas and Lila McGuire of Goolagong. Image c...
26/06/2025
Buckle up for Great Australian Road Trips launching 31 July on SBS and SBS On De...
20/06/2025
Hit, run, oh sh#t: NITV and SBS get RECKLESS with filming underway in Western Au...
13/06/2025
Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic spor...
12/06/2025
50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celeb...
06/06/2025
06 06 2025 - Media release Award-Winning TV Creators Richard Gadd, Sally Wainwri...
03/06/2025
Stories of love, loyalty and self-discovery among six shortlisted Digital Origin...
28/05/2025
SBS celebrates 50 years of reflecting a diverse and contemporary Australia
28 May, 2025
Media releases
Marking 50 years of broadcasting on 9 June 2025, SBS...
28/05/2025
ABS and Verticloud announce a Strategic Partnership to accelerate Digital Transf...
22/05/2025
SBS and Screen Australia showcase the next wave of Australian storytellers with ...
22/05/2025
Rune Pedersen unpacks How Humans Talk in new SBS Audio podcast
22 May, 2025
Media releases
Ever caught yourself using baby talk with your pet and wondered ...
19/05/2025
Eurovision delivers strong Total TV audiences for SBS, dazzling more than 2.21 m...
16/05/2025
Proper Loved Up Stage One Recipients Announced
16 May, 2025
Media releases
Screen Australia's First Nations Department, the Australian Broadcasting Cor...
15/05/2025
Australia's boldest network SBS launches new brand campaign: We Go There...
15/05/2025
We Go There SBS On Demand's new Hub is entirely bold and unmistakably SBS
15 May, 2025
Media releases
The We Go There Hub brings together over 300 ti...
14/05/2025
ABS and SpaceBridge to Join Forces to Strengthen Managed Services Across Europe,...
13/05/2025
Alone Australia Season 3: The Reunion
13 May, 2025
Media releases
As the latest season nears its end, SBS's hit series brings full cast together for re...
13/05/2025
Teletimes interviews ABS CEO, Mark Rigolle...
12/05/2025
And They're Off! The Pure Drama of the Cycling Grand Tours Continues on SBS,...
12/05/2025
10 05 2025 - Media release Australian Filmmaker Lucy Mckendrick Set For Directin...
07/05/2025
SBS and NITV mark National Reconciliation Week with compelling premieres recogni...
07/05/2025
SBS commences search for a new Western Sydney production hub location
7 May, 2025
Media releases
SBS has today launched a Request for Expressions of Intere...
02/05/2025
SBS On Demand achieves stellar month on the back of Alone Australia and The Hand...
01/05/2025
01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives
All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...
30/04/2025
Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award
30 April, 2025
Media releases
Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...
30/04/2025
SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives
30 April, 2025
Media releases
SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...
23/04/2025
We heard that you could use a little pick-me-up, so get ready to sh-sh-shake it ...
22/04/2025
McAvaney takes the lead for SBS' Coverage of the World Athletics Championshi...
16/04/2025
Finalists announced! Five stand-out brands shortlisted for SBS Media's Susta...
15/04/2025
Claudia Karvan, Tom Gleeson, and Mark Coles Smith join in the adventure of a lif...
15/04/2025
SBS and Volleyball World sign landmark deal for Beach Volleyball World Champions...
14/04/2025
SBS becomes first Australian broadcaster to have near-and long-term carbon reduc...
11/04/2025
Isn't that Insightful? Kumi Taguchi dives deeper into Insight's taboo to...
09/04/2025
SBS On Demand partners with Euronews to extend network news offering
9 April, 2025
Media releases
SBS is expanding its international news offering with the...
09/04/2025
SBS announces TV's hottest new couple, Tony Armstrong and Courtney Act, as E...
09/04/2025
09 04 2025 - Media release Screen Australia and ACTF Kids IP Incubator Initiative enters next phase
Kids IP Incubator recipients in Melbourne for the workshop...
07/04/2025
Olympic Gold medallist and World Time Trial Champion Grace Brown joins SBS comme...
07/04/2025
Female focus: New season of Living Black highlights women in Federal Election ye...
07/04/2025
SBS News' Cost of Living Secrets podcast returns to tackle one of the key is...
04/04/2025
SBS announces initiatives to provide all Australians with trusted news and infor...
01/04/2025
01 04 2025 - Media release Bus Stop Films' first feature Boss Cat to begin production in June
Boss Cat cast (L-R): Olivia Hargroder, Penny Downie and Juli...
31/03/2025
Ready, set, Party Time!' SBS News empowers young voters with a new politica...
28/03/2025
Marion Grasby's Flavours of Heart & Home is a celebration of culture and fam...
28/03/2025
SBS delivers Federal Election news to Australians in over 60 languages
28 March, 2025
Media releases
As Australia heads to the polls on 3 May, Australia...
17 03 2017 - Media release Recipients of Seeing Ourselves: Developing the Developer revealed 
