Screen Australia announces new Gender Matters Taskforce

27 02 2020 - Media release Screen Australia announces new Gender Matters Taskforce

Rachel Griffiths, Liz Doran, Que Minh Luu

Screen Australia has today announced the 18 members of the new iteration of the Gender Matters Taskforce. The Taskforce will provide independent advice to the agency and work beyond Screen Australia's direct sphere of influence to deliver outcomes for female creatives and assist in the broader industry efforts to achieve gender parity.

Formed in 2016 and updated in 2018, the Gender Matters Taskforce is a volunteer-based advisory body for Screen Australia made up of women working across the Australian screen sector. This will be the third iteration of the Taskforce and returning members include Joanna Werner, Deanne Weir and Lisa French.

Screen Australia Board member, returning chair of the Gender Matters Taskforce and acclaimed producer Joanna Werner said, These 18 brilliant women represent a cross section of the screen sector and come from varying backgrounds with a range of expertise locally and internationally. This Taskforce will be integral in helping to shape Screen Australia's next steps as well as promoting the broader industry systemic change that is needed.

Whilst Screen Australia's Gender Matters work has been important, the agency represents only a fraction of the $3 billion local screen industry. As the new Gender Matters Taskforce, we will be seeking to leverage our own expertise and connections to agitate for change in our individual areas of speciality, particularly in areas Screen Australia cannot reach.

I really look forward to working with the new Taskforce to find targeted and achievable solutions to ensure we continue to make improvements to our industry and do our part to empower female creatives.

The new Taskforce will meet three to four times a year with the first meeting scheduled to take place next month.

GENDER MATTERS TASKFORCE MEMBERS Sarah Bassiuoni: Bassiuoni is a Sydney-based writer and director. Since graduating from AFTRS in 2016, following a successful career as a human rights lawyer, Bassiuoni has worked for several producers and production companies as a writer, director, script editor and researcher. She has directed short films including the four-part comedy web series, Carpark Clubbing for ABC iview and worked as a trainee script editor and writer on season 2 of ABC serial The Heights, produced by Matchbox Pictures. More recently, Bassiuoni was selected for Screen Australia's Developing the Developer Program in 2018 and for the Phillip Parson's Fellowship at Belvoir Street Theatre where she has been selected to take part in their 12-month development program as dramaturg. She currently has several projects in various stages of development. Bassiuoni is the daughter of an Egyptian Muslim and Irish Catholic and grew up in Saudi Arabia, the USA and Australia.

Tania Chambers: Chambers is a producer and Manager Director of Feisty Dame Productions. She has produced children's television series Itch, feature films A Few Less Men and Kill Me Three Times, the short film Tango Underpants and executive produced End of Empire, Turning Point, One Fine Day, High Tide, Dark Whispers and A Shared Affair. Formerly Chief Executive of Screen NSW and Screenwest, Tania is a member of the Screenwest Industry Advisory Group, Chair of the WA Screen Industry Diversity Leadership Group, a member of SPA, AACTA, WIFT Australia and Dame Changer and a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the Arts and to Film and Television.

Liz Doran: Doran is an internationally acclaimed writer and producer. She script produced and co-wrote the smash hit, Please Like Me and in 2015 was co-creator and lead writer on Ready For This, which won multiple awards and was nominated for an International Emmy Award. She also co-wrote Molly, which had the highest consolidated ratings for an Australian drama series in 2016. She has written for several television series including Doctor Doctor, Dance Academy and The Secret Life of Us and is currently developing an eight part series, Barons, for the ABC and Fremantle as well as producing The Tailings, an online series for SBS On Demand.

Anusha Duray: Duray is the Acquisitions Manager for National Indigenous Television (NITV), as well as a skilled producer. Her short film Bourke Boy was selected to screen at the London Australia Film Festival, ImagineNATIVE Film Festival and won Best Achievement in Indigenous Filmmaking at St Kilda Film Festival. Duray has extensive experience working in Indigenous communities and business development. She was a recipient of the Executive Women in Leadership scholarship by Chief Executive Women Australia and has been a member of networks such as the New South Wales Aboriginal Women's Consultation Network, the Oceanian TV Symposium and New South Wales Women's Legal Service throughout the last decade.

Bonnie Elliott: Elliott is an award-winning cinematographer who works across drama, documentary and video art. After shooting her first feature, My Tehran for Sale in Iran, her film credits include These Final Hours, Spear, Undertow, Palm Beach, Slam and H is for Happiness. Recent series drama includes Stateless, created by Cate Blanchett, Tony Ayres and Elise McCredie, and The Hunting, which continued her collaboration with director Ana Kokkinos after the acclaimed Seven Types of Ambiguity, for which she won an AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in Television, becoming the first female cinematographer ever to win this award.

Lisa French: French is the Dean of RMIT University's School of Media and Communication. Her extensive screen industry experience includes directing the St Kilda Film Festival, serving on the board of the Australian Film Institute and producing several documentaries. She is a lifetime member of the AFI an

LINK:	https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2020/02-27-new...
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