09 05 2018 - Media release Talent Camp amps up screen industry diversity Front row: Vincent Carter, Belinda Raposo, Chloe Black, Samuel Nuggin-Paynter; middle row: Alana Hicks, Courtney Collins, Zayaan Jappie, Grace Feng Fang Juan, Shevaun Rutherford, Isabel Olympia Turner, Llewellyn Michael Bates; back row: Dinah Lewis Boucher, Rob Braslin, Nilendra Fonseka, Kane Jacobs, Michael Gupta, Steven Arriagada.
Talent Camp, a screen industry inclusivity project to support the development of emerging creative talent from diverse backgrounds, will see 17 participants from around the country participate in an intensive workshop at AFTRS from May 7 11.
The program, initiated by AFTRS and Screen Australia with the support of all state screen agencies, is a response to audience demand for rich and engaging stories and the industry's concern about the lack of diversity in the Australian screen sector.
Last year, Talent Camp workshops were held across Australia for up to 15 participants in each state. Following the workshop, state agencies worked with AFTRS and Screen Australia to provide a range of opportunities to the talented individuals including mentorships, internships, placements, writers' rooms and development support.
Now, up to two participants from each State and Territory have been chosen for the National Talent Camp workshop in Sydney, on the strength of a 7-minute short project script that each had to develop and pitch.
National Talent Camp consists of one-on-one mentoring sessions with experienced screen practitioners and small group activities to support the development of creative projects. At the end of the four-day workshop, participants will introduce themselves to industry guests, including broadcasters and production companies, and outline their projects. As a final step, some projects will be selected to receive production funding.
The Campers' reflect a wide range of emerging talent and creative projects. Eight comedies, four dramas and four documentary projects have been selected, with many stories drawing heavily on lived experience including fresh takes on justice, cross cultural communications, coming out, suburbia and community. The profiles of the Campers' are provided in further detail below.
The industry mentors participating in National Talent Camp are Adrian Wills, Andrew Dillon, Brita McVeigh, Cate Shortland, Corrie Chen, Darren Ashton, Debbie Lee, Donna Chang , Jonathan Ogilvy, Kath Shelper, Madeleine Heatherton, Nell Greenwood, Pearl Tan, Rich Welsh, Rosie Lourde, Sarah Walker, Tim Ferguson and Tom Zubrycki.
Talent Camp provides an opportunity for new talent, new perspectives and new voices that reflect the richness and depth of contemporary Australian society. This intensive workshop offers tremendous opportunities for the talented participants to further develop specific projects but also to work closely with experienced professionals to develop their skill set, says AFTRS CEO Neil Peplow.
Screen Australia Senior Development Executive, Nerida Moore, said: Authenticity is essential for good storytelling and by telling stories that accurately reflect the breadth of diversity in our society we enhance the richness of our uniquely Australian stories. Talent Camp is an incredible opportunity for emerging creatives to get their ideas production ready and it will play an important part in getting more diverse and distinctive stories on our screens.
The selected National Talent Camp participants are:
Alana Hicks Co-founder of The Kvetch Set Sketch Collective and co-creator of online web series The Kvetch Set. Alana's work has been featured in The National Play Festival, Sydney Festival, Sydney Writers Festival and more. Alana is of Papua New Guinean/Australian heritage, with a strong desire to see culturally diverse stories on Australian screens.
Belinda Raposo Belinda has a passion for storytelling, with a love of queer history and stories of identity, migration and the urban landscape. She has written for Archer Magazine, and other publications as a freelance writer, and released CO_The Creative Couples Project with Cecile Knight in 2015. In 2017 she was selected for ACT Writers Centre HARDCOPY professional development.
Chloe Black Chloe has been writing and doing Stand Up Comedy for over 17 years and has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Adelaide Fringe and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Chloe presents It s Always Midnight Somewhere (a phantasmagorical mix tape of film-scores and punk rock) and co-hosts Film Central on Edge Radio in Hobart and likes to collect and sell vinyl records online.
Courtney Collins Courtney's first novel, The Burial was published in Australia and in ten other countries. It is currently being adapted as a feature film by Pure Pictures/Renegade. Courtney recently completed her second novel, The Walkman Mix. For the past three years Courtney has been living in Ngukurr, Southeast Arnhem Land, and in collaboration with Ngukurr Art Centre, Ngukurr Language Centre and key community elders, Courtney supports local people to tell the stories they want to tell, in the language they want to tell it in.
Dinah Lewis Boucher Dinah's great grandfather was a Tulafale; a Samoan orator or talking chief, a story teller and sharer of cultural traditions in her village and family. Dinah likes to think she continues his storytelling legacy. She's a dreamer. A Mum. A journalist. A writer. A Polynesian woman. A filmmaker.
Grace Feng Fang Juan Grace is a writer and photographer based in Melbourne, producing works in Chinese and English languages through different mediums. She writes for Australia Plus, the ABC, Peril Magazine and holds a master s degree in Creative Media (Film & Television production). Grace currently works as the Audience and Content Expert - Chinese at Int
