
Back to All News
Netflix and Bus Stop Films Partner to Increase Representation on Australian Production Sets
Social Impact
03 December 2023
GlobalAustralia
Link copied to clipboard
Australia is home to world-class talent, both on and off screen, and its crucial that we contribute to building a strong future for our local industry.
We've partnered with Bus Stop Films, an organisation whose core mission is to make films with, for and about people from diverse backgrounds and abilities, to support their 2023 Showcase - a national tour featuring eighteen short films inclusively made by 180 filmmakers with mild/moderate intellectual disability or autism, produced through Bus Stop Films' Accessible Film Studies Program. Netflix is also supporting the placement of a paid intern, to be selected and supported in partnership with Bus Stop Films, as an attachment on an upcoming Netflix production in Australia.
We spoke with Bus Stop Films' CEO Tracey Corbin-Matchett OAM on the importance of inclusive filmmaking and creating opportunities that ensure our industry is sustainable - and accessible - for many years to come.
Tell us a bit about your journey and what led you to Bus Stop Films.
Well it's been an amazing journey on the bus! I actually got my start in TV almost 20 years ago when my hubby was the straight guy, in the pilot for the Aussie version of Queer Eye For a Straight Guy and I fell in love with this amazing sector. I am a total policy geek and I was working at Screen NSW in stakeholder engagement and industry development managing their strategies such as She Shoots to support women in camera and sound, and Screenability which was then a new strategy to support more people with disabilities into work in film and TV. One of my colleagues told me about Bus Stop Films and their amazing work, so I connected with the co-founder Genevieve Clay-Smith for Screenability. I am always making friends, so after moving on from Screen NSW I picked up Bus Stop Films as a client of my small business, a communications company . And that part time gig led to becoming the CEO of the best company ever!
How have you drawn from your own personal experiences to inform the work you do at Bus Stop Films?
I have been actively involved in the disability community for many years as my daughter is Deaf and I am hard of hearing. As a social worker I worked in community programs and policy in social housing and domestic violence service before moving into film and TV. I have an innate passion for seeing the world be a fairer and more kind place and through my personal and professional experiences I have an understanding of the perspective of people with disabilities and how fairer policy and programs can benefit marginalised groups. This helps me to deliver on the key aspects of our work in education, creativity, advocacy and employment.
Bus Stop Films' 2023 Showcase is the biggest yet. How do you see the tour impacting the communities you represent?
The tour will re-frame how they feel about disability and bring such pride to our participants and their local communities who worked on the films. Our Launceston program is just 3 amazing young people with disabilities and they have made this awesome film called Ron's Creek, starring Rhys Muldoon about a small town grappling with bad internet. It's hilariously funny and so very Tasmanian. We shot it in a tiny town called Lilydale, about 30 minutes from Launceston and it is brilliant. The class are so proud of their film, and they should be, the film will show them, their families and their community their creativity, skill and humour. And after the showcase, the films will be entered into festivals around the world, taking their message of advocacy with them.
How do attachment programs - like the one Netflix is supporting - benefit the industry?
They will not only offer paid employment to a person with disabilities, which means income, capacity building and networking, they will also build confidence in the cast and crew they work with to feel more at ease in working alongside or employing people with disability. Our industry is very much an industry about relationships and who you know, and getting a foot in the door is tough. For a person with disabilities, even with great skills and knowledge it is hard to access the networks to tap into work. Attachment programs help break down barriers and build up the confidence and industry experience of the individual, which helps them gain future employment. It's a win-win.
What other opportunities do you hope to create with Bus Stop Films?
We are excited to be in final development of our first ever feature film, Baby Cat,which will be a fully inclusively made production, and feature an amazing actor with Down syndrome, Olivia Hargroder, in the lead role. Advocacy is also a critical part of our work, so were thrilled to announce were hosting the first ever summit to explore disability employment in film, TV and commercial production. The event will be held at Bondi Beach in late 2024, and will bring together practitioners, commissioners and policy makers from the disability, film, TV, commercial advertising, broadcast and production sectors to explore, elevate and celebrate the employment of people with disability across the screen industry, on both sides of the camera and above and below the line. And because we like to dream big at the bus we hope to take our work all the way to Hollywood, changing lives and minds all the way to LA!
Netflix recognises the importance of diverse and inclusive representation on and off screen. As pioneers of streaming, we are proud to have made entertainment more accessible than before and know that there is more to be done. Netflix is committed to delivering more inclusive and accessible entertainment to the world including our diverse
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
As podcast formats evolve in the streaming era, podcasting needs updated, transp...
11/06/2026
As Spotify's global RADAR program enters its sixth year in Italy, a new class of artists is stepping into the spotlight. Today, we're announcing the six...
11/06/2026
Pride Month is a time for celebration, reflection, and amplifying the diverse stories and perspectives from the LGBTQIA+ community that enrich our world. To hel...
11/06/2026
First in new line of muted string libraries
VSL have just announced the launch of two new string libraries that represent the first two instalments in a new...
11/06/2026
New colour option for 61-key Launchkey MK4
At Superbooth 2025, Novation introduced the Launchkey Mini 37 White and Launchkey 49 White, bringing an additiona...
11/06/2026
Larger, but still compact!
Arturia's popular compact MIDI controller keyboard is now available in a, well, slightly less compact version! The new MiniLa...
11/06/2026
Eurosatory 2026: Rohde & Schwarz shapes the new-generation battlefield Rohde & Schwarz unveils next generation SIGINT/EW and CUAS solutions on uncrewed system...
11/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils NEMACS - Directional, ultra secure connectivity for the ...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Maxon Brings Real-Time Architectural Visualization to AIA26 With New Redshift fo...
11/06/2026
ABC Kid's Caper Crew Shoots Australian Adventure with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 11, 2026
0 Comments
DP Judd Overton and team bring Wes A...
11/06/2026
PTZOptics, and LayerJot today announced live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how prompt-based AI, robotic camera control, and high-performance computing...
11/06/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, announces the release of GPIO-Button-10S, a dedicated control interface enabling straightforward press-to-a...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...