Genevieve Grieves, co-founder of First Nations creative agency GARUWA, is the Natalie Miller Fellowship recipient for 2023.
With more than two decades of experience in interdisciplinary content creation, Grieves is known for her work as a filmmaker, artist, and oral historian across numerous projects, having written and directed the 2010 TV movie Lani’s Story while also serving as lead curator on the First Peoples permanent exhibition at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre in the Melbourne Museum.
In 2020, she founded GARUWA with sibling Kieran Satour, working across film, audio, animation, and installation to highlight First Nations perspectives.
Last year, Grieves and collaborator Josef Jakamarra Egger were selected for the second Art & Impact Fellowship Australia for their documentary project Descendants, with the pair joining the global Doc Society team for a year-long creative mentorship and impact strategy fellowship.
The proud Worimi woman was awarded the $20,000 Natalie Miller Fellowship grant at the Australian International Movie Convention Gala Dinner held at The Star on the Gold Coast, becoming the 12th recipient of the initiative.
Designed to recognise the contribution of screen industry pioneer Natalie Miller, the fellowship is open to established women that are aiming to pursue professional leadership.
Grieves said she accepted the grant with the knowledge she was following in the footsteps of a “remarkable range of women who have made significant change in the screen sector”.
“I’m excited to undertake research and further develop my ideas around co-creation and collaboration in film and television,” he said.
“This is a unique and timely opportunity to learn from global practitioners who are shifting our understanding of what best practice collaboration looks like. I’m eager to contribute what I learn towards a model that moves us beyond extractive storytelling and into the space of equity, justice, and social change that our sector is urgently calling for.”
In congratulating Grieves, Natalie Miller Fellowship president Sasha Close commended Grieves’ “ambitions and commitment to collaboration and driving positive change in the Australian screen industry”.
“Genevieve has an impressive career of working in the screen sector and collaborating with the community, along with a dedication and passion for content creation and storytelling,” she said.
The Natalie Miller Fellowship is supported by sponsors Roadshow Films and KOJO.