Producer Lois Randall and Iranian-born Australian filmmaker Amin Palangi have been appointed to the new NSW Film and Television Industry Advisory Committee, which replaces the Film and Television Board.
They join five members of the previous board, Helen Wright (chair), Darren Dale, Patricia Rothkrans, Sue Murray and Bob Campbell, to provide independent expert advice to the government.
“The new Film and Television Industry Advisory Committee brings together the wealth of experience accumulated by previous board members, plus the energy and vitality of two new members with regional and culturally diverse expertise,” said Arts Minister Troy Grant.
The Northern Rivers-based Randall produced the ABC’s Gods of Wheat Street and was line producer on East of Everything.
Palangi, the director of Palangi Productions, has made fictional and documentary films in Afghanistan, Iran and Australia. His debut feature documentary Love Marriage in Kabul was in competition and won the audience award for best doc at this year's Sydney Film Festival.
The AFTRS graduate holds a PhD from Australian National University. He has been working as the screen culture producer at Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE), developing and producing content to benefit screen literacy and cultural development in Western Sydney, while also teaching at film schools and running the Persian International Film Festival in Australia.
The committee’s appointment follows amendments to the Film and Television Office Act 1988 (renamed the Film and Television Industry Act) to advise the Minister on the operations of the NSW film and TV industry.
Grant said the committee will continue to represent industry interests and be independent of government, providing arm’s length decision-making for production funding decisions and offering industry feedback and market intelligence.
The first meeting of the committee is scheduled for this Friday. Screen NSW will receive nearly $10 million in 2014-15 to support the development and production of screen projects in NSW and promote screen culture across the State.