The ABC and social enterprise Screen Well will present a leadership summit addressing mental health and wellbeing in the Australian screen industry.
To be held at the broadcaster’s Sydney studios in January, Mental Health Matters: A Screen Leaders Summit will bring together key screen industry leaders and provide a platform for TV and film cast and crew to ask questions and share their experiences in an ABC Q&A style format.
Screen Well was started in 2022 by actor and filmmaker Ben Steel to address ongoing mental health challenges facing screen businesses and practitioners via sector-specific resources, training, and initiatives.
Earlier this year, the organisation collaborated with the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) and its Equity wellness committee to provide mental health first aid training to more than live performance and screen workers.
Steel hoped the upcoming summit would provide an opportunity for the industry to “work together on a vision for the year ahead and beyond”.
“It was revealed that blind spots do exist across industry workplaces, not in all but it’s certainly more common than not,” he said.
“We want to make industry leaders aware of what’s happening on the ground by providing screen practitioners the platform to voice their experiences and questions about what’s impacting their mental health, so that as an industry, we can start creating sustainable change.
“We know that healthy and safe workplaces mean increased productivity, less psychological incidents, less talent drain, fewer workers comp claims – the types of environments where creativity can really thrive.”
ABC chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor said the broadcaster was proud to partner with Screen Well in bringing industry leaders together to create meaningful change.
“The demanding nature of the screen industry presents unique challenges and listening and learning from those who navigate the pressures of our industry every day is invaluable in fostering a culture of understanding and support,” he said.
“Creating safe and healthy environments for all screen workers is not only a key responsibility but a critical pathway to a more vibrant, creative, and productive industry.”
Attendance for the Mental Health Matters: A Screen Leaders Summit will be by invitation. Anyone wishing to share their experiences for the summit can do so via the submission portal.