An aircrew member, journalist, office worker, and former lawyer are among ten Victorians to secure screen mentorships after last month’s Make It conference.
Caitlin Harvey, Sebastian White, Izzi Harris, Bret Salinger, Suna Celik, Jackie Zdanowicz, Seni Pritie, Haakon Barry, Joyce Wong, and Pearly Papik were selected from a field of 26 participants for the Media Mentors Australia initiative, which is designed to grow the state’s talent pool.
The group will now receive a series of support sessions to train in below-the-line fields, coming under the guidance of Melbourne Screen Hub mentors Andrew Jerram (camera), Drew Rhodes (locations), Jannine Barnes (production accounting) and Richie Young (unit).
It comes after each of the 12 finalists was required to complete an interview in front of the audience at the Make It conference – a joint collaboration between AFTRS, Vicscreen, and Media Mentors that featured more than 100 industry experts sharing their knowledge and experience.
Papik, who will be trained in unit, said going to the event was one of the best decisions of her life.
“I am very grateful to be able to engage with Richie,” she said.
“He is so lovely and truly an expert. I actually think that unit could be a long-term career for me.”
Media Mentors co-founder Denise Eriksen was optimistic the program would lead to fulfilling screen careers.
“The screen industry is actively searching for people to work in the below-the-line areas of production and yet it’s been hard to find them,” she said.
“That’s partly because the potential workforce doesn’t know about the opportunities and because they don’t know what the jobs involve.
“This program is the start of an initiative we are brokering to ensure barriers are broken down and jobs are filled with the right people. We worked hard to find and alert these participants to new opportunities and will fully support them during their mentorships and the early stages of their careers. “