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Bus Stop Films heads to Perth in partnership with ECU

BTS of Bus Stop Films' 'Valiant'. (Photo: Julia Firak Photography)

Bus Stop Films is set to deliver its Accessible Film Studies Program for people living with disability in Perth, in partnership with Edith Cowan University (ECU).

Students visit film production companies, work with professional filmmakers, learn both theoretical and practical approaches, and make films through a film school experience.

The program will be offered as three-hour weekly classes, to be delivered on Saturdays over 40 weeks at ECU’s Mount Lawley Campus. Program fees can be paid through a student’s NDIS package.

There will be a series of free taster workshops for prospective students before the full-year program commences in February 2023. 

Originally started in Sydney, Bus Stop’s expansion to the west follows new offshoots in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and NSW’s Blue Mountains and Wollongong, with further plans to launch in Launceston in Tasmania.

“I am thrilled that Bus Stop Films will be launching in Perth. We have a great network developing in Perth thanks to the city’s dynamic screen industry. Our partnership with Edith Cowan University will deliver even more creative opportunities for people living with a disability in filmmaking, which is a win for both inclusion and creativity,” said Bus Stop Films CEO, Tracey Corbin-Matchett. 

“Our taster workshops are a great way for potential students to see what we do and how we do it while building confidence in their abilities and having loads of fun in the process.”

Associate Professor Cathy Henkel, director of ECU’s WA Screen Academy, said the long-awaited partnership was exciting for the Western Australia community. 

“We see this as offering excellent new opportunities to practitioners in our community, our students, and graduates, as both teachers and participants,” she said.   

The free taster workshops will be held on the following dates, bookings are essential: 

  • Workshop 1: Saturday September 24 10:00am – 12:00pm. 
  • Workshop 2: Saturday October 8 10:00am – 12:00pm.
  • Workshop 3: Saturday November 5 10:00am – 12:00pm.