Bus Stop Films has revealed more details about its inaugural summit, including a keynote address from renowned disability advocate Keely Cat-Wells.
Tickets are on sale for Driving Change: Disability Employment Summit, to be held over one night (November 17) and two days (November 18-19) at the Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach, Sydney,
Cat-Wells, founder and CEO of Making Space, is known for her efforts in disrupting employment practices and policies in Hollywood to employment pathways for people with disability with leading production companies, such as Hello Sunshine, Netflix, and Universal NBC.
Earlier this year, she hosted a Q&A at a Bus Stop Films screening in LA, held in partnership with ReelAbilities Film Festival during the organisation’s Oscar week visit.
Her keynote address will feature alongside sessions on First Nations & Disability, Casting and Disability, Disability and Advertising, Deaf Community and Culture, and many more, with further speakers to be announced in the coming weeks.
Stand-up comedian and disability advocate Madeline Stewart and body positivity advocate April Hélène-Horton will MC the event.
An advisory group featuring representatives from both the film and advertising sectors has informed the event program. They include Lisa Cox, Paralympian Paul Nunnari, producer Pip Smart, Indigenous actor and BSF Ambassador Brandon Fairley, Deaf actor/producer Nathan Borg, disabled filmmakers Chanel Bowen and Steph Dower, and Bus Stop board member Emily Dash. Screen Australia and Screen NSW are also represented in the group.
Bus Stop Films CEO Tracey Corbin-Matchett “policymakers, producers, creatives and commissioners” to participate in the event.
“This year our commitment to inclusive practice has taken the Bus to the UN in New York and the Oscars in LA, and now we’re heading to Bondi Beach,” she said.
“Never before has the Australian screen and advertising sectors come together to celebrate the disability community and explore how the dynamic sectors can do better and be better around disability employment.”
Tickets for both in-person and digital access are available. Find out more information here.