Proof 20th anniversary screening and Q&A.
Growing AACTA's year-round member events program is a key pillar of the organisation's five-year plan, CEO Damian Trewhella said at the AFI-AACTA AGM on Tuesday night.
Guests who have participated in AACTA events over the last couple of years include Andrew Knight, Jeremy Sims, Jan Chapman, Tony Ayres, Joel Edgerton, Richard Roxburgh, Deborah Mailman, Penny Chapman, Ariel Kleiman, Megan Riakos and Ryan Griffen.
“Our member events are providing a platform for the public and the industry to come together to watch, discuss and share insights into great Australian productions and the creative process, and we’re pleased to have expanded our program to include television premieres on the big screen, including our upcoming screening of Foxtel’s Secret City", Trewhella said.
Other upcoming events include next month’s Directing The Dressmaker Vivid Sydney event with Jocelyn Moorhouse in conversation with Gillian Armstrong and Margaret Pomeranz, a screening of Goldstone followed by a Q&A session with writer-director Ivan Sen, and a masterclass with Fury Road cinematographer John Seale.
In his speech, Trewhella claimed that the AACTA Awards generated more than $77 million worth of publicity for nominated and awarded productions last year (up 24 percent from 2014), and that AACTA now reaches more than 76,000 followers across its social media platforms (up 398 percent from 2014).
Trewhella also said that 75 percent of last year’s winners surveyed said they benefited from the award through new job offers, their series being renewed, or by receiving funding for new projects, and more than 80 percent of the winners working in television said their win directly benefited their network.
Nurturing Australia’s next generation of screen talent was a new priority area of development for AFI-AACTA, Trewhella said, pointing to the success of its annual short film competition, #SocialShorts, which launched in 2014 and has seen more than 25,000 viewers watch competing short films on AACTA’s dedicated online viewing platform.
Winners are recognised in front of industry peers at the AACTA Awards, and are offered a mentorship with some of Australia’s top filmmakers.
It was also announced at the AGM that Mark Morrissey, veteran talent manager and producer, had joined the AACTA board, replacing outgoing director Mike Baard.
Morrissey re-launched Mushroom Pictures with business partners Michael Gudinski and John Molloy in 2010, and produced last year's Molly.