L-R: Fred Schepisi, Minister Martin Foley, Andrew Knight, Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher, Film Victoria president Ian Robertson, Claire Dobbin, Jan Sardi, John Howie and Tony Reed.
Film Victoria’s annual screen awards were held yesterday evening, honouring writer/producer Andrew Knight, director Daina Reid, games advocate Tony Reed and Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) chair Claire Dobbin.
Knight, whose credits include TV shows such as Fast Forward, Full Frontal, SeaChange and Jack Irish and features like The Water Diviner, Ali’s Wedding and Hacksaw Ridge, was recognised with the Jan Sardi Award for his significant achievements as a screenwriter.
Daina Reid was presented Fred Schepisi Award for significant achievement in directing. Reid began her career in television as a comedy writer and actor, before moving into directing. Her creidts include Blue Heelers, The Secret Life of Us, Rush, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Offspring, Nowhere Boys, The Secret River, Romper Stomper and Sunshine.
She was recently became the second Australian female director after Kate Dennis to direct the Emmy-Award winning US drama The Handmaid’s Tale, for which she received a nomination for outstanding directorial achievement from the Directors Guild of America.
The 2019 John Howie Award for outstanding leadership, achievement and service to the screen industry was presented to games advocate Tony Reed. As the CEO of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia, Reed reimagined Games Connect Asia Pacific, the industry conference and anchor event for Melbourne International Games Week, and championed the formation of The Arcade, a collaborative co-working space for game developers. Reed is now part of the team spearheading the establishment of the Australian headquarters of Epic Games (Infinity Blade, Fortnite).
Dobbin was recognised with the 2019 Jill Robb Award for outstanding leadership, achievement and service to the screen industry.
Under Claire’s leadership, MIFF added its industry arm, including film financing market MIFF 37oSouth and the MIFF Premiere Fund, which has provided co-financing to some 70 films including Balibo, The Turning and The Coming Back Out Ball.
Robbin is also a script advisor and editor, and has worked on films such as Candy, Rabbit Proof Fence, In My Father’s Den, Wajib, Viva, and The Theory of Everything.
Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher said: “We’re thrilled to honour Claire Dobbin AM, Andrew Knight, Daina Reid and Tony Reed for their incredible contributions to the Victorian screen industry. Together they demonstrate the breadth of talent we have in Victoria, and we know their continued creativity and leadership will help keep our industry thriving well into the future.”