Sascha Rothchild.
Sascha Rothchild, the co-executive producer and writer on the Netflix Original series GLOW, will be among the keynote speakers at Screen Producers Australia’s Screen Forever conference.
Rothchild is part of the vanguard of female comedic writers who are challenging the portrayal of female anti-heroes on screen and driving storytelling that propels female voices.
The Netflix series created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch set in the world of female pro wrestlers in the 1980s is rare in that most of the cast, crew, writers and showrunners are women.
“With writers and showrunners such as Sascha on the rise, the rich diversity of storytelling and female-driven productions is set to accelerate with pace. We are thrilled to be able to share Sascha’s experience and expertise with the Australian screen industry at Screen Forever,” said SPA CEO Matt Deaner, who is arranging her visit with Film Victoria.
Rothchild said: “When I started out, most TV writers’ rooms were filled with 10 men and maybe one woman. Now it seems things are slowly but amazingly shifting. The shift into cable and streaming has allowed for more opportunities for female creatives and women are ready to take them and are thriving at it.”
For the past three years the 2018 Emmy and Writers Guild of America nominee has been writing and producing GLOW. She co-executive produced the first season of the Netflix comedy Huge in France and has a development deal with CBS Studios.
Rothchild grew up in Miami Beach, Florida, and has been writing since her teens, a rebellious period portrayed on the national radio show This American Life, as well as on its Showtime series and best of CD Hope and Fear.
She moved to LA and broke through after her series of personal essays published in LA Weekly got the attention of studios. Her article How To Get Divorced By 30 was optioned by Universal Studios and resulted in a book deal from Penguin.
She has worked as a consulting producer on The CW show The Carrie Diaries and developed original TV pilots for NBC, Freeform, ABC and HBO.
Screen Forever runs from November 20-22 at the Crown Conference Centre.