Western Australian emerging creative Chanel Bowen will undertake a two-month internship in Los Angeles with Animal Logic Entertainment after being announced as the recipient of Screenworks’ Regional Screen In LA Program.
The Dunsborough resident was unveiled as the second participant of the initiative at this year’s Regional to Global Screen Forum and will head to the US in October to work out of Animal Logic’s LA office.
Delivered with support from Australian in Film, the program incorporates a USD$10,000 Internship Fee to help cover rent, food, and transport costs, a return economy airfare to Los Angeles, as well as visa support and access to industry networking via the AiF.
Bowen will also receive a complimentary 12-month industry membership to AiF and 12-month Screenworks membership, along with receiving post-residency support from Screenworks.
It’s been a long journey for the aspiring producer, who was first notified she received the internship in early 2020, only for COVID restrictions, both in the US and her home state of WA, to disrupt her travel plans.
Speaking to IF, Bowen paid tribute to Screenworks CEO Ken Crouch and AiF executive director Peter Ritchie for keeping the lines of communication open throughout the process.
“They just kept in touch with me the whole time and every few months, Peter and I would have a phone call where he would see how I was travelling and keep me updated on the situation in the US,” she said.
“I was offered a series of other things such as going to Animal Logic’s Sydney office, but as WA’s borders were so strict, it just wasn’t practical for me with other work, so I thought it was best to hold out for the LA stint, and they were just so brilliant about it.”
Having graduated from Curtin University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts (Film and Television) and a Bachelor of Commerce (International Business and Accounting), Bowen has since worked to solidify her standing in the film industry, working as a 3rd AD on productions including RAMS, The Heights, Mystery Road, and Blueback, as well as completing an AD attachment on High Ground and a production attachment on Go.
She now has the opportunity to hone her skills with the team of storytellers from the Los Angeles office of Animal Logic Entertainment (Peter Rabbit 2) and Truant Pictures- the live-action specialty division of Animal Logic Studios – with the two-month internship encompassing aspects of international feature film development, acquisitions, packaging, and production.
Bowen said a 2018 encounter with Truant Pictures founders Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt at CinefestOZ, where she works in the programming department, was part of why she had initially applied for the internship.
“Toby and Greg were incredible humans and their vision for having the live-action element and also being genre-specific was something I was really intrigued by,” she said.
“They were also really passionate about getting to different parts of Australia that hadn’t been seen on screen before and working with Australian directors.
“I really admired their passion as producers but also operators.”
Speaking about the program, Animal Logic Entertainment development and production VP Felicity Staunton said storytellers may be drawn to global entertainment hubs, but they could be found in every corner of Australia.
“Chanel represents the ever evolving face of film development and production and we are excited to invite her into our team, bringing with her a fresh point of view on storytelling and a genuine passion for bringing Australian stories to the world,” she said.
This is the second year that Screenworks has run a Regional Screen In LA Program with AiF and the first time Animal Logic Entertainment has been involved as a partner.
Crouch was pleased to see the program moving forward following a protracted planning process.
“It seems like a lifetime since we called for applications for the 2020 Regional Screen In LA Program, but I remember that there were so many strong applications for this opportunity and that it was a very difficult decision to choose only one intern,” he said.
“We are delighted to see that, after so many challenges that COVID has put in front of us all, Chanel will now have the chance to build upon her strong commitment to a career in the screen industry with this opportunity.”
Ritchie said the internship had the potential to be “career-defining” for Bowen.