Together with business partner Margaret Tillson, Ben Steel has officially launched Screen Well, a website and social enterprise dedicated to improving mental health outcomes for the screen industry.
Netflix, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Fox Studios Australia and Ausfilm have partnered to support a new wellbeing social enterprise led by Ben Steel, including training to upskill 60 production and post-production leaders in mental health first aid.
Ausfilm will convene a working group to address below-the-line workforce capacity with the Office of the Arts, Screen Australia, the state screen agencies, AFTRS and NIDA, with aims to ultimately develop a national framework to support growth.
Animal Logic group head of legal and business affairs Emma Drummond and KOJO Studios managing director Dale Roberts have been announced as new members of the Ausfilm board.
“Asking your big name leads to come to Australia and spend 14 days in a hotel in lockdown when they are fully vaccinated is a real disincentive."
Producer Helen Leake has been appointed to the Screen Australia board for a three-year term.
The current production boom is a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity for Australia to re-establish itself as a powerful filmmaking country, according to Animal Logic co-founder and CEO Zareh Nalbandian.
A multi-year funding commitment for the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) headlined support for the screen industry in Tuesday's Federal Budget.