It's been two years since Maya Newell, Sophie Hyde, Larissa Behrendt, Alex Kelly, Rachel Naŋinaaq Edwardson and Lisa Sherrard came together to form the Unquiet Collective, a group designed to help others bridge the gap between a film’s distribution and its wider social impact.
Australian documentaries are punching above their weight in terms of influencing audience attitudes and contributing to societal change, according to data from Documentary Australia.
Ben Lawrence took home the main prize – Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1M+) – at last night’s Australian Directors’ Guild (ADG) Awards for his debut narrative feature 'Hearts and Bones'.
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright ('Acute Misfortune'), John Sheedy ('H is for Happiness'), Ben Lawrence ('Hearts and Bones') and Natalie Erika James ('Relic') will vie for the Australian Directors' Guild Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde ('Animals') and Wayne Blair ('Top End Wedding').
The creative team at Closer Productions has resumed pre-production on the ABC comedy 'Aftertaste' (working title), which stars Erik Thomson as a temperamental chef, using a new risk development tool.
Over the next five years the ABC aims to become more culturally diverse in its staff and programming, more local and to make its services more personalised.
As more cinemas around Australia opened their doors, ticket sales improved last weekend from a low base as several art house titles led by Kitty Green's The Assistant entered the market.
Universal's 'The Invisible Man' is getting a second lease of theatrical life thanks to drive-ins and newly re-opened cinemas in Western Australia, Adelaide and Alice Springs.