Australasian Performing Arts Benevolent Funds has backed a program to upskill 108 live performance and screen workers in mental health first aid.
Given the impact of the pandemic on the screen sector, emerging from lockdown should feel like relief. However, for many, the truth is likely to be more complicated – and that’s okay, writes actor, filmmaker and mental health advocate Ben Steel ('The Show Must Go On').
Directors feel burnt out and fatigued, see industry pressures leading to poor mental health outcomes
Preliminary findings of Screen Well and the Australian Directors Guild's work/life balance survey - to inform a webinar on the subject this coming Monday, World Mental Health Day - suggest directors are burnt out, fatigued, and see industry pressures as contributing to poor mental health outcomes for both themselves and their colleagues.
When Rowan Chapman first set out to create a 'career longevity' guide for aspiring actors, offering up survival tactics to cope with the pressures of the industry, it wasn't initially clear that what he was crafting would end up in large part as a mental health and wellbeing resource.
In recognition that many small screen businesses want to create a workplace culture that prioritises wellbeing, but are challenged to find the time or resources to stay across legislation, industry priorities and best practice, Screen Well has launched a free 'Wellbeing for Small Business' guide.
Emerging filmmaker Chelsea Thistlewaite has launched a crowdfunding campaign for her new short film which tackles mental health and rural isolation.
Last week, the Seven Network was found liable to pay a workers’ compensation claim brought by Nicole Prince, one of the contestants on its renovation reality television show, 'House Rules'.
By making considered changes to
workplace practices, could the screen
industry improve mental health
and wellbeing outcomes? Are there
smarter, safer and more sustainable
and innovative ways of making content?