Removing barriers to access and supporting the evolution of a “dynamic and robust” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander production sector are early priorities for new Screen Queensland CEO Courtney Gibson, as she looks to continue the state’s momentum.
The former South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) and Screen NSW CEO is coming to the end of her second week in the role, having been announced as the successor to Kylie Munnich earlier this month.
She tells IF the opportunities for the Queensland sector lie primarily in industry development and working with market partners to enable “delivery of high impact content, underpinned by a commitment to deliver a diverse sector” following the signing of Queensland’s Path to Treaty Commitment in August.
“That means ensuring that the pathway to a Treaty in Queensland is illuminated by screen storytellers, who author and then amplify the stories and the truth-telling that goes with the development and implementation of that Treaty,” she said.
“That content can reach millions of people, so Queenslanders ,Australians and global audiences can know the histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We will build now on the work that’s been done in recent years by Screen Queensland on this front and with the agency’s Equity and Diversity Taskforce, established earlier this year.”
Having diversity inform the agenda is nothing new for Gibson, who introduced an open-ended policy commitment to Delivering Diversity on her first day as SAFC CEO in 2018, while also overseeing the establishment of Screenability – an internship program to create opportunities in the screen industry for people with disabilities – while at Screen NSW.
Her third state CEO position comes three years after she left the SAFC, during which time she took a sabbatical from the screen industry and restored Georgian houses in Launceston.
The executive said she reached a point where she was “done with that” and began plotting a return to the sector, crediting the post-COVID environment and her own ties to Queensland as being behind her move north.
“My connections with Queensland on a personal level are that my mother’s family is from Rockhampton, and the father of my children is from Beaudesert. I’ve also worked with Queensland producers going back 23 or 24 years from when I was working at SBS and the ABC, so I have quite a lot of relationships here on the ground with the sector.”
She arrives at the agency following a period of increased production activity in the Sunshine State, which was arguably the biggest beneficiary of Australia’s COVID-safe reputation, welcoming more than 15 projects under the Federal Government’s Location Incentive Program since the onset of the pandemic.
While the state continues to secure high-profile footloose production, such as comedy Wizards! and action thriller Land of Bad, Screen Queensland has also aimed to maintain momentum at a local level throughout this year, launching a raft of new training and development initiatives across post, digital and visual effects (PDV), First Nations skills, directing, and games development.
The Queensland industry is set to receive a further boost next year with the opening of a studio in Cairns. Earlier this year, Munnich flagged a television-focused studio on the Gold Coast was also being planned.
Gibson said it was a case of “watch this space” when it came to new policies and programs, suggesting that the industry’s crew bench must get deeper with the arrival of the new infrastructure.
“We have great incentives, the most extraordinarily supportive Premier and government, film-friendly councils, and highly invested ones such as the Gold Coast,” she said.
“We have amazing locations, great crews, and topline studios – screen production is in the DNA of the state – why wouldn’t you come here?
“But we are a mixed model in Queensland; the beating heart of the local production sector is key.
“We will build it further and continue to usher in and develop new generations of screen makers, as well as crews – we need to ensure the continuing supply of expert crews and HODs, especially with new studios on the way.”
Gibson also said Screen Queensland would welcome the announcement of the Federal Government’s National Cultural Policy before the end of the year in the hope that it gives producers “more certainty”.
“If everyone has certainty and know where they are, then that’s the best way to do business in terms of the screen industry,” she said.