Tammi Grech and Alana Jonas.
Two early-career screen practitioners from Cairns have been selected for Screen Queensland and Screenworks’ FNQ Screen Industry Bootcamp – a six week mentorship program with game development company Gameloft (Modern Combat, Disney Magic Kingdoms) and Ludo Studio.
Tammi Grech, a Macquarie University alumna, will be mentored by Gameloft art lead Liz Ballantyne, while Alana Jonas, a recent graduate from SAE Creative Media Institute, with a Bachelor of Character Animation, will be mentored by Ludo Studio animator Chris Bennett.
Grech and Jonas will receive six weeks of online mentoring and will have the opportunity to travel to Brisbane to shadow their mentor in the workplace.
The bootcamp is the first program that Screen Queensland will deliver in partnership with Screenworks as part of the Queensland Government’s ‘Advance Queensland Far North Queensland Screen Production Strategic Plan’, which aims to boost the capability of the sector in FNQ.
“I am very excited to be able to connect with Liz and the people at Gameloft, Screen Queensland and Screenworks,” said Grech. “I can’t wait to see what I am going to learn and come up with over the six weeks.”
Jonas said: “Over the years my love for animation has developed greatly. Being granted this opportunity was so exciting and I feel confident that it will help me so much in my journey towards becoming an animator.”
Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt acknowledged Far North Queensland’s diverse pool of talented artists.“Since launching the FNQ Screen Production Strategic Plan with the Premier in August last year, our screen industry has remained buoyant and continues to generate opportunities for Cairns’ locals to showcase and develop their talent, both off and on camera”.