Documentary filmmaker Sonya Pemberton and post production maven John Fleming are the latest recipients of the Film Victoria Screen Leader Awards.
The agency also announced the creation of two awards for a director and screenwriter in 2016, honouring Fred Schepisi and Jan Sardi.
The Film Victoria – Fred Schepisi Award for Achievement in Directing salutes the director, producer and screenwriter who made his name with The Devil’s Playground and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.
Among his stellar credits are Iceman, Barbarosa, Plenty, Roxanne, Six Degrees of Separation, IQ, Evil Angels, Last Orders, The Eye of the Storm and Words and Pictures.
The Film Victoria – Jan Sardi Award for Achievement in Screenwriting recognises the achievements of the screenwriter whose first feature was Moving Out in 1983, followed by such works as the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for Shine, Love’s Brother, Mao’s Last Dancer and, most recently, the ABC miniseries The Secret River, co-written with Mac Gudgeon.
Film Victoria CEO Jenni Tosi said the new awards will highlight the achievements and valuable contributions directors and screenwriters make to the ongoing success of the Victorian and Australian screen industry.
This is the fourth year of the Screen Leader awards. Pemberton received the 2015 Jill Robb Award for outstanding leadership, achievement and service to the Victorian screen industry.
She has written, directed and produced more than 60 hours of science documentary programming, infused with a keen awareness of social issues.
After joining forces with CJZ in 2011 to create Genepool Productions, she produced Jabbed: Love, Fear and Vaccines, which broke SBS viewing records and was awarded a 2012 Emmy, a 2014 Eureka Prize and a Jackson Hole Science Media Award.
Her credits also include Nova, Catching Cancer, Immortal, Tales of the Unexpected, Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil and Uranium -Twisting the Dragon's Tail, which screened on SBS earlier this year.
Fleming, executive producer at Cutting Edge Melbourne, received the 2015 John Howie Award for outstanding leadership, achievement and service to the Victorian industry.
In a career spanning more than 30 years he was at the forefront of the analogue to digital revolution, which saw him guide countless film and television productions through this transition.