https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8307-3939
The Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association (ASPERA) 2022 Conference Creativity Matters: Poetics, Pedagogy, Production, Policy was held at Griffith Film School, Griffith University, Brisbane from Monday 11 July to Wednesday 13 July 2022.
The conference explored matters regarding creativity across all areas of research and teaching in Australian higher education institutions today and into the future. It acknowledged the fact that the screen industry is changing rapidly. New generations of storytellers are entering the scene resulting in competition for career opportunities and funding. In this environment, universities play a pivotal role in educating students to work creatively and collaboratively in local and global scenarios. The articles here constitute part two of our special issue (following on from the previous issue of Studies in Australasian Cinema last year), include two case studies: one focusing on creative collaborations and one on older women in Stateless (2020). Where the first speaks to production and pedagogy, the second foregrounds poetics and policy.
The themes of Production and Pedagogy are investigated by Sergi, Fitchett, and Fisher in University Film Schools at the Heart of Creative Collaborations with Industry: A Case Study. The paper outlines the successful collaboration between Bond University and external production companies to develop, shoot and post-produce the feature film The Fear of Darkness (Chris Fitchett, 2015). The low-budget, high concept film is a supernatural thriller about a young psychiatrist who investigates the disappearance of a university student. Their paper argues that the feature film production model provides mutually beneficial opportunities for students, alumni and staff to gain on-the-ground industry experience, professional networks and screen credits. At the same time production companies benefit from access to equipment, a production office and shooting locations at the University. The authors discuss the organisational challenges, learnings and opportunities this academic-industry collaboration presents.
The themes of Poetics and Policy including diversity and representation, are explored in Tindale’s research ‘Investigating older women as lead protagonists: An Australian case study of Stateless (2020)’. In 2015 Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Report highlighted the underrepresentation of women in the screen industry both behind and in front of the screen. In 2020, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and the University of Southern California were involved in a report which revealed that there were no women over fifty in leading roles in the top 2019 grossing films in France, Germany, the UK and the USA. Tindale investigates this issue, arguing that older women continue to be underrepresented and stereotyped on screen. The research examines the award-winning Australian television mini-series Stateless commissioned and screened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and acquired by Netflix. This case study applies the author’s framework of guiding principles to writing and analysing the portrayal of older women. In doing so, Tindale considers how gender equity can be achieved in films and on screens, to increase diversity and the visibility of women of all ages in culture and society.
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Correction Statement
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