by Dov Kornits
“I have four or five business opportunities sitting and staring at me,” says Indrani Kopal, who is only in her first of two years Master of Arts Screen: Business degree at the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
A respected screen professional and educator in Malaysia, Kopal moved to Australia for love, initially daunted by the prospect of picking up her career in a new country, however, here she is singing the praises of an innovative course at Australia’s leading film school.
“If anything at all, the program has made me a holistic teacher as well as filmmaker and producer.
“What surprised me about the curriculum was the focus on making students into an entrepreneur and a leader, with so many industry leaders coming to chat to us in the classroom.”
Kopal was impressed not only with the standard of the teachers, all of whom were industry leaders in their respective fields, but also the community that she was able to build with fellow students, many of whom were already working in the film industry.
“I won’t give names,” Kopal laughs teasingly, “but I sat in the classroom with people who are on TV programs in Australia, and they’re actually upskilling; a lot of heads of departments from major broadcasters even. I was sometimes the youngest in the class. It is a very different cohort, the access is great, the networking is great, but people have very specific reasons why they take the program and they come in for a very specific purpose for projects that they’re pitching.”
With AFTRS evolving over recent years, introducing a BA, among other courses, it is this focus on the business of screen that is resonating with applicants who have already attained a level of experience in life and/or the film industry, allowing them to take things to the next level through learning the nuts and bolts of running a business, but also with an eye on innovation and emerging technologies.
“They’re creating tomorrow’s leader,” says Kopal, who has studied around the world, but insists that the AFTRS course is “so far ahead, so future focused. I feel that they’re preparing me for the next 10 years.”
As Kopal has hinted, the Master of Art Screen: Business course involves pitching, something that is the norm in the business of content production. With her 2 year degree, in particular, year one includes various modules – financing, branding, producing, etc, whilst year two culminates with a capstone project, a combined theoretical and practical application of the course’s learnings.
“It’s much more than just about producing, it’s more than just business,” Kopal says. Now she just has to decide which of her four or five business opportunities to focus on for her capstone project.
AFTRS is taking applications for Master of Arts Screen: Business for 2024, with applications closing 27 November 2023. For more information, head here.
