By Travis Johnson
Women in Film & Television Australia (WIFT Australia) was launched at the Gold Coast Film Festival last Friday, April 20, inaugurated at a special event by a panel comprised of Sue Maslin (producer and WIFT Victoria founder and patron), Katrina Irawati Graham (WIFT Australia Board Member and NOW Australia Board Member), Megan Riakos (WIFT NSW President and WIFT Australia Board Member) and Tracey Corbin-Matchett (Project Manager, Raising Films Australia), and moderated by producer and writer Meredith Garlick.
WIFT Australia aims to be the peak national advocacy body for gender equity in the Australian screen industry. The organisation will connect and coordinate WIFT Victoria (WIFT VIC), WIFT New South Wales (WIFT NSW) and WIFT Western Australia chapters (WIFT WA), plus newly minted branches including WIFT Australian Capital Territory, WIFT Northern Territory, WIFT Queensland, WIFT South Australia and WIFT Tasmania.
Maslin called the launch “A historic moment” for WIFT, uniting women in the screen industry across Australia and stressed the importance of continued advocacy in order to create lasting change, while Graham said, “We are thrilled with the warm and passionate reception and see it as a validation that the time is right to launch WIFT Australia. It is essential that all states and territories stand together with a united voice in the fight for gender equity”.
The launch was part of the GCFF’s #femalefilmmakerfriday events. Festival Director Lucy Fisher said, “As a festival that has been supporting women in screen with a raft of measures for the past few years, it was an honour for us to host the launch of WIFT Australia. It was fantastic to see the take up of the festival’s free crèche on site – proving that simple measures like onsite childcare can make a difference in women’s participation in screen industry events”.
The founding board of WIFT Australia was also announced at the launch event, including Shannon Wilson-McClinton (ACT), Megan Riakos (NSW), Anna Cadden (NT), Katrina Irawati Graham (QLD), Kath McIntyre (SA), Briony Kidd (TAS), Margarita Ivanovsky (VIC) and Alexandra Nell (WA). Four more board members will be announced in the near future.
For more info or to apply for membership, head to the official WIFT Australia website.
Pic: Katrina Irawati Graham, Tracey Corbin-Matchett, Sue Maslin, Megan Riakos, Meredith Garlick.
