Two series and a documentary by AFTRS alumni have been nominated for Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network (SDIN)’s 2020 SDIN Award. Thalu and Julie Kalceff’s First Day, together with Larissa Behrendt’s Maralinga Tjarutja are vying for the annual prize, to be announced as part of SPA’s Screen Forever conference on Wednesday 17 February.
The award recognises an Australian based producer and/or production company and/or screen organisation that has made a significant contribution through excellence or impact to diversity and inclusion either on or offscreen within the Australian screen industry. It will be announced by the SDIN Co-chair Benjamin Law as part of the online panel, Everyone Included.
After debuting in 2020 to high acclaim, ABC Me/Epic Films’ First Day, written and directed by Julie Kalceff (Master of Arts (Film and Television) Scriptwriting, 2002), has been acquired by Hulu and BBC, and picked up an AACTA nomination, the Children and Youth prize at the prestigious Rose d’Or Awards, the Kidscreen Award for Best Live Action Series in Kids Programming and a nomination for Outstanding Kids & Family Programming at the upcoming 2021 GLAAD Media Awards.
Written and directed by Larissa Behrendt(Graduate Diploma in Documentary, 2013; Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting, 2012) and produced by the alumni-run Blackfella Films, Marailnga Tjarutja earned Behrendt the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television and composer Antony Partos (Bachelor of Arts (Film and Television) Sound, 1990) a nomination for Best Music for Documentary at the Australian Guild of Screen Composers’ 2020 Screen Music Awards.
A joint commission of ABC and NITV, five-part children’s series Thalu, co-directed by Dena Curtis (Graduate Diploma (Film & Television) Television Editing, 2002) and Hunter Page-Lochard (Graduate Certificate in Story Development and Screenwriting Fundamentals, 2012) and co-written by Beck Cole (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Documentary, 2001).
All SDIN member organisations nominated up to three entries each to create a long list of candidates. The final three nominees have been selected by a panel of judges including Media Diversity Australia’s Shannan Dodson, Diversity Arts Australia’s Ade Djajamihardja, AFTRS’ Gary Paramanathan and SDIN Co-chairs Benjamin Law and Jo Dillon.
The panel agreed all three projects displayed “a genuine, ethical and tender engagement with their subject matter and an importantly inclusive and collaborative approach”.
To view the announcement, register for Screen Forever’s Everyone Included panel here.
Find out more about the 2020 SDIN Award here.
2020 SDIN AWARD NOMINEES
Maralinga Tjarutja
Writer/director: Larissa Behrendt (Graduate Diploma in Documentary, 2013; Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting, 2012)
Executive producer: Kelrick Martin (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Documentary, 2002)
Line producer: Fotini Manikakis (Specialist Extension Course Certificate Producing, 1995)
Composer: Antony Partos (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Sound, 1990)
Business affairs: Blackfella Films: Helen Lovelock (Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television) Producing, 1995)
Dialogue editor/re-recording mixer: Diego Ruiz (Graduate Diploma in Sound, 2011)
First Day
Writer/director: Julie Kalceff (Graduate Diploma in Documentary, 2013; Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting, 2012)
Thalu
Co-directors: Dena Curtis (Graduate Diploma (Film & Television) Television Editing, 2002), Hunter Page-Lochard (Graduate Certificate in Story Development and Screenwriting Fundamentals, 2012)
Co-writer: Beck Cole (Master of Arts (Film & Television) Documentary, 2001)
