An energising panel of academics, filmmakers and screen practitioners delve into some of the major recent changes in the industry, and what’s to come next.

Join an engaging roundtable discussion featuring University of Melbourne academics and alumni as they explore the emerging currents of evolution within the screen world; how the ethics of power are intertwined with inclusivity, virtual production and AI; and just what this may mean for both emerging and established creatives moving forward.

Our special guests include feature directors Noora Niasari (Shayda) and Jason Raftopoulos (Voices in Deep) as well as XR director Ben Joseph Andrews (Turbulence: Jamais Vu), alongside Dr Radha O’Meara (Lecturer in Screenwriting in the School of Culture and Communication). Moderated by Dr Duncan Caillard (Subject Coordinator, Screen and Cultural Studies).

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Tehran-born, Australia-raised Noora Niasari is a writer/director and co-founder of Parandeh Pictures. She is a graduate of architecture and cinema, and her short films and documentaries have screened at film festivals from Beirut to New York. Shayda is her debut feature film and had its premiere on the opening night of the World Cinema Dramatic competition of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. It has been selected as MIFF 2023’s Opening Night Gala film. Niasari graduated from the VCA in 2015.

Jason Raftopoulos is an award-winning director; his feature film West of Sunshine (MIFF 2017) premiered in competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, won prizes in numerous international film festivals and garnered nominations from the Australian Directors Guild, the Australian Film Critics Association as well as the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). His latest film Voices in Deep has its world premiere at MIFF this year, and he is a VCA Master of Screenwriting alumnus.

Ben Joseph Andrews is an artist and researcher working in immersive XR. His work seeks to use interactive technologies to expand perceptions, reawaken curiosity and instil a sense of wonder to the world we inhabit. His work has been exhibited at Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, CPH:DOX and Sheffield Doc/Fest. He was awarded Best Interactive/Immersive by the Australian Directors Guild in 2022. He is a Faculty of Arts alumnus and a casual academic with VCA.

Dr Radha O’Meara is a lecturer in screenwriting in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. Radha combines her creative writing practice with research into screen authorship, screen industries and screen cultures. She recently led the first nationwide study on disability in the Australian screen industry, Disability and Screen Work in Australia: Report for Industry. She has also published on soap operas, superheroes and cat videos.

Dr Duncan Caillard is an early-career researcher at the University of Melbourne, where his research investigates how filmmakers, artists and activists use moving images to negotiate identity and enact political resistance in the Asia-Pacific. He is currently writing a book on Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul and is launching an oral-history project into the histories of Hawaiian independent filmmaking.

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