Tickets
When
Thu 12 Sep 2024
Symposium: 9am – 5pm, Special Screening: 6.30pm
Explore how local screen industries and audience habits have changed over the last decade, in this all-day symposium.
It has been nearly 10 years since streaming arrived in Australia, with Netflix launching on our shores in March 2015. Presented in partnership with RMIT, this symposium reflects on how a decade of streaming in Australia has changed the local screen entertainment landscape.
This all-day event brings together screen industry creatives and academic experts to illuminate the deeper implications, opportunities and challenges of the streaming era. Across roundtable discussion panels, talks and a screening designed to catalyse conversation, we will look forward as well as back to consider how we can future-proof our local screen industries in an increasingly global marketplace.
As well as mapping how industry and policy developments have impacted creatives, distributors, and the types of content produced by Australian screen industries, the symposium shines a spotlight on audiences to chart how our own behaviour and habits have shifted in the era of on-demand streamed screen entertainment.
View speakers | View schedule
This event is funded and supported by RMIT University’s Social Change Enabling Impact Platform. The key organisers are Associate Professor Jessica Balanzategui (RMIT), Dr Alexa Scarlata (RMIT), and Dr Andrew Lynch (Swinburne), along with the wider founding members of SIGN.
Join us after the Symposium for a special screening of 'Birdeater' (2023)
6.30pm in Cinema 2 (Level 2) | Rating: M15+
Included in your symposium ticket
Introduced by Writer/Director Jim Weir
A bride-to-be is invited to her own fiancé's buck’s party, but when uncomfortable details about their relationship are exposed, the night takes a feral turn.
Written and Directed by Jack Clark & Jim Weir
With a decade of Netflix & Stan behind us, what’s next for Australia’s screen industry?
Researchers Jessica Balanzategui, Alexa Scarlata and Andrew Lynch dive into the impact of streaming services and what the next 10 years could bring.
Speakers
Andy Barclay
Screen Producers Australia, Manager of Business & Legal Affairs
Bridget Fair
Free TV, CEO
Brodie Lancaster
Author, essayist, culture critic and co-host of the See Also podcast
Hudson Sowada
Umbrella Entertainment, National Sales Manager and Fantastic Film Festival Australia, Artistic Director and Lead Programmer
Joseph Maxwell
SBS, Head of Unscripted
Louise Cocks
Screen Australia, Investment and Development Manager (Online)
Nick Verso
Writer/director, Crazy Fun Park
Renée Quirk
Seven West Media, Head of Sport Business Affairs
Jack Clark
Director, Birdeater
Lauren Rose Beck
Writer, Director, and Producer
Mary-Ellen Mullane
Acting Head of Children’s and Family Content, ABC
Sam Lingham
Aunty Donna and Haven’t You Done Well Productions
Steve Jaggi
Film Producer, Jaggi Entertainment
Cos Cardone
Jam TV, CEO
Kauthar Abdulalim
CEO & Executive Producer, Blacksand Pictures
Kirsten Stevens
Deputy Director: Melbourne Women in Film Festival/Senor Lecturer, University of Melbourne
Jim Weir
Writer/Director, Birdeater
Emma Watkins
Emma Watkins, AKA Emma Memma (YouTube), formerly Emma Wiggle
Schedule
9–9.30am
Acknowledgment of Country: Associate Professor Andrew Peters
Introduction: SIGN organisers (Associate Professor Jessica Balanzategui and Dr Alexa Scarlata) and Emma Watkins.
___________
9.30am – 10.30am
Session 1: Australian TV drama & comedy
Drama and comedy have long been the backbone of Australia’s screen sector – but how have these genres evolved after ten years of streaming? What does the future hold?
Session Moderators: Dr Jessica Balanzategui and Dr Andy Lynch
Panellists: Andy Barclay (Screen Producers Australia) Louise Cocks (Screen Australia) Sam Lingham (Aunty Donna / Haven’t You Done Well)
___________
10.30 – 11am
Morning tea (provided)
___________
11am – 12pm
Session 2: Australian unscripted/reality TV
Reality TV is a reliable mainstay delivering consistent ratings success, even as audience habits have transformed to prioritise on-demand streaming. Why does this genre have such staying power?
Session Moderators: Dr Alexa Scarlata and Dr Tessa Dwyer
Panellists: Joseph Maxwell (SBS)
Brodie Lancaster (See Also Podcast)
Lauren Rose Beck (Prepping Australia)
___________
12–1pm
Lunch
___________
1–1.55pm
Session 3: Australian sport
Streaming services initially appeared disinterested in sport, but now we're seeing more and more sport moving online. What are the implications for the availability and affordability of this important cultural content?
Session Moderators: Dr Alexa Scarlata and Dr Cesar Albarran-Torres
Panellists: Bridget Fair (Free TV) Renee Quirk (SevenWest Media) Cos Cardone (Jam TV)
___________
2–3pm
Session 4: Australian kids/youth media
What is kids’ content in the age of streaming, which also includes user-generated content across platforms like YouTube and TikTok?
Session Moderators: Dr Djoymi Baker and Professor Ingrid Richardson
Panellists: Mary-Ellen Mullane (ABC Children’s and Family)
Nick Verso (Writer/Director, Crazy Fun Park and Invisible Boys) Kauthar Abdulalim (Blacksand Pictures)
__________
3–3.30pm
Afternoon tea (provided)
___________
3.30–5pm
Session 5: Australian film
Our cinema-going habits have completely shifted now that we’re able to access vast catalogues of movies via different streaming platforms. What are the implications for Australian filmmakers and distributors, and what’s the future looking like for Australian film?
Session Moderators: Professor Mark Ryan
Panellists: Hudson Sowada (Umbrella Entertainment / Fantastic Film Festival Australia)
Steve Jaggi (Jaggi Entertainment)
Jack Clark (Writer/Director, Birdeater)
Kirsten Stevens (Women in Film Festival)
___________
5–6.15pm
Drinks and canapés (provided)
___________
6.30pm
Special screening: Birdeater (2023) Written and Directed by Jack Clark & Jim Weir | Rating: M15+
Introduced by Jim Weir
Major Research Partner
Presented with
Projects & Partnerships
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