Making It Big

A conversation about feature film development with producer Sue Maslin.Despite predictions to the contrary the feature film format remains a powerful way to connect with audiences. Sue Maslin's recent hit with The Dressmaker directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse demonstrates how effectively it can deliver challenging ideas into the mainstream. But considering that there are only around 30-35 feature films produced each year in Australia what does it take to develop a story that's ambitious and bold enough to belong in this medium? How can screenwriters identify an idea that's worth pursuing? And what steps can be put in place to ensure an optimal development process?Benefit from the insights and wisdom of one of Australia's most accomplished and outspoken film producers... and mingle with local writers at the bar afterwards. Tasmanian filmmaker and festival director Briony Kidd will interview Sue on matters of interest to performance writers and to a general audience.Topics touched on will include the producer/screenwriter relationship rights management and best practices in development. And to tie the conversation in with one of the most pressing issues for today's film industry how can we increase the number of female driven stories to the big screen? Who determines what stories are currently being told? For instance why are more women's stories being told on Australian television while cinema screens remain a male-dominated space?There will also be an opportunity for audience questions.Where: The Old Woolstore Hotel 1 Macquarie St HobartWhen: Tuesday 3 April 2018 5.30pmCost: $5 members $10 non-membersThis event is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Screen Tasmania.

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SUE MASLIN is one of Australia’s most successful film television and digital content producers with a track record of creating award winning feature and documentary films. Her most recent is the smash hit The Dressmaker starring Kate Winslet and Judy Davis. It grossed more than $20 million at the box office and garnered the highest number of nominations at the 2015 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards winning five including the coveted People’s Choice Award for Favourite Australian Film. Feature credits include Road To Nhill winner of 2003 Best Feature Film at Thessaloniki International Film Festival; Japanese Story winner of 2003 AFI Award for Best Feature Film IF Award for Best Feature Film Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Feature Film; Celebrity: Dominick Dunne; and Hunt Angels winner of the 2006 AFI Award for Best Feature Documentary Film. Sue and business partner Daryl Dellora established their innovative company Film Art Media in 2008 and distribute screen content across many platforms with a focus on blue chip documentaries including Harry Seidler: Modernist and The Edge of The Possible: Jorn Utzon and the Sydney Opera House winner of the Golden Plaque at the Chicago International Television Competition. Sue’s outstanding 35-year contribution to the Australian screen industry has been recognised in numerous ways. She was appointed Adjunct Professor of the School of Media & Communication at RMIT University and in 2012 received the inaugural Jill Robb Award for Outstanding Leadership Achievement and Service to the Victorian Screen Industry. Reflecting her commitment to advocacy for women Sue is currently a Patron of Women In Film and Television and the President of the Natalie Miller Fellowship an organisation dedicated to inspiring leadership and increasing the participation of women in the screen industry.BRIONY KIDD is a Hobart-based film and theatre maker and a graduate of the VCA School of Film and Television. In collaboration with creative producer Catherine Pettman Briony is currently developing a feature film supported by Screen Tasmania and Screen Australia's Gender Matters program a post-apocolyptic thriller inspired by the "psychobiddy" subgenre of the 1960s and 70s. In addition to her own creative pursuits she is the director and co-founder of the Stranger With My Face International Film Festival which has a particular focus on women-directed horror and was recently named one of the world’s top 15 best genre festivals by MovieMaker Magazine. She's also a co-founder of the new Tasmanian branch of WIFT (Women in Film and Television) Australia.