First Nations Commissioning

Friday 9 February

4pm AEST

Join leading First Nations commissioners and filmmakers Danielle Ah Boo, Tanya Denning Orman, Kelrick Martin and Bain Stewart, for a discussion on First Nations content and commissioning. If you’re an emerging First Nations filmmaker bursting with story ideas that need to be taken the extra step, whether that’s penning your story to script, or pitching your script efficiently and successfully, this panel will touch on the commissioning process and what considerations are made when creating First Nations content.

Featuring

Bain Stewart

Bain Stewart is a proud Indigenous Australian from the Ngugi-Goenpul-Noonuccal Murri region in Queensland and a leading producer of Australian content working in a multitude of fields, including Theatre, Film, Television, Publishing and Visual arts. THE DROVER’S WIFE THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON was his debut as a producer for a full-length feature film. He is Leah Purcell’s trusted business partner, where they share Bungabura and Oombarra productions that has produced a vast array of content since its inception in 1996. He is currently working on an initiative that aims to close the gap in the inclusions of first nations people in commercial productions.

Danielle Ah Boo

Danielle Ah Boo is a proud Torres Strait Islander woman, born and raised on Thursday Island. Ms Ah Boo is Screen Queensland’s first Head of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program, a new leadership role created to uplift First Nations voices across the state’s screen industry.

Ms Ah Boo has previously worked in production for First Nations-founded agency Carbon Creative and more recently as a financial accountant with Arrow Energy. She has also served as Treasure and Co-Chair of Reconciliation Queensland.

Her role at Screen Queensland is to elevate awareness of the cultural significance of First Nations storytelling and amplifying First Nations voices in the screen industry, as truth-telling holds immense significance in shaping our nations’s history.

Tanya Denning-Orman

Tanya Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman from Central and North Queensland, has led National Indigenous Television (NITV) since it joined SBS in 2012, and became SBS’s first Director of Indigenous Content in 2020.

Tanya manages NITV as a channel dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, overseeing its diverse and innovative multiplatform content. She also plays an instrumental role in the development and delivery of First Nations storytelling across the SBS network. With more than 20 years’ experience working in media, Tanya has previously held positions as a journalist and producer for ABC and SBS, and a number of different roles at NITV since its inception in 2007.

As a champion for strong Indigenous media, she has also held a number of industry Board positions including with Media Diversity Australia, First Nations Media Australia, and currently with the World Indigenous Television Broadcast Network.

Kelrick Martin

Kelrick is a Ngarluma man from Broome WA, and is passionate about advancing First Nations screen stories and creatives. In 2002 he completed his Masters in Documentary Writing and Directing at AFTRS, and in 2007 returned to WA to become NITV’s Commissioning Editor. He formed Spear Point Productions in 2010 – credits include the multiple AACTA Award nominated Prison Songs. Kelrick was also the Indigenous Manager for Screenwest before joining the ABC as Head of Indigenous in 2016. His commissions at ABC include Black Comedy, The Dark Emu Story, and popular award-winning drama Total Control.

Angela Bates

Angela Bates is proud to lead the First Nation’s Department at Screen Australia since September 2021. She joined the department in 2019 as a Development and Investment Manager, where she managed a slate of projects from Feature Film, TV Drama Series and children’s animation to documentaries, including We Are Still Here (a Co-Production between Australia and New Zealand), Award-winning TV Drama Total Control Series 2, Little J & Big Cuz 3, Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky and SBS TV Crime Drama True Colours etc.

Angela Bates hails from Country New South Wales and is a proud Aboriginal and Maori woman. She has a background in journalism and has worked at both the ABC and SBS. One of her proudest achievements is setting up the first nightly National Indigenous News service in 2008 as its inaugural Executive Producer, overseeing its rapid growth including the it’s free-to-air launch in 2012.

Angela got her start at the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association in Alice Springs before travelling the country as a video journalist covering First Nations stories extensively for SBS’ Living Black. Angela has written, produced and directed live election panels, and a one-off travel show, Postcards in Taiwan. In 2012, she wrote and directed and produced a documentary for NITV, called Homelands.

She has a Master of Arts Screen: Business and Leadership from the Australian, Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS).  She spent a year in Winnipeg, Canada, in 2015 & 2016 working for the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network hosted by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).