Tech Trailblazers: Celebrating Women on the VFX Frontier

Presented by WIFT

Friday 9 February

3pm AEST

WIFT Australia presents a compelling 1 hour panel event spotlighting the remarkable contributions of women in the VFX industry. Esteemed female professionals gather to share their invaluable insights, experiences, and challenges faced in this dynamic field. Through engaging discussions, these experts delve into their creative processes, highlighting the intricacies of their work and the innovative techniques shaping the industry.

The panel offers a platform for these women to discuss their journeys, shedding light on the opportunities available and the evolving landscape of VFX. With a focus on empowerment and inspiration, the event aims to encourage aspiring women to pursue careers in this traditionally male-dominated realm.

Audiences will gain profound perspectives on breaking barriers, fostering inclusivity, and the pivotal role of women in shaping the future of VFX.

Featuring

Louise Bertoncini

Louise Bertoncini is Senior VFX Producer for FatBelly VFX in Australia. Louise has been working in the film industry for close to two decades, beginning as an editor in Perth in the early 2000s, before moving to London to work for Film4 as a segment producer, editor and director.

She’s returned to Australia in 2009 and has worked in production and post on TV commercials, music videos, live action and animation. Since 2016 she has exclusively worked in post and vfx on features and series including recent projects Devil’s Peak starring Billy Bob Thornton and Robin Wright for Universal Pictures and the 10 x 1 hour factual crime series The Interrogation Room with Vivica A. Fox on Amazon.

When Louise is not busy managing the vfx and post-production of her clients projects, she is a passionate documentary filmmaker, having directed and edited the short films Murder on The Dancefloor and The Throwback thanks to funding from Screenwest, The State Library of Western Australia and the City of Vincent.

Genevieve Camilleri 

Genevieve Camilleri is an Oscar nominated Visual Effects Supervisor with over 13 years of industry experience. Camilleri has a Bachelor of Multimedia and Digital Arts as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Film and Television (Visual Effects). Prior to completing the above education, Camilleri also studied a Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology)/Arts (Media and Communication) - Double Degree. 

She has worked on over 40 high end feature films including Love and Monsters, Doctor Strange, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road and Captain America: Civil War. In addition to the above experience, she has also spent several years working as a Compositing Mentor for CG Spectrum College of Digital Art and Animation as well as being an Academic Sessional Staff member for Victoria University. 

In 2021, Camilleri was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for her work as the Visual Effects Supervisor on the feature film Love and Monsters.

Camilleri currently still resides in Australia working as a Production Visual Effects Supervisor. 

Subhashree Kundu

I'm Subhashree Kundu, an accomplished professional in the VFX and Animation industry with over a decade of experience. Based in Australia, I've had the privilege of contributing to renowned projects and worked with few Internationally recognized studios.

In my current role as Lead Asset Artist at Pixel Zoo Animation since January 2023, I've had the honor of working on projects for esteemed clients like Hasbro, Zapf Creation AG, and MGA Entertainment.

Notable among my recent achievements is my involvement in the critically acclaimed movie "Nimona," 2023 by Netflix, nominated for over 10 international awards in the best-animated film category. Additionally, my contributions to Paramount Animation's "Under the Boardwalk" (2023) and Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" (2023) have been significant milestones in my career.

My journey includes key roles at MPC, DNEG, CO3 Animation, Anibrain, Prime Focus World, and others. Noteworthy projects encompass Oscar-nominated "Love and Monsters" (2020), Disney's "Artemis Fowl," and "Noelle" (2019).

In the educational realm, I earned a Master degree in Animation from Punjab Technical University India in 2013 and a Senior Fine Arts Diploma from Sarva Bharatiya Charukala Mandir (India) from 1996 to 2006.

My passion lies in creating 3D representations of concept art, infusing my creative ideas into projects, and continually enhancing my skills. I specialize in texturing, character modeling, digital sculpting, compositing, lighting, graphic design, 3D, digital illustration, Maya, and cloth simulation.

Marion Farrelly

Marion ‘Maz’ Farrelly, The CEO Whisperer, Speaker, Consultant, TV and Film Producer and Creative Strategist. If you’ve watched it, Maz probably made it and won an international award for it – the biggest brands in the world with the biggest teams, budgets and stars. She’s produced shows in London, LA and Australia – shows like Big Brother, Dancing With The Stars, The X Factor, The Celebrity Apprentice and she co-created Q&A for the ABC. Maz has spent decades at the pointy end of the media and is a regular guest on podcasts and TV shows which are then picked up by the international press. Maz started her career as a magazine journalist and stylist in London, has been executive editor of Format Entertainment at the BBC UK London, Director of Television Content, Fremantle Media Australia & Creative Strategist for BBCWorld-Wide. Maz now runs Maz Speaks, a company which does one thing – makes sure you get attention for all the right reasons. Maz believes all business is show business, and to cut through in this listening-deficient society, you have to nail your first minute – nail that and you’re in business – literally.

Sarra Watts

Sarra Watts is the Head of Production for Like A Photon Creative in Brisbane, Australia. Sarra started her career in feature animation production in 2001 at Walt Disney Animation Australia in Sydney, working in traditional animation.

Since then, she has worked at Animation and VFX houses such as Animal Logic, Digital Domain and Blue Sky as a Production Supervisor. Sarra took a break from the industry to start a family in 2017. She then joined Like A Photon Creative in 2021 as a Line Producer, moving to Co-Producer and Head of Production. She has worked on such films as The Lego Batman Movie, The Peanuts Movie, Rio 2, Ferdinand, Epic and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole. More recently, she has worked on the independent animation films Scarygirl and Combat Wombat 2: Back 2 Back.

Additional Panellists to be announced.