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Doing It Differently recipient announced
04 July 2019
Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni today announced South Australian producer of Oscar®-nominated Tanna, Carolyn Johnson, and multi-award winning director Catriona McKenzie as the recipients of the inaugural Doing It Differently development initiative for their screen adaptation of Patricia Cornelius’ award winning play, LOVE.
The Doing It Differently initiative was introduced to encourage innovation in film production methods, especially the development of family-friendly approaches that support parents and carers working in the screen industry.
“This initiative not only cements the State Government’s commitment to promoting innovation across the screen sector, but also encourages diversity in the industry by encouraging film creatives of all backgrounds to develop new methods that support flexible ways of film production,” Minister Pisoni said.
“The creative team of Carolyn Johnson and Catriona McKenzie and their collaborators have an excellent track record, and are worthy recipients of this inaugural initiative. I look forward to seeing what they produce.”
Producer Carolyn Johnson (Oscar®-nominated Tanna, A Sense of Self, The Last Goldfish, Son of a Lion) together with Director Catriona McKenzie, known for Berlin Film Festival award-winning Satellite Boy and celebrated for her work on Dance Academy, The Circuit, Kiki and Kitty, Redfern Now, The Gods of Wheat Street, have proposed a bespoke and flexible methodology to adapt LOVE.
The approach, which draws on Johnson’s documentary background, will allow for flexible production scheduling, blurred stages of production and part-time working hours for a core crew of highly experienced Heads of Department.
Producer Carolyn Johnson said “We want to build creative thinking time into the whole production process. With flexible hours and a process tailored to the particular team and project, we can nurture creativity as well as helping us to integrate our multi-project careers with the varied demands of life.”
Director Catriona McKenzie said “We will take the existing beloved text of Patricia Cornelius’ play LOVE, and dynamically develop it for the big screen. Using the camera as a story-finding tool and actors as collaborators, we are excited to make a film with a narrative heart that touches the zeitgeist.”
CEO of the South Australian Film Corporation Courtney Gibson said the response to Doing it Differently had been overwhelming, after applicants were asked to propose screen projects with innovative production methodologies.
“We are really looking forward to seeing how Carolyn and Catriona, in consort with Patricia, develop not just a well-crafted stage-to-screen adaptation but also an innovative and groundbreaking methodology,” she said.
Featured image: Director Catriona McKenzie and Producer Carolyn Johnson
Photo by James Croucher, The Australian