Film-maker arrested over Screen Australia sit-in protest

Hard to believe! As I was being finger printed the music playing in the Kings Cross police station (these particular cops love their Heavy Metal) was The Clash’s “I fought the law and the law won!” Quite an afternoon. Arrested at 4 pm inside Screen Australia. Bailed to appear in court for “Trespass” on 5th Nov. Not allowed to visit anywhere within a one kilometre radius of Kings Cross Police station or I’ll be arrested! More on my blog when I have digested the events of the day!

Nutjob is still at it!

Could be a very funny doco.

There may be very good reasons why Ricketson’s projects didn’t get funding…

I once gave this guy a lift a while back!

Quite a character.

James, you really should make a film of your struggle with Screen Australia. It would make for interesting viewing. I’m not a fan of Screen Australia myself. I believe them to be one of the biggest squanderers of tax payers money in this country.

Regardless of the rights and wrong’s of James’ individual case here, I hope this is picked up by semi-mainstream media and some questions are asked about Screen Australia itself: its role, its ‘track record’, and if it really should be an arm for distributing taxpayer’s money in this regard.

The ‘Details of Offence/s’ section of my Court Attendance Notice reads (the spelling mistakes the police’s, not my own):

Inclosed Lands Protection Act 1901, Section 4 (1) (b).
Remain on enclosed lands between 10 am and 4.20pm on 15/10/2012 at Woolloomooloo.
did remain on the inclosed lands of Screen Australia, situate at level 4 of 150 William Street, Wooloomooloo after being requested by Graham SMITH, the person apparently in charge the said lands to leave those lands.

Poor bemused Graham, the Security Manager for the building (“the person apparently in charge the said lands”), had no idea what was going on….

http://jamesricketson.blogspot.....rrest.html

James, if you really want to make a film then make one. Just get a friend’s home digital camera on loan, write and good script, get some actors who would be willing to do it for nothing and see how it turns out. If any good, it will get festival exposure and you’re on your way.

Thanks, Daniel, but in the case of “Chanti’s World’ (which is where my dispute proper with Screen Australia begins) I have been shooting it myself (and recording sound) for 17 years (its a doco) and I now have a major international broadcaster offering me a pre-sale that I cannot use if Screen Australia refuses to invest in it on the grounds that I have intimidated and placed at risk members of Screen Australia’s staff. I have spent the past five months trying to acquire evidence and yesterday was provided with what SA considers to be evidence. Check my blog and see if you think that the highlighted sections contain evidence that I have either intimidated anyone or placed them at risk.

James, you’re basically a troll. Trolling the offices of Screen Australia. You should have stuck to the internet, mate.

My sense of humour deserted me somewhat this morning when, leaving St Vincent’s hospital in Kings Cross, after visiting my ex-wife who had an operation yesterday, I was pulled up by the police on Crown St and informed that I was in breach of my bail conditions. A robust conversation occurred in which the police told me that I could not drive down Crown St and in which I told them that I would be travelling down Crown St. A Mexican standoff!…

http://jamesricketson.blogspot.....olice.html

“In scouring through the marked up correspondence provided to me by Ruth two days ago (after 5 months of asking!) I came upon what I consider to be the worst piece of correspondence I have sent to anyone in relation to my dispute with Screen Australia. I include it here below, in toto, with those parts highlighted that Screen Australia believes to be evidence of my having intimidated and placed at risk members of Screen Australia’s staff. The letter was written to Caroline Fulton, Acting General Secretary, Creative Industries and Sector Development, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. There are many observations one might make about this letter but that it is intimidating and places Screen Australia staff at risk is not, I think, one of them….”

http://jamesricketson.blogspot.....etter.html

Do we want a film industry peopled by ‘nice’ men and women who never do or say anything that might cause distress to a Screen Australia employee? Or should we, in our desire to make films that entertain audiences, put bums on seats, accept that there will be producers, directors, screenwriters actors and others whose peculiarities, whose obsessive natures, whose temper tantrums, whose personality flaws, neuroses and a potpourri of eccentric (and possibly less than pleasant) character traits are integral to the talent they bring to their job of making films people want to see?

http://jamesricketson.blogspot.....tions.html

No James,

temper tantrums from creative people are unacceptable and your colleagues, or other people such as Screen Australia are entitled to professional conduct.

Being creative doesn’t give you an excuse to be a dickhead.

That wasn’t a smart move Jimmy. I like your style but that was an amateur tactic.

Yes, Bob, Screen Australia staff are entitled to professional conduct. And filmmakers are entitled also to be treated with professional respect. I have never thrown any kind of temper tantrum within Screen Australia. My point was a more general one – namely that an industry such as ours, often working long hours and under difficult condition and with sometimes eccentric personalities, not everyone is nice to everyone all the time. My not being nice to staff at Screen Australia, by calling a spade a spade, has nothing to do with my ability (or lack thereof) to make documentaries or to write screenplays.

As for my ‘amateur tactic’, I agree, Anonymous. However, I have spent close to two years trying every other tactic I could think of (as any reader of my blog will attest) and had nothing to lose from trying to force the issue. I succeeded on one level: Ruth Harley provided me with marked up copies of my ‘intimidating correspondence’ – which I had failed to acquire after five months of asking.

@ Bob

[quote] “Being creative doesn’t give you an excuse to be a dickhead.” [unquote]

You are right Bob, but it may well be the reason that one is, and come to think of it, nothing gives anyone an excuse to be a dickhead.

I think creative is easier to define than is dickhead. What I imagine James Ricketson meant by his questions, was that we don’t want a community of film makers made up entirely of nice conservative people, and I support that view, just as I applaud what James is doing and the stand he is taking to prove his point.

We are all a little mad, we are all of us short of perfection. Public servants, politicians and petty bureaucrats may be expected to live in a kind of vacuum, a defined quadrangle where the rainbow seen in the distance has only seven colours, where nice people say “please” and “thank you” and evil people wear black beanies and shuffle about smoking cigarettes and spitting.

Creative people sometimes need to see clearly beyond these boundaries to function, they need to look at and to experience life beyond the square, and this sometimes results in them being called dickheads, and yes, occasionally one or two of them may even sink to the status.

No malice intended, I just wouldn’t want you to jeopardise yourself from being able to fight the good fight. As far as possible destroy the joint, but no breaking laws or putting yourself in danger.

I have read through most of James’ correspondence. It seems to me that this is the situation:

James’ PROMO for ‘Chanti’s World’ either was or was not viewed by those whose job it was to assess it in 2009. James says they didn’t view it. If so, I would complain too. And I would want my complaint dealt with. If they did view the PROMO, James doesn’t have much of a leg tostand on. Screen Australia staff say nothing. They will neither confirm nor deny. Why? Why don’t the relevant people just come out and say, “We looked at the PROMO?” End of dispute it seems to me!

If I should wind up back in jail later today, destined to spend the weekend in Long Bay, I would like my fellow filmmakers to know that I have done everything within my power to resolve this dispute with Screen Australia in accordance with the facts – right up until late Friday afternoon. Unless and until I am provided with evidence that I have intimidated and placed at risk members of Screen Australia staff I do not accept as fair or valid Ruth Harley’s decision that I am not able to make applications to Screen Australia….

http://jamesricketson.blogspot.....nd-in.html

James, please don’t resist arrest. Those Kings Cross cops are quite keen on using their tazers!

Fear not, ‘Watch out for Tazers’, I will go quietly if the need arises.

Once, when filming in South Africa, filming ‘Tazer Training’ for bodyguards (they all had to be tapered so they’d know what it felt like) I was challenged, after filming half a dozen men being tapered, to have a go. I did. It is not an experience I would like to repeat!

I suspect that dropping off buy application will be incident free as I will wait for Graham the Security Man to leave at 4

Jimmy boy, a tactical suggestion. Unless your application has to be in
today, why not wait till 9th Nov when the Screen Australia Board is
convening? If you arrive in the morning and spend the day until Graham
goes home at 4 the board will be there to witness your being arrested
again. Not good PR for Screen Australia.

James, if you feel Screen Australia has not treated you fairly you may be able to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which can do a merits review.

“Merits review of an administrative decision involves considering afresh the facts, law and policy relating to that decision. The Tribunal considers the material before it and decides what is the correct – or, in a discretionary area, the preferable – decision. It will affirm, vary or set aside the decision under review.

The Tribunal is not always the first avenue of review of an administrative decision. Sometimes, the Tribunal cannot review a decision until an internal review has been conducted by the person or body that made the primary decision…..

Section 33 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act requires that proceedings of the Tribunal be conducted with as little formality and technicality, and with as much expedition, as the requirements of the Act and a proper consideration of the matters before the Tribunal permit. The Tribunal is not bound by the rules of evidence and can inform itself in any manner it considers appropriate.

http://www.aat.gov.au/Applying.....ATHelp.htm

Hurry tho, time limits apply , altho you can apply for the time limit to be extended.

Give them a call to see if Screen Australia is a body from which you can appeal