SPAA Conference to cover media in conflict zones
Screen Producers Association of Australia will present a session during the SPAA Conference about media in conflict zones. The session will include producing partners Muffy Potter and Trudi-Ann Tierney, ABC senior reporter ben Knight and Joe Elsom and Domenic Friguglietti of ABC international Development.
The announcement:
As part of this year’s Conference program, the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) will present a compelling session entitled Media in Conflict Zones on Tuesday, 13 November @ 11am at Central Pier, Docklands in Melbourne.
Producing partners Muffy Potter and Trudi-Ann Tierney from Put It Out There Pictures are two Australian producers who have worked in regional hot-spots including Afghanistan and will be joined by Jo Elsom and Domenic Friguglietti from ABC International Development (ABCID) to discuss all facets of working with organisations in conflict zones including how to tap into this growing industry.
Ben Knight, Senior Reporter, ABC News and former ABC Foreign Correspondent to the Middle East from 2008 and 2011, will convene the session.
Filmmaking in conflict zones used to be the exclusive realm of foreign correspondents and fearless documentary makers, but no longer. Conflict media is now a largely untapped multimillion-dollar industry that has investors from many organisations including the UN, US State Department, USAID, UN Development Program and individual embassies contributing to projects like drama productions, films and documentaries. They want filmmakers to help people in conflict zones tell their own stories, build their broadcast industry, strengthen the independent media, and document the changes. “The requirement from stakeholders and investors in this rapidly growing arena is for media content to inform, engage, promote messaging, and capacity build the local broadcast industry. The brave new world of producing in hostile environments is a largely unknown market and we aim to shed light on working with strategic partnerships in this medium,” said Deb McBride, SPAA Conference Director. Potter and Tierney have been leading the charge working together in global hot-spots with Tierney also consulting for the Moby Media Group, Afghanistan’s largest media company. The session will explore the role and value of working in a medium such as conflict zones with the panel sharing insights into existing opportunities for producers to work with new production partners in this new niche market.
SPAA is the industry association for the independent film and television industry, providing leadership and direction on all debates concerning the economics, creative and technological future of the screen production industries in Australia. It strives to create the business conditions for the industry to compete strongly in both local and international markets.
SPAA Conference, 12 – 15 November 2012, Central Pier, Docklands, Melbourne
www.spaa.org.au/conference
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