PressRelease
ForImmediateRelease
Tuesday11October
SAFCANNOUNCESINAUGURALPLACEMENTL.A.RECIPIENT
GENAASHWELLFIRSTWINNERINGENDERAGENDAINITIATIVE
Adelaide-basedproducerGenaAshwellwastodayannouncedastheinauguralrecipientof
PlacementL.A.,anannualprofessionalplacementinLosAngelesforestablishedwomenproducers
fromSouthAustralia.
PlacementL.A.wasrecentlyannouncedasakeypartoftheSAFC’sGenderAgenda,a
comprehensivenewsuiteofinitiativesdesignedtoaddressthegenderimbalanceintheindustry
anddriveestablishedandemergingSouthAustralianfemalepractitionersforwardintothenext
phaseoftheircareer.
Supportedwith$15,000fromtheSAFCPlacementL.A.seesGenatraveltoLosAngelesin
November2016forafour-weekplacement,auniqueopportunitytoworkalongsideoneofthe
industry’smosteminentproducers,CassianElwes(DallasBuyer’sClub,TheButler,BlueValentine),
inhisLosAngelesoffice.Elwesisaprolificproducerandexecutiveproducerwithextensive
experienceinfilmfinancinganddistributionandmultipleOscar®winningandOscar®nominated
creditstohisname.
AsheadofWilliamMorrisIndependentforfifteenyears,Elwesarrangedfinanceanddistribution
formorethan300films,includingMonster’sBall,forwhichHalleBerrywontheBestActress
Oscar®,thefirstAfricanAmericanwomantodoso.SincethenElweshaseitherproducedor
executiveproducedover50filmsincludingJohnHillcoat’sLawless.
PlacementL.A.alsoincludesattendanceatTheAmericanFilmMarket&Conference(AFM),
November2nd–9th,inSantaMonica.AccesstotheAFM,generouslyprovidedbytheAFMin
supportoftheinitiative,includesfullregistrationfortheweek’seventsincludingaccesstoall
conferences.
SouthAustralianFilmCorporationChiefExecutiveOfficerAnnabelleSheehansaidGenaAshwellhas
beenselectedfromaverystrongfieldofapplicants.
“TheknowledgeandnetworksGenawillgaininLAwillbeofbenefittobothherandthebroader
SouthAustralianscreenindustry,”saidMsSheehan.
“Developingthetalentsofwomenscreenprofessionalstocreateamoreequitableindustryisakey
priorityoftheSAFC.”
GenaAshwellbeganherfilmcareerintheUKworkingatPinewoodStudios,andworkedin
development,production,salesanddistributionwhilealsogoingontoproduceBadDayand
GridironUK.AshwellisnowapartnerinthesuccessfulAdelaide-basedDancingRoadProductions
withHelenLeake(WolfCreek2,BlackandWhiteandSwerve).
“IfeelthisplacementhascomeataperfecttimeandIamthrilledtobethefirstrecipientofthis
exceptionalinitiative.Thisisanenormousopportunitytobroadenmyknowledgeandgiveme
valuableexperienceobservinghowtheindustryworksintheHollywoodlandscape”saidGena.
“Ourindustryisbecomingmoreandmoreglobal,sohavingtheopportunitytohavea
placementwithoneoftheindustry’sbestindependentproducerswillnodoubtenrich
mycreativeandbusinesspractices.”
TheSAFCGenderAgendainitiatives,whichfocusonanumberofareasincludingleadership,
mentorship,attachmentsandworkshops,areinresponsetothedatademonstratingthatwomen
inthescreenindustriesgloballyandinAustraliaarestillsignificantlyunderrepresentedinkey
creativeroles.
Formoreinformationvisithttp://www.safilm.com.au/news/latest-news/?newsid=51
__________________________________________________________________
MEDIACONTACT:
AliciaBrescianini,ABCGPublicity
Ph:0400225603e:[email protected]
BackgroundtotheSAFC’sGenderAgenda
InpreparingitsapproachtosupportinggenderbalanceSAFCconductedresearchacrosstheperiod
2011to2016regardingthe%ofwomenworkinginkeyrolesonSAFCproductionsandfounditto
besimilartothenationalaverageorinsomecasesslightlyhigher.Femaleproducers
arereasonablywellrepresentedwith43%ofallproducersacrossdramaanddocumentarybeing
femaleandofSeedCompanyDevelopmentrecipientcompanieshavingwomenprincipals.Drama
statisticsshowedsimilarlevelstothenationalaveragewith38%ofallProducers,15%ofall
directorsand28%ofwritersbeingfemaleascomparedto32%,16%and23%respectivelyasper
thefiguressuppliedbyScreenAustraliawithregardtothenationalaverage.
CassianElwes:Biography
CassianElwesbeganhisproducingcareerwith1983’sOxfordBluesandquicklywentonthemake
another29films.In1994,ElwesjoinedWilliamMorrisandheadedWilliamMorrisIndependentfor
15years.HefinancedsuchindiehitsasSlingbladeandTheApostle,bothofwhichwerenominated
formultipleOscars®andMonster’sBall,forwhichHalleBerrywontheBestActressOscar®,thefirst
AfricanAmericanwomantodoso.Hewastheirexpertonindependentfilmshavingarranged
financinganddistributionforalmost300filmsduringhistenure.SinceleavingWilliamMorris
Independent,Elweshaseitherproducedorexecutiveproducedover50filmsincluding
JohnHillcoat’sLawless,LeeDaniels’ThePaperboy,DavidLowery’sAin’tThemBodiesSaints,which
wasnominatedforaGothamIndependentFilmAward™forBestFeature,andLeeDaniels’The
Butler,whichfeaturedanall-starcastheadedbyForestWhitakerandOprahWinfrey.Healso
executiveproducedJ.C.Chandor’sAllIsLoststarringRobertRedfordandexecutiveproducedand
arrangedfinancingfortheOscar®-winninghitDallasBuyersClubdirectedbyJean-MarcVallee,
starringMatthewMcConaughey,JaredLeto,andJenniferGarner.HeproducedElvis&
NixonstarringKevinSpaceyandMichaelShannonandmostrecentlyMudbound,TheBritsare
ComingandBillionaireBoysClub.