Over the past decade, the Australian film industry has increasingly engaged in co-productions with China. Screen Australia’s 2013 'Common Ground' report into screen partnerships in Asia highlighted Australia’s intention to develop co-production relationships in the region. Its support of Arclight Films’ Chinalight company in the 2017 round of the Enterprise program funding, gave this intention a physical, development and production company presence that made the hope clear that a stronger relationship with China, its industry and film market was the primary goal. Dr Dave Hare examines the recently-closed Chinalight as a case study that reflects the ways Australia is approaching the China-Australia production relationship. He is joined by Kai Ruo Soh to chat about the various political, cultural and financial implications of this relationship, with the audience present on the day.

Seminar: 0.00 - 40min Q & A: 40min - 1hr 30min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
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Throughout Australia’s television history, Indigenous people have faced considerable misrepresentation in both their characterization and absence from our screens. Graduate student and actress Josie Atkinson looks at three key case studies: Boney (1971-2; 1992) Neighbours (1985-), and The Secret Life of Us (2001-5), revealing that while problems still exist in the representation of Indigenous people in televised media dramas, there have been some groundbreaking developments in this facet of Australian media.

Josie is joined by Evelyn Araluen Corr for a Q&A session, where they discuss the issues facing Indigenous actors/actresses, gender representation, and the presence and absence of Indigenous-specific and Indigenous non-specific characterization in Australian television.

Seminar: 0.00 - 14min
Q & A: 14min - 1hr 02min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
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"The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun". These are words spoken by NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre. Film scholar Dr Rodney Wallis argues this statement has a peculiar resonance with the mythic ideal of an armed saviour in American culture. He explores how Hollywood has contributed to this ideal through the 1950s Western, particularly focusing on George Steven's 1953 movie Shane. He is joined by Ben Eldridge for a Q&A session, in which they chat about heroism, masculinity, gun culture, race and gender in the Western genre.

Seminar: 0.00 - 16min
Q & A: 16min - 1hr 02min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network Visit our website: sydneyscreenstudies.wordpress.com Email us: [email protected]

What cultural and social value can be found in 1970s exploitation cinema? Doctoral candidate Váleri Codesido explores 1970s Spanish exploitation cinema to question what it can tell us about Spain in both a pre- and post- Franco era, and Spain's relationship with the world, through its explicit portrayal of sex and violence. Váleri also proposes that aesthetic parallels can be found in the Ozploitation films of the 1970s, opening up further questions around the stark differences in Australia's and Spain's political and cultural histories. Váleri is joined by Assoc. Prof. Anne Rutherford (WSU) for a Q & A with the audience present on the day.

Seminar: 0.00 - 22min
Q & A: 22min - 1hr 13min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
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The Hero's Journey has proven highly adaptable to the three-act screenplay structure. The problem is it has almost exclusively been applied to masculine heroes. Screenwriter Sophia Riley Kobacker proposes a new narrative template that can be used to tell the story of a more authentic female Hero's Journey. The new template is designed to encourage the production of future female-protagonist-led films. Screenwriter and academic Dr Natalie Krikowa joins Sophia for a Q & A session with the audience present on the day.

Seminar: 0.00 - 22min
Q & A: 22min - 1hr 13min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
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Director, performer or author? UNSW Honours student Zach Karpinellison interrogates these three roles occupied by German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder. These roles, Zach argues, allow Fassbinder to exert greater control over the moral and political reception of his work. He also explores the filmmaker's important cultural value as both an auteur and a key figure in New German Cinema. Dr Michelle Langford joins Zach for a Q&A after his talk.

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
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Are we influenced by what we watch? Psychologist and media consultant Danya Braunstein talks us through some of the vital research into how individuals' thoughts, attitudes and beliefs are affected by the media they consume. She dispels some of the myths around media effects, and she proposes how media producers can adopt a socially responsible approach to producing their content. Danya is joined by her Macquarie Uni colleague Chanelle Tarabay for a Q & A at the end.

Seminar: 0.00 - 38mins
Q&A: 38mins - 1hr 10mins

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
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Film scholar Dr Sharon Mee explores the role of the pulse and rhythm in film. She examines a series of experimental films - Brakhage, Kubelka, and Duchamp - which visually inscribe rhythm onto the image. She extends this analysis into horror film, specifically the work of George Romero, to argue that the pulse is a response to the experience of 'felt' time; the human pulse is integral to the connection between the viewer and the rhythmic images on screen. Dr Richard Smith responds to Sharon's talk with his own analysis of Michael Haneke's cinema, and the discussion continues with the audience present on the day.

Sharon's talk: 0.00 - 33min
Richard's response: 33min - 51min
Q & A: 51min - 1hr 09min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
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Within the film industry, methods traditionally used to conduct audience analysis include utilising surveys and statistical data such as box office revenues. However, with the rapid growth of digital technology, collecting data on audiences’ opinions towards a specific content, product or services, has eased the process through electronic word-of-mouth communication. Kai Soh (U. Wollongong) examines the data from Chinese social networking site – Douban – to understand Chinese audiences’ opinions on the current highest grossing film in China – The Mermaid (2016), a co-production between Hong Kong and China. She examines the factors behind the film’s success, the effects of transnationality in Chinese cinema and the reception behind the fluidity of censorship in Chinese cinema. Kai is joined by Dr Collin Chua (UNSW) for a Q&A after her talk.

Seminar: 0.00 - 27min
Q & A: 27min - 52min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network Visit our website: sydneyscreenstudies.wordpress.com Email us: [email protected]

Rebecca Lelli, a Macquarie Uni graduate student, examines the plethora of viewing environments and platforms used to watch films today. She challenges the traditional assumption that the public theatre is the 'best' place to watch a film. Rebecca uses a case study of queer cinema to explore how new, intimate, digital viewing spaces allow for queer youth identity development and drastically change queer politics around film and media engagement. Rebecca's talk is followed by a Q&A session with Dr Tara McLennan.

Seminar: 0.00 - 38min
Q & A: 38min - 1hr 15min

Produced by the Sydney Screen Studies Network
Visit our website: sydneyscreenstudies.wordpress.com
Email us: [email protected]