I'm a 2023 ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Award Finalist!

I'm really proud to share that for the second year in a row, I am a Finalist for the 2023 ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards.

I was nominated for my work with the Academy of Interactive Entertainment in two categories:

Inclusion in Education and Training

and

Excellence in Making Inclusion Happen

This included for the work I did through AIE, in developing an inclusive filmmaking program for high school students, built around my own bespoke Filmmaking HERO workshops I first ran back in 2016.

The premise was simple. Filmmaking is for anyone. And making a film for the first time doesn't have to be the hardest thing you ever do. Through the workshops, the template to tell a unique and original story is delivered in easy and digestible bites, curated, so the common mistakes of going to big or a jumbled storyline can be easily bypassed. Once a story is cracked by the students who must collaborate in groups, the whirlwind of pre-production and filming brings them in front of a computer to edit their film so quickly and smoothly, that many participants become empowered by the experience. They have new ideas, they understand the mistakes they missed when filming, and realise how easy it is to just give it another go and do something more than just 'fix it' in post.

I'm honoured to be acknowledged by the Inclusion Awards and I'm very proud to have had the support of AIE Film School, including our Head of School Lea Michael.