The Media Mentorship for Women (MMW) program is a new initiative being offered by Women in Film and Television NSW. The need for a program like this is evident from the larger number of expressions of interest and applications we have received for Mentorship Round 1. More importantly statistics on the Screen Australia website show that there remains a great gender imbalance in the Screen Industry workforce; and in some ‘technical’ occupations, the imbalance is increasing. For example, the 2001 figures show that after 1996 the number of female Film and Video Editors decreased 5% to 21%, female Directors of Photography were at a low 4%, and only 28% of Australian Directors are women. (Source of statistics: http://www.afc.gov.au/gtp/oeoccupxgender.html)

These statistics remain not only a matter of equal employment opportunity, but also impact on the way stories are told. The Media Mentorship for Women program will help redress the imbalance in key creative areas, by contributing to the experience and confidence of Mentees. Our hope is that, this will then assist in increasing the number of screen stories presented, through the eyes of women.

Mentorship Committee:

Ana Tiwary
MMW Program Director

Heaven Muecke
Mentorship Coordinator

Heidi Tobin
Sponsorship Manager

Stephanie Mazzotta
Publicity & Marketing Manager

Helen Goritsas
Mentorship Committee member

Natalie Miller
Mentorship Committee member

WIFT NSW Committee:
The 2008/09 WIFT NSW committee members are:

PRESIDENT
Lindy Monson

VICE PRESIDENTS
Heidi Tobin
Ana Tiwary (MMW Program Director)

TREASURER
Jill Dures

SECRETARY
Geraldine Quinn

COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Sil-Nyin Cameron (WOW Film Festival Director)
Kate Rees Davies (Membership Manager)
Heaven Muecke
Helen Goritsas
Natalie Millar
Akkadia Ford