By Screen Illawarra's Holly Trenaman

March was such a busy month for us at Screen Illawarra! We ran pitching workshop sessions and a live pitch event called “And… Pitch!” for six finalists to pitch their long form ideas to industry professionals. We also worked with Creative Wollongong's Short Film Competition to match six finalist filmmaking teams with production companies, and got to award one team with funding of $2500 from the Department of Environment.

Most recently, we held a successful Extras Casting workshop event at the Phoenix Theatre in Coniston. This workshop was made possible thanks to funding from Screen NSW and it was great to see so many of our long-standing members, as well as new faces. With more opportunities than ever before for people to be extras in the Illawarra, it was amazing to see such an enthusiastic group interested in learning more about working with, or working as, extras.

Thanks to our incredible guest speakers Janys Hayes, Karen Cobban and Miriam Spry (from iSpry agency) for providing our members with such an entertaining and informative event.

This was our first of four workshops funded by Screen NSW, which means that they are free for members to attend and fully catered. These workshops are intended to upskill locals ready for opportunities that come to our regions, and to be an accessible pathway for members who may want to learn more about the industry and network with other members.

Our next Screen NSW-funded workshop is the Advanced Lighting Workshop with Glenn Hanns, accredited by the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS).

Spaces are limited, so if you'd like to attend make sure you register here.