Deanne Weir: ‘There’s no point filling the pipeline if we don’t address distribution’

It's harder than ever for female-led feature films to find audiences. An intensive 10-month lab, Attagirl, proposes global solutions and festival networks.

Deanne Weir has become one of the prime movers and shakers in the Australian screen landscape, particularly where gender matters are concerned. A former media lawyer turned producer, investor, philanthropist and company director, she was a board member of Screen Australia for eight years until 2016, and was instrumental in developing the actual Gender Matters program, where she’s still a member of the taskforce.

Now Weir is part of a new global initiative, Attagirl, a ten-month intensive development lab designed to assist 12 teams of female-led and non-binary filmmakers to make features with good pathways to global audiences. Teams can include men, but above the line talent must be majority female-identifying. Six of the 12 teams will be Australian.

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Rochelle Siemienowicz is the ArtsHub Group's Education and Career Editor. She was previously a journalist for Screenhub and is a writer, film critic and cultural commentator with a PhD in Australian cinema. She was the co-host of Australia's longest-running film podcast 'Hell is for Hyphenates' and has written a memoir, Fallen, published by Affirm Press. Her second book, Double Happiness, a novel, will be published by Midnight Sun in 2024. Instagram: @Rochelle_Rochelle Twitter: @Milan2Pinsk