Women in Media, the not-for-profit charity that exists to help women in media excel and connect, has announced the speaker line-up for its next Women in Media National Conference, to be held on Friday, 9 August in Sydney.
The lineup of powerful and influential women includes key speakers from the Australian film and television sectors including iconic actor-writer-producer-directors Rachel Griffiths AM and Leah Purcell AM, as well as award-winning producer and Head of Factual at Northern Pictures, Karina Holden.
Rachel Griffiths in conversation with Liz Hayes
Rachel Griffiths will sit down with veteran TV journalist Liz Hayes for an in-depth conversation about women working in the screen industry. Griffiths will go deeply into her career and the strong and complex female characters she’s brought into popular culture, beginning with her career-making role as the feisty Rhonda in Muriel’s Wedding – a role for which she won international acclaim and an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Griffiths will also explore her Golden Globe winning performance of Brenda Chenowith in the acclaimed HBO series Six Feet Under; her well-known roles in ABC’s Total Control (as the hard-nosed but vulnerable Prime Minister Anderson), a series she co-created; her role opposite Johnny Depp in Blow; and her work as director and producer for the record-grossing Australian film Ride Like A Girl. She will also discuss her role as board director of ACMI and her broader passion for feminist issues and supporting women in film.
As anyone who witnessed Griffiths’ 2019 Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture at the Screen Producers’ Conference will know, she is an inspiring and gutsy speaker, who at the age of 50 had never been approached by producers for storytelling ideas until a conversation with Darren Dale led to the critical and ratings success of Total Control. The importance of collaborating with actors and respecting their storytelling creativity and ability to raise finance was a unique message that year.
Kym Middleton, General Manager, Women in Media, says, ‘Rachel Griffiths has an impressive knack for delivering killer feminist insights whether it be at a quick red-carpet interview at a film premiere or through her invested work on major projects she directs, produces or plays a character in.’
Middleton adds, ‘To couple Rachel Griffiths with Liz Hayes, one of the country’s most experienced interviewers – who has equally established herself as one of Australia’s most accomplished women in media – is frankly, really special. I cannot wait for this conversation between these two cultural powerhouses.’
Read: Best Australian dramas of 2024 and where to stream them
Leah Purcell and more
Leah Purcell, the director, writer and star of High Country will reflect on depicting men’s violence against women in her critically acclaimed film, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, in a session hosted by 7.30‘s Sarah Ferguson.
Karina Holden, Head of Factual at Northern Pictures and producer of Love on the Spectrum and Employable Me, will speak about how to reflect the real Australia on our screens.
In other sessions, First Nations journalist and ABC News Breakfast host Bridget Brennan will explore the fine line between the opportunities and evolving risks of online visibility for women working in media.
Speakers appearing across panels and workshops at the conference also include eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, Walkley winning columnist, author and commentator Jane Caro AM, as well as former ABC Chair and Women in Media patron Ita Buttrose AC OBE.
Buttrose will be speaking with The Hon. Justice Michael Lee, Australian jurist and former barrister, about critical issues affecting both the media and judicial landscapes and the complexities of maintaining and fostering public trust.
At a special gala dinner the night before the conference (on 8 August), with a ticket price aimed at senior executives in the media and government landscapes, the Women in Media Oration will be delivered by Kate McClymont AM, honouring the late broadcaster and author Caroline Jones AO.
About Women in Media
Starting in WA in 2005, Women in Media has more than 6,400 members nationwide and branches in each state and territory. Members of work in all facets of the media including journalism, communications, production, public relations, advertising, marketing, publishing and digital media. The organisation’s initiatives, including the annual national conference, ‘aim to increase gender equality, extend leadership and economic participation opportunities for women, and build a safer, more respectful culture in Australian workplaces. ‘
The Women in Media National Conference will take place in Sydney on 9 August 2024 at the Sofitel Wentworth Sydney. Tickets are on sale.
