Jenny Woods. Image courtesy of Film Finances Australasia.
Screenhub is sad to share that Jenny Woods, formerly of Film Finances, passed away on 31 July. She was 75 years old. Film Finances CEO Dan Read contacted us with details of the funeral service, which will commence at 12 noon, Friday 9 August at Mannings Funeral Home Chapel in Rozelle.
The service is open to the many friends, colleagues and collaborators whose lives Jenny touched during her long tenure in the film industry. It will be followed by a private cremation.
Jenny’s contributions to the industry were many and varied. Beginning her career in Melbourne as a producer on TV commercials for Fred Schepisi and Tim Burstall, Jenny was soon working in production on films such as Mad Dog Morgan, The Devil’s Playground and The FJ Holden.
Still from My Brilliant Career, courtesy of Analysis Film Releasing Corp.
She moved to Sydney and took on the General Manager role at the New South Wales Film Corp where she supported independent films like My Brilliant Career, The Night The Prowler, Careful He might Hear You, The Odd Angry Shot and Newsfront, for ten years.
She joined Film Finances Australasia in 1993, and carried out an executive role for two and a half decades. Her time at the completion bond company was interrupted by a brief return to production in 1997, when she worked on Robert Carter’s The Sugar Factory.
Over the course of her time at Film Finances, Woods handled the bonds for hundreds of independent documentaries. Her work supported the health and sustainability of documentary filmmaking Australia-wide.
When she retired last year, documentary filmmakers spoke out in praise of the profound knowledge and care that she brought to her role. Veronica Fury said, ‘It was a pleasure to work with Jenny – she always had a passion and deeper understanding of the production we were working on – she got what we were doing!’
‘One of the greats of the industry… always helpful and supportive on our many productions and only raising alarm bells when it really mattered.’ Chris HiltonChris Hilton described her as ‘one of the greats of the industry… always helpful and supportive on our many productions and only raising alarm bells when it really mattered.’
Ed Punchard added that it wasn’t just her work that would be missed, but her sense of humour, describing her as ‘A true character of the Australian film industry. Clear, direct, forthright, honest, always supportive. We will miss her greatly for her professionalism but also very much for all the fun and humorous evenings we shared at countless conferences. I can’t imagine it will ever be the same without her.’
