Monday, 22 February 2016

An AFTRS Update - Why wont the Federal Government appoint sufficient members to the Council to allow it to function properly?

Way back on 8 January this below was posted on the Film Alert blog:

During the course of 2015, this blog published a number of widely read pieces about the current state of things at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School. You can find the key piece here and a short update piece written just recently here

Since that post, which also mentioned the Federal Government's inaction regarding the appointment of the Chair of the Council, a request to the immediate former Chair Professor Julianne Schultz for clarification of the current position has produced the following response:

Dear Geoff

Thank you once again for your enquiry. Julianne is still technically on leave over the holiday period. She has asked that I pass on the following message.

'I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to chair AFTRS during what has been an important transition period and I look forward to a continuing relations with the School.'


Well I guess now we know. 

Since then, informal advice from unofficial channels has advised that Dr Schultz is to be or perhaps has been re-appointed for a further twelve months though the AFTRS website records nothing to say one way or the other. 

There is also no word on the other Council vacancies. The current numbers remain insufficient for any proper decision-making regarding any serious matters affecting AFTRS to be made. And, as of today, 22 February 2016, some six weeks after the alarm bell went off, its clear that the Film Alert blog has absolutely no influence in getting anything done about all this unsightly administrative inefficiency. 

Among the matters that might or might not be addressed by a full-strength Council is just whether the progression of AFTRS from elite training institution to an equivalent of a TAFE no longer producing feature film directors should continue to be endorsed. The background and the stats about this particular matter can be found 
here.  

Just thought I'd let you know.

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