After a bruising stint co-chairing the Yes campaign for an Indigenous Voice to parliament, award-winning filmmaker Rachel Perkins has taken up a new role as chair of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School at a tumultuous time for the institution.
“In four weeks’ time we’ll know the budget and I’ll either be helming an organisation that is able to expand and realise its vision or one that is curtailed and limited. It’s a very binary situation we are in. The role of chair is one that federal Arts Minister Tony Burke says is made for Perkins: “Rachel is one of Australia’s great storytellers, particularly when it comes to First Nation’s stories. As a graduate herself, Rachel knows the importance of AFTRS and the difference it makes.”
“ was heartbreaking, but it reminded me of the power of filmmaking and its power to educate and shape minds,” she says.