Janet Merewether (Short biography )
Dr Janet Merewether is a film-maker, digital media artist and academic who founded Go Girl Productions in 1996 and Screen Culture Pty Limited in 2007 for the production of creative documentaries, films and digital media.
In 2007 she completed a doctoral research degree (DCA) at UTS Sydney on the subject of innovative design and performance in hybrid documentary.
Her award winning short films and videos, including 'Cheap Blonde', 'Contemporary Case Studies', and 'Short Before the Movie' have screened in numerous festivals internationally, including the 2001 New York Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival and the 2003 New Directors/New Films at MoMA New York. Her titles design work features in significant Australian films such as The Boys, Walking on Water, and The Diplomat, and she was production designer of the first series of the top rated ABC series Redesign My Brain with Todd Sampson.
Janet's short film, 'Palermo - 'History' Standing Still' received a Dendy Award (General) at the 2004 Sydney Film Festival, as well as being nominated for an ATOM Award (Best Experimental), AFI Award (Best Editing in a Non-Feature) and FCCA Award (Best Short Film). ‘Palermo – ‘History’ Standing Still’ was also selected for the 2005 Tampere International Short Film Festival in Finland and the 2004 New York Film Festival Avant-garde programme. Janet’s short digital video video, 'Knit-Face', screened in the ACMI/National Gallery of Victoria '2004 - Australian Culture Now' exhibition, as part of the ACMI/SBSI 'ARTV' series. This video also screened at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery in Sydney as part of the ‘Face Value – video portraiture from the Pacific’ exhibition in April 2005, at the Museum of Brisbane and University of Auckland.
In 2005 Janet completed the 52 minute documentary entitled 'Jabe Babe - A Heightened Life', which she wrote, directed and co-produced, with the support of SBS Independent, the Australian Film Commission and the New South Wales Film and Television Office. This hybrid documentary was selected for the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Munich International Film Festivals, as well as DOK Leipzig, Sheffield Int’l Documentary festival, Taiwan Int’l Documentary festival, London Australian Film Festival amongst others.
‘Jabe Babe – A Heightened Life’ was:
WINNER Best Directing in a Documentary Award
WINNER 2005 Lexus ‘IF’ Inside Film Award for Best Documentary
WINNER Merit Award – TIDF Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2006 NOMINATION for the FCCA (Film Critics' Circle of Australia) Award for Best Short Documentary 2005
NOMINATION for AFI Award Best Australian Documentary 2005
NOMINATION for AFI Award - Outstanding Achievement - Production Design 2005
At the end of 2007 Janet wrote, directed and produced the 52 minute documentary ‘Maverick Mother’, commissioned by SBSi and financed by the FFC and NSWFTO. This documentary, produced by her company Screen Culture Pty Limited, screened at the Taiwan International Documentary Festival where it received 2 awards:
WINNER – Audience Award TIDF Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2008
WINNER – Jury Special Mention TIDF
(Documentary under 60minutes)
In Australia, ‘Maverick Mother’ was
WINNER Best Australian Documentary (General) ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) Awards 2008
WINNER Best Australian Documentary (Human Interest) ATOM Awards 2008 NOMINATION for Best Direction in Documentary – ADG Australian Screen Directors’ Awards 2008
NOMINATION for Best Editing Documentary – Australian Screen Editors’ Awards 2008
see http://www.maverickmother.net
Retrospectives of Janet Merewether's film and media art work have been screened at the Arsenal Cinema (Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek) Berlin, 2002, the Boston Cinematheque, 2001, and the Women Make Waves Festival Taipei, 2003, Chauvel Cinema
Sydney in the Sydney Intermedia Network's 'Animated Moments' event 1993.
FILMS INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING COLLECTIONS:
AUSTRALIAN SCREEN ONLINE
https://aso.gov.au
NATIONAL LENDING LIBRARY COLLECTION
AUSTRALIA, NSFA
'Jabe Babe – A Heightened Life', 'Cheap Blonde', 'Surplus Government Asset', 'Contemporary Case Studies', 'Tourette’s Tics', 'A Square’s Safari', 'Making Out in Japan'.
GRIFFITH ARTWORKS'
'A Slice of Life or the Crumbs of Existence', 'Tourette’s Tics'.
EUROPEAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL - Internationaler Experimentalfilm Workshop, Osnabrück, Germany - 'Cheap Blonde', 'Contemporary Case Studies' and 'Short Before the Movie' held in touring/permanent collection.
FORUM DES IMAGES
VIDEOTHEQUE DE PARIS held
A Slice of Life or the Crumbs of Existence
in its collection for over 20 years.
Janet has also curated a number of screen programmes:
'TRANSVIDEO' - Contemporary video art from South America (1997)
'SERIOUS ART OF THE UNSERIOUS' experimental comedy program (1995)
'SHORTENZ - short film and video work from Aotearoa/New Zealand' (1994) -
(Co-curated with the Moving Image Centre NZ)
'EYE FOR IDEA' - short experimental film and documentary works by Australian women
directors. Curated for the Tampere Short Film Festival + Berlin Kinemathek (2002)
DOWNLOAD FILMOGRAPHY PG1 (PDF)
DOWNLOAD FILMOGRAPHY PG2 (PDF)
DOWNLOAD FILMOGRAPHY PG3 (PDF)
DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY (PDF)
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