February 24, 2017
From February 19-24, DGA President Paris Barclay and Associate National Executive Director Bryan Unger visited Sydney, Australia as guests of the Australian Directors Guild (ADG). The primary reason for the trip was to support the ADG’s new Respect, Rights and Remuneration campaign that seeks to gain more recognition for Australian directors, especially those working in television. The DGA has been collaborating with the ADG in their formulation of a new TV Drama Directors Agreement for Australia.
ADG CEO Kingston Anderson said, “The ADG greatly appreciates the support for our campaign to improve the working conditions of Australian directors. The Respect, Rights and Remuneration campaign is for directors in all genres but especially in a world where the demand for high quality television production has meant the role of the director is crucial in ensuring the success of new shows that are targeting an international marketplace. Television directors in particular have not had any increase in their pay for more than 10 years and, of equal concern, their rights under the Copyright Act are too frequently being ignored by producers and production companies.”
During the trip, Barclay also engaged in a discussion about diversity programs with Screen Australia, a Federal Government agency charged with supporting Australian screen development, production and promotion; met with indigenous Australian filmmakers; had a networking dinner with DGA members living in the country that included Gillian Armstrong, John L. Duigan, Scott Hicks, Ray Lawrence, David Michôd, Geoffrey Nottage, Alex Proyas and Peter Weir; visited directors Will Gluck on the set of his feature Peter Rabbit and David Caesar on the set of the Australian television series Love Child; and ran a masterclass for the ADG’s “The Director's Chair” series at the Australian Film Television Radio School that focused on television directing and his Emmy and DGA-Award winning career.