ACICIS is pleased to announce the 2018 John Darling Fellowship recipient. Ms Bobbi-Lea Dionysius is a Master of Screen Production student at the Griffith Film School, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. Funded and facilitated with the support of the Herb Feith Foundation, the Fellowship of $6,800 will support Bobbi-Lea’s participation on ACICIS’ 2018 Creative Arts & Design Professional Practicum (CADPP).

Bobbi-Lea is a documentary filmmaker who is currently producing and directing two documentaries in the area of social change. One of which will be filmed in different countries across the world, including three Asian countries. Previously Bobbi-Lea has been awarded a Golden Key Honour Scholar award and she is currently undertaking a research pathway to advance her into a PhD in Impact Producing. The field of ‘Impact Producing’ is a way for socially conscious filmmakers to partner with non-profit organisations and philanthropists to create documentaries and associated ‘impact campaigns’ to create social change.

Bobbi-Lea has been placed at EngageMedia in Yogyakarta for the duration of her practicum placement. EngageMedia is a not-for-profit Video for Change organisation that began in March 2005. The organisation focuses on creating social change through the distribution of human rights and environmental video, media and technology capacity building, research, network development and digital rights advocacy.

In keeping with the legacy of John Darling’s pioneering documentary filmmaking work in Indonesia in the 1970s and 80s, the Fellowship is intended to provide an opportunity for emerging Australian documentary and ethnographic filmmakers to experience the vibrancy of contemporary Indonesian filmmaking, and to collaborate and exchange ideas with Indonesian filmmaking peers. The John Darling Fellowship will be on offer again in 2019.

Congratulations to Bobbi-Lea from everyone at ACICIS, and we wish you all the best on the program.