This letter is not meant as a complaint, but a stark and sobering reality check on what it truly means to be an Australian filmmaker today. I want to pull back the curtain on the perceived glamour surrounding people like myself who work in the country’s film and television sector. My hope is that by sharing my story, I will highlight a problem that is not unique to me and — just maybe, somehow — help spark a change.
First, let me be clear: I never expected filmmaking to be easy. I never believed success would come on a silver platter. From the outset, I knew I would have to “white-knuckle” it for decades and climb the ladder slowly. But filmmaking was my path, and I have never once given up on that dream. But I genuinely believed that the longer I held on, the better I became as a filmmaker, the more experience I gained, and the more connections I made — eventually, my persistence and hard work would pay off.
But sadly, it hasn’t really.
