Activity: ‘The Feast’ is an innovative training program teaming 20 artists with physical and intellectual disabilities with creatives from Jungle Entertainment and The Corinthian Food Store to learn about collaborative writing, development, pitching, pathways to audience, casting, directing and editing on a budget. Over one year, artists from Midnight Feast will be encouraged to work with new collaborators, to develop skills, and to deepen their connections in the film industry. At the culmination of the program, each artist will have a chance to pitch a project to executives from Jungle Entertainment and The Corinthian Food Store, and to receive feedback. A documentary crew will capture the work of the artists from start to finish. This program is about giving artists agency over their own work, as well as a place at the table with well-connected partners.

Outcome: Running over 2 years, the program offered industry mentorship, idea generation, weekly writing workshops, series development sessions, and monthly Q&As with some of Australia’s best screenwriters, directors and producers (including Blake Ayshford, Yolanda Ramke, Tommy Murphy, Hannah Reilly, Michael Gow, Chika Ikogwe, Matthew Whittet, Chloe Rickard, David Chidlow and Liam Heyen amongst others). Artists were able to work with a graphic designer to create a working pitch document for their series, as well as communication training for in-person pitching practice. This all culminated with a pitch day at NIDA to executives from the ABC, SBS, Stan, Jungle Entertainment and Easy Tiger. This day was a phenomenal success, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from the writers and executives alike. Follow-ups have been organised, and both the ABC and SBS have asked for this to become a regular occurrence. “The Feast has been an absolute game changer for our company, and for the artists who comprise it. They have transformed from actors into multidisciplinary artists, and have developed a regular writing practice, with an understanding of how to take this into the industry and pitch ideas. They’ve also developed significant networks with other creators / producers / executives, which has proved invaluable in giving them a foothold in the industry and most importantly, agency.” – Kylie Harris, Midnight Feast