introduction

why women do(n't) make films

in the beginning there was...

evolutions

new century movements

an interesting question of gender

sponsorship & volunteers

WOMEN OF MOTION

sue maslin

marsha emerman

rita cattoni

barbara clifford

susan miller

PROGRAMMES

bibliography

links

women of motion page 2/6

Sue Maslin's absence at a function during WIFT(victoria)'s Tenth Anniversary celebrations prompted Chris Brophy to state,

"...as Deb Verhoeven and I noted yesterday, it's going to take four of us on this panel to make up for the absence of one Sue Maslin." (Chris Brophy, "Well Intentioned Novices", WIFT(victoria) 10th Anniversary Speech)

The impact that Sue had upon the sense of identity and purpose surrounding the early years of WIFT(victoria)'s second incarnation is impossible to miss. Her energy and commitment during the formative years of the organisation have left a lasting impression upon those who worked with her, and those who have inherited the desire to improve the situation of women in the Australian film and television industries. Currently working as part of Gecko Films with Alison Tilson and Sue Brooks, as well as doing documentary work with Darrell Delora under the banner of Film Art Doco, Sue claims no particular preference for any film format:

"No, no (laughing) I'm a filmmaker I make films....I've made opera films, experimental films, rock clips, feature films, documentaries, its all film making....and each time its just depends on what the subject matter is, what's the appropriate way of telling that story." (Sue Maslin 2000)

It is not surprising then, to discover that Sue's desire to experiment and explore the ways in which stories are told was proceeded by a less than direct entry into the world of film and television. Originally doing a Bachelor of Science her contact with media was through working as a volunteer at the Canberra community radio station 2XX. Half-way through an Honours year in what she describes as a

"...small area of animalcology that there might be six people in the whole world that would be interested in" (Sue Maslin 2000).

Sue realised that Science was not what she wanted to be doing. Looking for something else to do because

"I thought I can't just drop out, my mum will just kill me" (Sue Maslin 2000).

Sue found a course at Canberra CAE (now Canberra University), a Graduate Diploma in Media Studies which interested her. Only after dropping out of her Honours year did she discover that the course only accepted four students each year,

"...but thankfully I got in and it just completely changed my life" (Sue Maslin 2000).

Over the course of one year the Diploma covered photography, film, video and sound:

"at a time when there was equal emphasis upon theoretical aspects as well as practical aspects in one course which is absolutely essential and these days [has] been siphoned off into two different sorts of streams, and much to the detriment of filmmakers I think." (Sue Maslin 2000)

The Diploma resulted in another two years spent making videos and developing skills,

"...making anything from information videos through to way a documentary on the local Canberra Hospital through to rock clips and video installations in performance pieces for theatreŠ" (Sue Maslin 2000).

It was from there that she and friend Sue Hardesty started discussing the idea for making a documentary about the Australian Women's Land Army, which later became Thank Girls and Goodbye:

"And from that point on it was sort of a big learning curve about making film which we co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced, over five years." (Sue Maslin 2000)