WIFT AUSTRALIA THANKS MEGAN RIAKOS FOR HER STELLAR LEADERSHIP
After almost four years with Women in Film & Television (WIFT) Australia, Megan Riakos, the driving force behind the creation of the organisation in 2018, will depart the board this month to focus on her slate of projects as an independent producer with Hemlock & Cedar Films.
“It’s difficult to leave behind such a fantastic team and all the programs I’ve been involved in developing,” says Riakos. “At the same time, I’m excited about what the future holds. WIFT Australia is moving into a dynamic new phase, while I will be able to devote myself fully to the development of my company.”
She will continue as an advocate for gender equality in the film industry through her creative projects and will retain an association with WIFT Australia in an advisory capacity.
Riakos first became involved with the movement in 2016 after experiencing first-hand the systemic obstacles that women filmmakers face while promoting her debut feature film Crushed. In December of that year she wrote an open letter regarding the unfair and opaque selection process of the AACTA Awards that was causing women to be locked out, sparking the infamous Sausage Party Protest on the red carpet of the AACTA Awards.
The following year, Megan took the helm as president of WIFT NSW with a clear agenda to go national. She spearheaded the formation of Women in Film & Television (WIFT) Australia, alongside founding board members Katrina Irawati Graham, Briony Kidd, Shannon Wilson-McClinton, Alexandra Nell, Kath McIntyre, Margarita Ivanovksy and Anna Cadden. This new body was an alliance of various previously existing groups including WIFT NSW, WIFT VIC, and WIFT WA and also led to the creation of new state chapters in QLD, TAS, ACT, NT and SA.
“Megan has been a dear friend and inspiring co-conspirator from the start. We would not have WIFT Australia without her,” says WIFT Australia’s Chair, Katrina Irawati Graham. “Her vision and dedication has driven us from gestation, to birth and into our third year. The process of unifying is not always an easy one but it is vital to achieving lasting change. These efforts towards strategic and collective focus continue as Megan moves on to new challenges. As do many of the brilliant programs that she originated.”
Riakos’s achievements while on the WIFT Australia board include: founding the Raising Films Australia initiative, building support from government and industry to develop and release the first comprehensive survey report on parents and carers in screen in collaboration with University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University and Create NSW; developing the Making It Possible (MIP) Program to support carers, with funding support from Women NSW and Create NSW; and collaborating in the development and launch of the Safer Workplace Strategies industry forum to help combat sexual harassment to agitate for the inclusion of safety codes and guidelines within the industry around sexual harassment.
Reflecting on her time with WIFT NSW and WIFT Australia, Riakos says, “It was through WIFT that I understood that each of us have the power to make a difference. That by speaking up you can change policy and bring an issue to the forefront, but you can also support people on an individual level, to let them know that they are a part of a community.”
“It's time for me to step aside to make room for newcomers and new ideas. But I will continue collaborating with WIFT members as my valued colleagues and friends including as a mentor in the Gender Matters Connect program.”
Megan Riakos’s most recent project with Hemlock & Cedar Films is Australia’s first all-women horror anthology, Dark Whispers – Volume 1, which has just debuted on SBS On Demand, as well as on ITunes and other major platforms. She recently wrote and directed an episode of the horror series Deadhouse Dark which premiered at Canneseries last year and will launch online on Shudder at the end of April. She has also optioned the rights to Robin Klein’s YA classic People Might Hear You, which she is developing for the screen with Enzo Tedeschi (The Tunnel, Event Zero).
The deadline for Gender Matters Connect mentorship program is Mon March 22. Interested mentee applicants can find information and apply here.
WIFT Australia will be calling for expressions of interest for a NSW board member later this month. Sign up to the monthly newsletter for updates.