ABOUT THE DIRECTOR / PRODUCER / WRITER

Janet Merewether  (Short biography )

Janet Merewether is a film-maker, digital media artist and designer who studied at Sydney College of the Arts and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

She founded Go Girl Productions in 1996 for the production of motion graphics, media art and short films. Her company Screen Culture Pty Limited was established in 2007 for the production of innovative long-form documentary and fiction films.

Her award winning short films and videos, including Cheap Blonde, Contemporary Case Studies, and Short Before the Movie have screened in numerous festivals internationally, including the 2001 New York Film Festival, Tampere International Short Film Festival and the 2003 New Directors/New Films at MoMA New York. Her titles design work features in significant Australian films such as The Boys and Walking on Water.

Janet's short film, Palermo - 'History' Standing Still received a Dendy Award (General) at the 2004 Sydney Film Festival, as well as being nominated for an ATOM Award (Best Experimental), AFI Award (Best Editing in a Non-Feature) and FCCA Award (Best Short Film). Palermo – ‘History’ Standing Still was selected for the 2005 Tampere International Short Film Festival in Finland and the 2004 New York Film Festival Avant-garde programme.

Janet’s short digital video animation, Knit-Face, screened in the ACMI/National Gallery of Victoria '2004 - Australian Culture Now' exhibition, as part of the ACMI/SBSI 'ARTV' series. This video also screened at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery in Sydney as part of the ‘Face Value – video portraiture from the Pacific’ exhibition in April 2005, at the Museum of Brisbane, the University of Auckland and the Hazelhurst Gallery Sydney in October 2006.

In 2005 Janet completed the 52 minute documentary Jabe Babe - A Heightened Life, which she wrote, directed and produced, with the support of SBS Independent, the Australian Film Commission and the New South Wales Film and Television Office. This hybrid documentary was selected for the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane International Film Festivals, and was nominated for three AFI Awards in 2005.
WINNER - AFI Award Best Directing in a Documentary.
WINNER - 2005 Lexus ‘IF’ Inside Film Award for Best Documentary.
WINNER - Merit Award at the 2006 Taiwan International Documentary Festival.
NOMINATION - FCCA (Film Critics' Circle of Australia) Award for Best Short Documentary, 2005.

In 2007 Janet wrote, directed, produced and performed in the 52 minute autobiographical documentary Maverick Mother, financed by SBS Independent, the Film Finance Corporation and the New South Wales Film and Television Office.This documentary screened at the Taiwan International Documentary Festival where it received 2  awards:
WINNER – PTS Audience Award TIDF (Taiwan International Documentary Festival) 2008.
WINNER – Jury Special Mention Documentary under 60minutes TIDF 2008.
In Australia, ‘Maverick Mother’ was
WINNER Best Australian Documentary (General)
ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) Awards 2008.
WINNER Best Australian Documentary (Human Interest) ATOM Awards 2008
Maverick Mother also received a
NOMINATION - Best Direction in Documentary – ADG Australian Screen Directors’ Awards 2008 and
NOMINATION - Best Editing Documentary – Australian Screen Editors’ Awards 2008.

Retrospectives of Janet Merewether's film and media art work have been screened at the Arsenal Cinema (Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek) Berlin, 2002,  the Boston Cinematheque, 2001,  and the Women Make Waves Festival Taipei, 2003.
In 2008 she completed a doctoral degree (DCA from UTS Sydney) on the subject of innovative design and performance in documentary film.

for further information go to
http://gogirlproductions.com.au

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