Grainne Brunsdon has been appointed head of content at national agency Screen Australia, the country’s most influential role for drama and documentary funding.
Brunsdon, currently head of state film and television agency Screen NSW, will take up the new role from March 21 and replaces Sally Caplan, who left in January after eight years in the position.
Screen Australia’s contribution to drama production in the financial year 2020/21 was more than $30m (AU$42m).
“I’m very excited to join the Screen Australia team and work on a national agenda for the screen sector,” said Brunsdon. “Screen Australia has made a profound impact on the sector through its programme and initiatives and I’m very much looking forward to contributing to this.”
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said of the new appointment: “With her immense cultural leadership experience, Grainne is superbly placed to lead our content department to continue to support the Australian screen industry, and the advancement of our local storytellers and stories.”
Brunsdon has been in her current role since 2019 but has worked within the NSW government for several years. She has managed funding programme in the screen sector as well as the visual arts, museums, festivals and literature. She previously worked in international cultural relations at the British Council and in the tertiary education sector.
According to the annual report, of the AU$42m spent on production: nearly AU$9m went to features; nearly AU$16m to TV drama; AU$10.7 m to children’s TV drama; and AU$4.5 m to online drama, and AU$2.7m for First Nations production.
Screen Australia also provided further industry support worth AU$22.6m, including documentary, festivals and marketing.
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