Press

“Shakespeare in Tokyo” is the latest film by Australian director Genevieve Clay-Smith, a project she says aimed to open doors for the inclusion of marginalized groups in the filmmaking process.

Inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life is critical.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, as I am currently living in Cambodia where ‘disability’ is still very taboo. Many people have limited understandings of what different disabilities are, why they happen, what it means for the person and their family, but also what people with disabilities are capable of.

A new pair of eyes: Genevieve Clay-Smith’s “Shakespeare in Tokyo” follows Gerard O’Dwyer, a young Australian artist with Down syndrome, on a trip to Tokyo. Clay-Smith says the film industry needs more pathways for the inclusion of marginalized groups to be a part of the filmmaking process.

Genevieve Clay-Smith is a millennial with a career that spans the film industry, not-for-profit industry and advertising. She’s a business owner, mentor and an award-winning writer/director, with work showcased nationally and internationally including the United Nations. Her new film, Kill Off, screening at Flickerfest this month stars Jamie Brewer (American Horror Story) as Sonja, a woman with an intellectual disability who forms an unlikely friendship with a Sudanese refugee through their mutual love of KRUMP.

Gerard and Genevieve promoting Bus Stop Films on Studio 10!

A Hunter-raised filmmaker’s determination to break stigma around disability has been praised at several Oscars-qualifying film festivals across the globe.

Ten artists from across Australia have been named as Sidney Myer Creative Fellows for 2017. `Each Fellow will receive an unrestricted grant of $160,000. The Fellowships are not tied to any specific outcome but provide an income over a two-year period to give the recipient the freedom to develop their creative practice without financial pressure.

To date Bus Stop Films has run over 240 filmmaking workshops through its accessible film studies program, and currently has a partnership with the Australian Film Television and Radio School.