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Dena Curtis

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Dena Curtis
Occupation(s)Film producer, director, writer
Years active2003–present

Dena Curtis is an Australian film producer and director. She is known for writing and directing several short films, and directed the first series of ABC Television comedy series 8MMM Aboriginal Radio in 2015. She co-developed and co- produced the 2018 children's TV series Grace Beside Me, and co-produced the documentary series First Weapons (2023) and Firebite (2024). She is the owner of production company Inkey Media in Brisbane, Queensland.

Early life and education

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Dena Curtis is from Central Australia, and is of the Warrumungu, Warlpiri and Arrernte peoples.[1]

After completing school, Curtis worked as a media officer at the local language centre in Tennant Creek, a small town in the Northern Territory. She was offered a traineeship, which led her to working with a film crew from Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) who were filming in the town. Some months later CAAMA encouraged her to apply for a role as production assistant. She was hired for the role, working for CAAMA Productions in Alice Springs before moving to Sydney to undertake studies in film.[2]

In 2002, Curtis graduated from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney with a Graduate Diploma (Film & Television) in Television Editing.[3][4]

Career

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After graduating from AFTRS, Curtis returned to work at CAAMA Productions for several years. Her editing credits include Rosalie's Journey, Lore of Love, and Willaberta Jack, as well as a documentary called Cheeky Dog, which she also directed.[3][2][1] She also directed the documentary short Eight Ladies, released in 2010, which follows eight women from Alyawarr country in the Sandover River region who travel into the bush for five days to hunt and gather bush foods. A digital, fully-restored version of the film was shown as one of four to be shown at a special event mounted by the Cinema Reborn film festival[a] in October 2021.[6]

Her first fully-funded short film was Hush,[2] a five-minute narrative film written and directed by Curtis[7][8] starring Aboriginal country music singer Auriel Andrew, in 2007. It was one of a series called Bit of Black Business,[9][3] which showcased Indigenous Australian filmmakers.[10]

Her second short film, Jacob,[2] premiered at the Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival in 2009, and screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival, the WOW Film Festival, Shorts Film Festival in Adelaide,[b][3] and several international festivals.[12] Curtis wrote and directed the film, while Darren Dale of Blackfella Films produced it. The dialogue was in Warrumungu, with English subtitles.[7] Set in around 1940 in Central Australia, the 12-minute film tackled the most serious subject matter she had so far attempted.[13] Jacob is the product of the rape of his mother, Gina, by a white man, and Gina suffers from post-natal depression. Curtis drew on a stories from her own family history for the film, and said that "I want the audience to see proud Indigenous men and the lives they once lived".[7] According to Alexandra Garcia in a 2018 article: "Curtis' exploration throughout Jacob of poor mental health as a result of sexual abuse, as well as life for Indigenous citizens during the Stolen Generations, is no doubt the most heartbreaking, honest and confronting eleven minutes of film to hit Australian television screens in recent times." In April 2018, the film was re-aired by NITV as part of its The New Black series, a compilation of short films by Indigenous filmmakers relating to culture, country, and history.[13]

Curtis then moved back to Sydney to work at National Indigenous Television (NITV) as a senior editor and promo producer. After this she worked for ABC Television, first as series producer for Message Stick, and then as a commissioning editor.[2] In this role she oversaw the production and development of The Darkside, Yagan, Buckskin (2013; about Kaurna language teacher Jack Buckskin,[14] directed by Dylan River and Glynn McDonald[15]), The Redfern Story, Outside Chance, and Wild Kitchen.[1]

In 2015 she formed her own production company, Inkey Media, based in Brisbane, and has since worked as writer, director, and producer on many programs.[2][1]

She produced the 2018 ABC Me children's television series, Grace Beside Me, as well as several short films and documentaries. She co-produced the AMC+ drama series Firebite (2021), created by Warwick Thornton and Brendan Fletcher.[8][1]

Curtis directed two episodes of the ABC series Back to Nature,[16] a segment of the 2022 anthology feature We Are Still Here, and feature-length documentary A League of Her Own (2021),[2][8][17] about women's rugby league team the Queensland Maroons.[18]

She is executive producer and co-producer (with Citt Williams) on the 2023 four-part NITV documentary series Rebel With a Cause, which screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival.[1][19][20] The series tells the stories of four famous Indigenous people: Pat O'Shane, Neville Bonner, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, and Tiga Bayles.[21] Also in 2023 she co-produced (with Darren Dale of Blackfella Films) and co-wrote (with Jacob Hickey) the documentary series First Weapons[22][23] for the ABC. Directed by Dean Gibson[22] and hosted by Phil Breslin, the series looks at the complex scientific principles behind traditional Aboriginal weapons, discussing and testing them with weapon makers and scientific experts.[24]

Curtis said in an interview during NAIDOC Week in 2024:[2]

Screen is a powerful platform for sharing stories of our cultural, people and history. It will always play a part in presenting stories and portraying characters that imbue our community spirit, cultural pride and sharing information to encourage all Australians to stand in solidarity. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners, screen storytelling is our form of activism, we may not change the world but we can play a small part in shifting the hearts and minds of people watching.

Other activities

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Curtis has mentored emerging filmmakers, and participated in many development workshops supporting their careers. She has facilitated Screen Australia's Indigenous Producer Program, a national initiative, as well as the 2020 "Make it FNQ: Creating Screen Stories" initiative supported by Screenworks and Screen Queensland for first-time and early First Nations filmmakers in Far North Queensland.[1][25][26]

Curtis was a guest speaker at the Australian International Documentary Conference in 2023 and 2024.[8]

In July 2024, she was a guest speaker at the inaugural "Regionality Sunshine Coast" documentary and factual filmmaking event.[27]

Recognition and awards

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In 2024, Curtis was named as one of the participants in the Global Producers Exchange, a program hosted by Screen Australia and Australians in Film that supports the development of Indigenous and cultural stories with internationally based collaborators.[31]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ "Cinema Reborn began in 2018 and is dedicated to presenting digital restorations of classic cinema from around the world."[5]
  2. ^ a b A former festival run by Flinders University.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "About Us". inkeymedia.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Curtis, Dena (10 July 2024). "Spotlight: Dena Curtis for NAIDOC Week 2024". Screen Queensland (Interview). Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ronin Films. "Dena Curtis". FilmBooster. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  4. ^ "AFTRS Alumni Works Nominated for the 2020 Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network Award". Australian Film Television and Radio School. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Cinema Reborn 2020 – First Announcement". Cinema Reborn. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Films from the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association". Cinema Reborn. 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Jacob: written and directed by Dena Curtis: FESTIVAL PRESSKIT" (PDF). 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d "Dena Curtis". AIDC. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Hush". Screen Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Bit of Black Business (2007)". Screen Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  11. ^ "A long suit in Shorts". Flinders University. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d "Jacob". Blackfella Films. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  13. ^ a b Garcia, Alexandra (2016–2017). "The Tragedy of Jacob by Dena Curtis". Emerging scholars in Australian Indigenous Studies. 2–3 (1). UTS ePRESS. doi:10.5130/nesais.v2i1.1478. Retrieved 24 August 2024. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
  14. ^ "Buckskin". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Buckskin". Screen Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Back to Nature". ABC Education. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  17. ^ "A League Of Her Own". ABC iview. 19 February 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  18. ^ Shalala, Amanda (4 December 2022). "A League of Her Own documentary charts evolution of women's rugby league and push for equity". ABC News. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Rebel With a Cause (2023)". Screen Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  20. ^ Curtis, Dena; Williams, Citt (29 September 2023). "Rebel With a Cause Producers Dena Curtis and Citt Williams Talk About Amplifying First Nations Trailblazers in This Interview" (audio + text) (Interview). Interviewed by Pearce, Andrew. The Curb. Retrieved 23 August 2024 – via Acast.
  21. ^ "Watch Rebel With a Cause". Stream free on SBS On Demand. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  22. ^ a b "First Weapons (2023)". Screen Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  23. ^ "First Nations knowledge through documentary, 'First Weapons' with Dena Curtis at AIDC" (audio). NITV Radio. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  24. ^ Perry, Kevin (6 July 2023). "ABC series FIRST WEAPONS decodes the science of Australia's oldest arsenal". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Make it in FNQ: Creating Screen Stories". Screenworks. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Make it in FNQ: Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander initiative". Screen Queensland. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  27. ^ Vann-Wall, Silvi (20 June 2024). "Regionality Sunshine Coast documentary event announces line-up for July". ScreenHub Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  28. ^ Knox, David (23 November 2018). "Screen Producers Awards 2018: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  29. ^ Knox, David (3 December 2018). "AACTA Awards 2018: The Letdown, Safe Harbour win". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  30. ^ "imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival Announces 2022 Festival Award Winners". imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  31. ^ "Screen Australia and Australians in Film unveil participants for industry development programs". IF Magazine. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
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