MinRes hitches Perth ride for Bus Stop Films

Media release 9th February 2022

MinRes hitches Perth ride for Bus Stop Films

Mineral Resources Limited (MinRes) is delighted to announce its support for Bus Stop Films’ expansion to Western Australia.

Bus Stop Films, is a pioneering film school for young adults living with disability or autism.The not-for-profit organisation has partnered with Edith Cowan University (ECU) to deliver a one-year accessible film studies program for people living with disability.

Bus Stop Films has delivered its award-winning accessible film studies program for more than a decade, with Perth this year joining a network of 11 locations across Australia. Over 40 weeks, students will work with screen industry professionals and get hands-on experience in all aspects of filmmaking, including camera, sound, production design and post-production.

They will put their skills into practical filmmaking by working together on a project, which will be screened at an end-of-year showcase event and even entered into film festivals. Bus Stop Films graduates have gone on to work on Marvel blockbusters Thor: Love and Thunder and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as TV series such as Survivor and MasterChef. Beyond film industry exposure, students gain increased confidence, undergo interview and CV preparation and develop their social and communication skills.

Film enthusiast Daniel Botes, who lives with autism, is among the students who will attend Bus Stop Films’ inaugural class at Edith Cowan University’s WA Screen Academy on Saturday, February 4. The 30-year-old said: “I hope it will lead to me becoming a filmmaker or film director in my own right – I might be able to use my unique perspective and present films that most people would consider to be unusual.”

Another participant, Bailey Deering, 23, was studying film and media at TAFE when COVID struck in 2020. The talented sketch artist, who lives with autism, said: “I’m very interested in filmmaking. I’ve done a few little courses and when I heard about Bus Stop Films I was like, ‘This is what I want to do’.“I was studying at the beginning of 2020, learning how to use cameras and everything, but COVID stopped that. This is a great way of getting back into it.”

Honor Boekeman, who will juggle the Bus Stop Films program while starting a creative writing degree at Curtin University, enrolled after taking part in a taster workshop last October. “I enjoyed the fact that this is giving neurodivergent people the opportunity to see what it’s like to make a professional short film. It can be pretty hard to get opportunities in general,” Honor, 21, said.

MinRes, a leading diversified resources company that supports the communities in which it operates, provided funding to support Bus Stop Films’ expansion to WA. Filmmaker Joe Wilkie will teach the Perth program, which is delivered as three-hour weekly classes on Saturdays at ECU’s Mt Lawley campus.

MinRes Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee chair Shelley Robertson said: “We are proud to be involved in a program that will provide young West Australians with an opportunity to be involved in the Arts and can’t wait to see the work they produce.”

Bus Stop Films chief executive officer Tracey Corbin-Matchett said: “It takes a village to keep the bus on the road and we’re thrilled to be adding another bus stop in Perth. “The support of MinRes and our partnership with Edith Cowan University will showcase the amazing skills of our participants and open opportunities for people with disability to be employed in WA’s thriving screen industry.”   

ECU WA Screen Academy Associate Professor Cathy Henkel said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Bus Stop Films to bring their widely acclaimed program of working with people from diverse backgrounds and abilities to Perth.

“We see this as offering excellent new opportunities to practitioners in our community, our students, and graduates, as both teachers and participants.”

Bus Stop Films is open to people aged 17 and older who live with a mild to moderate disability or autism. Fees can be paid through a student’s NDIS package. Classes started in Perth on February 4, though it is not too late to sign-up for the program. For more information, go to busstopfilms.com.au