Spotlight on Patricia Edgar

The first session for Sat 4th is a special one. It features the early documentaries of the inspirational Patricia Edgar followed by a Q&A with Patricia.

For the uninitiated, Patricia Edgar is a pioneering filmmaker, television producer, author, educator and media scholar. After studying and completing a Masters in Communication at Stanford University, California, Patricia was appointed the inaugural Chairperson of the Centre of the Study of Media and Communication at La Trobe University. It was there where Patricia established and taught the first course on film and television, and mass media communication in any Australian University. She also undertook her PhD on children’s perceptions of film and television violence, which she was awarded in 1974.
 
In 1975, Patricia was the first woman appointed as a member of the Australian Broadcasting Control Board and chaired the Board’s review of Television Program Standards. As Chair of the Children’s Program Committee for the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal where she developed the children's television production and advertising standards, which have been applied for more than 30 years in Australian broadcasting.

Patricia became the founding director of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation in 1982, where she worked not only as the director, but also as a producer for 20 years, creating over 174 hours of television drama for children. This includes programs like Round the Twist, Lift Off, Sky Trackers, and Noah and Saskia. She also produced the film Yolngu Boy in 2001. All together Patricia has won more than 100 national and international awards including 4 AFIs, 2 Logies, and International Emmy Award, the Prix Jeunesse, a Japan Prize, a Banff Rockie Award, and a Grand Jury Prize at the New York Festival.

Since then, Patricia has acted on a numerous industry boards and committees, including Australian Broadcasting Control Board, the Australian National Commission of UNESCO, the Council of the Australian Film and Television School, Film Victoria, the Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission, and the Victorian Government's Board of CIRCIT Ltd (Centre for International Research on Communication and Information Technologies). 
 
She was awarded the Australian College of Education Medal in 1998 and received an Achiever Award from the Committee for Melbourne in 2001.  Both awards were in recognition of her outstanding contribution to education through the medium of television. In 2002 she was presented with the AFI Longford Life Achievement Award, the highest accolade the Australian Film Institute can bestow on an individual. She was named on the Honour Roll presented to the Parliament of Victoria in 2001, recognising women of achievement who have made a significant difference in Victoria, Australia or internationally.
 
This is only a summary of the impact that Patricia Edgar has had on the evolution of Australian film and media. Our Patricia Edgar retrospective is a rare opportunity to revisit her early work and hear from the woman herself!