Women push the boundaries
By Anthony Brown
BRISBANE — Fed up with the way mainstream media portray women and the fact that most women have little or no access to television and film production, a group of women have formed their own television and film production unit.
Ribcage — Women's Multimedia Association is a community-based non-profit organisation which aims to provide women with the opportunities to gain experience and produce and direct their own television and film projects.
It also aims to provide alternatives to the establishment media's portrayal of women and to highlight issues normally ignored by that male-dominated industry.
The unit plans to televise some of its productions on the soon-to-air Brisbane community television station, Briz-31.
The women involved currently have several short documentaries and dramas in production dealing with a variety of issues including domestic violence in Australian-Filipina marriages, aging women and women and pornography.
Ribcage's members hail from a variety of backgrounds including accountants, students and PR people. They are all bonded by their common interest in film and video production and in women's rights.
The unit is open to all women and offers opportunities for learning, teaches scripting, camera operation, sound and editing.
Ribcage can be contacted by writing to PO Box 3269, South Brisbane, Qld, 4101.