Angie Black

Prioritising performance: Conversations with actors to shape diverse narratives

The University of Melbourne, Australia

The highly standardised and industrialised models dominating western film development
and distribution have left little room for alternative approaches to screenplay form or
content, severely curtailing different ways of seeing and making. Producing films within the
Academy provides some space and place for filmmakers to create films that not only
promote greater gender parity and story diversity, both on screen and behind the lens, but
also provides a research model for exploring filmmaking with a distinct female and/or queer
gaze. Having successfully completed an independent, feature film from inside academia,
(The Five Provocations 2018), maintaining a presence in the margins is both a choice and
strategy for creating provocative work.

This presentation draws from previous research and publications on filmmakers Miranda July
(USA), Celine Sciamma (France), Mike Leigh (UK), and innovative approaches to
screenwriting where performance guides the narrative. It examines my own filmmaking
practices of story creation through character development, beginning with casting before
story, and shares project outcomes initially presented in progress at the 2017 SRN
conference.

The feature film The Five Provocations resulted from an innovative film production process,
prioritising actors and performance before story and script. Collaboration with a diverse cast
at the initial stages of the project, and prior to the screenwriting process, offers a solution to
a solo perspective view of the story. Casting a diverse cast before story creation ensures a
greater diversity of characters and emotional integrity to the completed film. The project
involved practice-led research exploring performance as an approach to filmmaking, live
performance mediation, character-devised improvisation for screenwriting and addressed
gender disparity in screen media. This method is evolving in a 2024 project, aiming to
enhance collaborative screen storytelling by producing a feature film with a diverse cast and
co-directors across two territories, Australia and Estonia.

Dr Angie Black is a senior lecturer in Film & Television at VCA, The University of Melbourne.
They are an award-winning director who specialises in filmmaking as practice-led research.
Angie holds a PhD on performance approaches in film production and an MA in
screenwriting. Their debut feature film, The Five Provocations (2018) premiered at
Melbourne Queer Film Festival, is released through Label distribution, and showcases their
dedication to innovative filmmaking and commitment to on-screen diversity. Angie has
published book chapters, journal articles and directed a collection of short films, many of
which have been awarded, finalists or selected to screen at prestigious film festivals,
including Locarno, Frameline and Melbourne International Film Festivals. As a creative
practice researcher, their work examines approaches to filmmaking, screenwriting and
performance practices, with a focus on gender, sexuality and cultural diversity on screen.