Mums in Film : Recent Episodes
Ruby Challenger
Ruby Challenger is a film director and mother. Ruby completed her Masters of Screen Arts in Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in 2021 and wrote her thesis on motherhood and the cinema, looking at mothers in front and behind the screen. Her short MumLife premiered at Cannes Film Festival, 2022. Five weeks earlier she had given birth to her second baby, so she packed up her family of four and took them to the festival! In this podcast, Ruby is further exploring the highs and lows of being a working mother in the film industry. www.rubychallenger.com
Lucy Gaffy is an award-winning filmmaker who, over the last decade, has worked across a range of productions and media. She is mother to a gorgeous boy who will proudly tell everyone and anyone that he is four years old.
Most recently, Lucy directed the opening story “We the Spiders” for the anthology feature film, Here Out West (Co-Curious/ ABC, 2021) alongside directors Ana Kokkinos, Leah Purcell, Julie Kalceff and Fadia Abboud. The film had its World Premiere as the Opening Night Film for the 2021 Sydney Film Festival and has been nominated for a 2022 AACTA Award for Best Film. Lucy’s recent television credits include Set Up Director of Totally Completely Fine for Sundance/STAN, 5 episodes of the Netflix series Irreverent, drama series, Amazing Grace, for Playmaker and the Nine Network; three episodes of the ABC/Netflix series, The Unlisted (Aquarius Films, 2019) and prior to this, multiple episodes across series three and four of the enormously successful Nine Network series Doctor Doctor (Easy Tiger, 2017-18).
Part 2 of Ruby (your host) and Leonie (your editor and producer of this poddy!) in front of the mic! Leonie interviews Ruby, hot off the plane from Cannes about her experience traveling to the huge festival with small children in tow!
When Ruby and Mums in Film producer Leonie Marsh first met, Leonie interviewed Ruby as she was fresh off the plane from France after her film MumLife had premiered at Cannes Film Festival. This chat is split into two parts as we couldn't stop talking, and it's a really great listen to Ruby's thoughts post-festival with children.
Ruby's short film, MumLife, screened in official competition in the 2022 La Cinef section at Cannes Film Festival. Five weeks earlier she had given birth to her second baby, so she packed up her family of four and took them to the festival! MumLife is a 15 minute musical about post-natal anxiety and is now enjoying a festival run. This year she released Next- a drama episodic filmed specifically for release on social media.
Ruby completed her Masters of Screen Arts in Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in 2021. She wrote her thesis on motherhood and the cinema, looking at mothers in front and behind the screen, which she released on Instagram.
Ruby has been on film sets since she was born - legend has it her first trip after the hospital was a film set to visit her dad (she was born during his film shoot - sorry dad). Following her unofficial education in filmmaking, her career in the film industry began in the Art and Costume departments, which took her all around Australia.
Her first short film as Director/Producer/Writer, Daily Bread, played at festivals around Australia and the world and winning awards including the St Kilda Film Festival People’s Choice.
Produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens.
Follow along
for all our updates.
This is a special ep! You are getting both Ruby (your host) and Leonie (your editor and producer of this poddy!) in front of the mic!
When Ruby and Mums in Film producer Leonie Marsh first met, Leonie interviewed Ruby as she was fresh off the plane from France after her film MumLife had premiered at Cannes Film Festival. This chat is split into two parts as we couldn't stop talking, and it's a really great listen to Ruby's thoughts post-festival with children.
Ruby's short film, MumLife, screened in official competition in the 2022 La Cinef section at Cannes Film Festival. Five weeks earlier she had given birth to her second baby, so she packed up her family of four and took them to the festival! MumLife is a 15 minute musical about post-natal anxiety and is now enjoying a festival run. This year she released Next- a drama episodic filmed specifically for release on social media.
Ruby completed her Masters of Screen Arts in Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in 2021. She wrote her thesis on motherhood and the cinema, looking at mothers in front and behind the screen, which she released on Instagram.
Ruby has been on film sets since she was born - legend has it her first trip after the hospital was a film set to visit her dad (she was born during his film shoot - sorry dad). Following her unofficial education in filmmaking, her career in the film industry began in the Art and Costume departments, which took her all around Australia.
Her first short film as Director/Producer/Writer, Daily Bread, played at festivals around Australia and the world and winning awards including the St Kilda Film Festival People’s Choice.
Produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens.
Follow along
for all our updates.
Michelle Carey is a film programmer, curator and creative producer. For eight years she was Artistic Director of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Since relocating to Berlin in 2018, she has been a member of the features selection committee at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and a mentor at the Berlinale Talents, as well as a program advisor for the New York Film Festival and the upcoming inaugural SXSW Sydney. She was previously on the selection committee for the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. As an independent curator she has also put together programs such as Pioneering Women, dedicated to women directors working in Australia in the 1980s and ‘90s, which screened at the Museum for the Moving Image in New York City in 2022.
In 2019 she co-founded The Red Balloon Alliance, dedicated to providing family-friendly solutions at film festivals, helping to establish day care services at the Cannes, Berlin and San Sebastian film festivals.
She is a recipient of a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French government.
Show Notes:
- The Red Balloon Alliance - Facebook group
- Instagram @redballoonalliance
- La Balloon Rouge
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens and produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
Follow along @_allruby_ and @mumsinfilm for all our updates.
Rose is a freelance creative producer working across film, podcasts, and festivals and events. She works closely with artists and visionaries to build networks of support around projects, charging each endeavour with the energy derived from her diverse experience in the arts, community engagement, social change and maternal activism.
In 2022, Rose attended the Venice International Film Festival with a short film she produced Love Forever, with collaborator Clare Young. She took her 9 month old baby, Miro, along with them - an experience Ruby and her could relate about, with Ruby having attended Cannes in 2022 with her 5 week old. They share the highs and lows of these experiences.
In her season of motherhood, Rose is working with professional mothers to balance creative pursuits alongside mothering; to create a life where neither has to suffer. She works with committed creatives who want to charge their work with the wisdom found through mothering, and provides the support, flexibility, and resources to help mother creatives thrive in their projects.
Rose is also a mother artist and is forever finding creative solutions, pathways and collaborations that make both jobs pleasurable and guided by joy and wellbeing.
She currently lives and works in the rural township of Braidwood, NSW, where she is establishing a creative production house with writer-director Clare Young. Living rurally, Rose works online with clients as a consultant and producer.
To work with Rose, email rosiericketson@gmail.com and her Insta is @_rosierick_
Show Notes:
- Rosie's website
- Claire Young
- LOVE FOREVER - short film
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens and produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
Follow along @_allruby_ and @mumsinfilm for all our updates.
Danielle Boesenberg is an award-winning editor with films screened at Berlin, Toronto, Clermont-Ferrand, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Sydney, Melbourne, and Heartland.
Nominated for the Australian Screen Editors award for her work on Kiss in 2011, Danielle was nominated again in 2014 for her work on the Guineafowl music clip Little Death (Make It Rain) and again in 2017 for web series Attack! Attack! Art?. She won the 2015 ASE award for Best Editing in a Short Film for The Aquarium. In 2019, she was nominated for Best Editing in a Short Film and awarded a Special Mention at Flickerfest 2019 for Birdie, which was acquired by Searchlight Pictures after screening at the Toronto IFF 2018.
Danielle’s recent work includes independent feature Lonesome, written and directed by Craig Boreham; Colin From Accounts for Binge/Easy Tiger, and Stan’s Totally Completely Fine.
In 2021, Danielle was elected President of the Australian Screen Editors’ Guild.
Show Notes:
- Danielle's website
- Danielle's Instagram @what_dan_cut
- Motherhood and Creativity: The Divided Heart by Rachel Power
- HOWL Magazine
- Australian Editors Guild - 'Cutting it as Working Parents' Round Table Discussion - 3pm Sunday 21 May 2023 - Shark Island Institute (1 Dorhauer Lane, Woollahra, Sydney, Gadigal) RSVP to office@screeneditors.com.au
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens and produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
Follow along @_allruby_ and @mumsinfilm for all our updates.
Tsu Shan Chambers is an Actor/Writer/Producer, who is passionate about bringing awareness to issues that matter through telling provoking stories.
She was recently elected to the SPA Council, picked as one of the Producers on IF Magazine's Rising Talent List 2023 and was included in the inaugural AA122 list - recognising Asian Australians who have had the most impact on Australian culture, society and institutions over the past year. Tsu Shan was previously one of SPA’s “Ones to Watch” in 2018. She was also awarded the Charlies Grant Residency with Australians in Film in 2021.
In 2022, Tsu Shan was selected in the AWG/Create NSW's "First Break" , and her latest feature, MY EYES, that she co-wrote and is producing , obtained development support from VICScreen. She has also been selected to be on numerous industry committees, including the inaugural Diversity Justice Lens group for screen equity and inclusion and the AFTRS Alumni Advisory Group.
Tsu Shan produced the romance drama feature, UNSOUND, about deaf culture and pride. It won and was nominated for a raft of key industry awards including 'Best Indie Film' at the AACTA awards in 2020 and has obtained distribution in multiple international territories, including Netflx in ANZ and Fuse TV in the US. She has recently completed her latest feature length project, SUKA, a multi-cultural action drama, supported by Screen NSW.
Tsu Shan's website is here. And her handle for Twitter/Insta/LinkedIn: @tsushanchambers
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens and produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
Follow along @_allruby_ and @mumsinfilm for all our updates.
Yolandi (NSW JP) is a Film and TV Producer and has been in showbiz since the turn of the century. She produced three feature films, a two-part documentary series, two TV series, and hundreds of shorter format stories, some winning festival awards. Her experience in front of the cameras and as MC is also vast. She joined WIFT (Women in film & Television) Australia and is currently the Secretary, NSW Board Member and Chair of their Virtual Arm. She also started, and ran Cause Film Festival for three years before stepping down as Festival Director to focus on her projects.
Yolandi's instagram: @yolandifranken_official
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens and produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
Follow along @_allruby_ and @mumsinfilm for all our updates.
TJ Hamilton is a retired police officer, a criminologist, a published author, one-time print journalist, and an emerging screenwriter. With a deep understanding of the crime genre, TJ is one of Australia's most sought-after crime researchers and technical consultants on scripted dramas.
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens and produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
Follow along @mumsinfilm and @_allruby_ for all our updates.
Alicia Rodis pioneered the role of the intimacy coordinator in the US. Mother to Finn - 2.5 years old and Imogen - 3.5 months, she is married to husband Casey and they have two old cats in their family. They live in the land of the Munsee Lenape and the Schaghicoke in the United States - just outside of New York City.
She is the in-house intimacy coordinator for HBO studios and the creative director for Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, a company who trains and certifies intimacy directors for theatre and coordinators for film and television. She has worked on productions such as The Deuce, Watchmen, And Just Like That, Pretty Little Liars, and many more.
Alicia's Instagram is @alicia_rodis
SHAYNA WEBER is a screenwriter, producer and director originally from Bend, Oregon. Mother to Max (6) and wife to Alex, they also have a cat and a new puppy in their home, where they live on Chumash, Tongva (Gabrieleno) and Fernandeno land.
Shayna started out in unscripted television where she produced shows including: “So You Think You Can Dance,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Weakest Link,” VH1’s “Band’s Reunited,” and the Miss Universe Pageants. She has worked for NBC, Fox, Disney, MTV, VH1, Travel Channel, Discovery and Bravo. Shayna produced the award-winning, horror/comedy, Lunch Ladies, and directed, A Very Important Film.
Shayna is partners with Clarissa Jacobson under their Rebel Minx banner where they create thought-provoking, smart, genre content mainly in the horror and comedy space. They are in post-production on their short film titled, Butts that is written by and stars Kent Rodricks who is a member of their writing group, Twin Bridges Screenwriting Salon.
Rebel Minx on Instagram @rebelminx_
Shayna Weber on Instagram @shaynaweberband
In our second episode, Ruby chats with Naomi Just. Naomi has over 20 years of experience in the film industry, producing such content as as the new to Stan Christmas Ransom, the hilarious The Unusual Suspects, the Children's Spy Comedy series, Born to Spy, and the moving short film Safety net, which screened at Slam Dance. She also is the proud mother of a 15 year old daughter and 13 year old son. Naomi's screen projects span comedy, drama, documentary, animation and children's programming. Under her new mantle of Mischief Media, Naomi is currently in development on a range of projects. Proudly genre agnostic, Naomi’s mission is to elevate female screen stories that seek to challenge, inspire and entertain audiences. In 2020 Mischief Media’s first production was the Screenability short film “Safety Net” with director Anthea Williams and writer Julian Larnach, which launched at 2020’s Sydney Film Festival and was a finalist for the New Zealand International Film Festival. A feature film based on the work is currently in development.
For other Mischief to come, see the Mischief Media website. Naomi's instagram is @naomi.justnaomi.
Produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens.
Follow along @_allruby_ and @mumsinfilm for all our updates.
In our very first episode, Ruby chats with Lark Lee. Lark is a Korean-Australian director, writer, and actress who loves entertaining audiences with heartfelt stories. Starting in the industry as an actress, she worked on the ABC TV show ‘Harrow’ seasons 1 and 2. As an emerging writer/director, her first feature film project ‘Street No. 4’, was awarded a Regional Art Development Fund by Queensland Government and Logan City Council and Australia Korea Foundation in 2021. The funding allowed her to complete a high-quality proof-of-concept short film and develop its feature film. The short film has been selected at multiple Academy Award-qualifying festivals, such as LA Shorts and Holly Shorts. Her most recent completed work as a writer and director is a documentary web series, ‘Mother’s Table’. It was made for BrisAsia Festival 2022 for Brisbane City Council and is now available on SBS on Demand. Lark has been working on a thriller web series, ‘Confinement’, which received a development fund from Screen Australia, SBS and NITV through SBS Digital Original Initiative 2022. She also is the proud mother of an 11 year old daughter. Lark's instagram is @larkleefilms.
Produced by Ruby Challenger and Leonie Marsh.
This episode is sponsored by Screen Vixens.
Follow along @_allruby_ for all our updates.
Episode one is coming soon!
Follow along at Ruby Challenger and on Instagram @rubychallenger for all the updates.