Activity: Back to Back Theatre will partner with screen industry leaders to share the outcomes of their internship program that saw people with disability employed and mentored in production roles during the creation of Shadow in 2020, with a view to creating a model(s) for increased employment opportunities for people with disability in the wider screen sector. With Deakin University, Back to Back conducted comprehensive research and evaluation of the internship program, documenting actual and potential long-term economic benefits and social impacts for individuals with a disability, their capacity to be engaged with mainstream screen services and within the broader community. This project will see Back to Back’s research form innovative partnerships with sectors of the screen industry, developing concrete strategies to assist these partners to explore strength-based opportunities and approaches to disability employment.

December 2021 Update: The project is proceeding well, and Back to Back have begun in their research and liaising with prospective screen industry partners.

April 2022 Update: Back to Back Theatre has engaged a person to lead research, contact and enhance networks in the screen industry and draft methodologies for utilising Back to Back Theatre’s experience in making inclusive screen work in front of and behind the camera. The screen industry is responding with great interest to their proposals and what they can offer.

August 2022 Update: B2B has employed two people who identify as having a disability to progress the project, and they have created two comprehensive reports identifying barriers to greater inclusion and strategies for increased access. B2B is reviewing both reports and will combine them into a cohesive document, expanding and supplementing this work with their own findings. They anticipate putting this documentation to interested parties in the screen industries prior to its completion for feedback. Once the funded project is complete, B2B will continue the work begun through this process – advocating for and supporting inclusion of people with disability within the screen industries.