NTTFF Advisory Committee
The NTTFF Advisory Committee is a curatorial advisory committee made up of cultural mentors/Elders, NT screen industry, NTTFF community venue and tourist partners, and filmmakers that supports NTTFF through:
Providing advice about the various screening programs
Learning from each other’s experiences in working with film, events, community, tourism
Understanding and valuing the role each member plays and how to better support each other
Advocate and support for the NT film and tourism sector
Identifying new opportunities for growth and capacity building for NTTFF
Program Selection Committee
Provide advice about the various screening and workshop programs
Identify new opportunities for growth and capacity building for NTTFF
Identify and suggest any content suitable for the Program
Members;
Viviana Petyarre - Film Maker
Naina Sen - Film Maker
Blandine Ruffo - Darwin International Film Festival Manager
Viviana Petyarre
Viviana Petyarre is a 23 year old Alyawarre filmmaker from Utopia, Northern Territory. A thoughtful and promising filmmaker, Viviana’s films draw on her cultural heritage. Her connection to her community and her youth inject her work with a fresh and exciting vitality. Viviana has produced, written and directed many documentaries and been awarded prizes for her work. Her documentary about her famous grandmothers, Petyarre, was invited to screen at the 2016 Margaret Mead International Film Festival. In 2018, Viviana formed her own production company, Sandover Films PTY LTD. In 2019, Viviana directed and co-wrote Sandover’s first documentary for NITV, Utopia Generations, and produced Heaven’s Bridge, a short film.
Naina Sen
Born and brought up in New Delhi, India, Naina Sen is an award winning documentary filmmaker, creative producer and video installation/projection artist specialising in cross-cultural storytelling.
Focusing on culture, music and the arts, Naina's work has been exhibited in various forms from television broadcasts (ABC, NITV,SBS,PBS) exhibition (ACMI, Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne Museum) video installation and online. Most of her work in the last 10 years has been in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and more recently Indonesia, East Timor and India.
In 2017 Naina produced and directed her debut feature documentary, The Song Keepers, on the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival to critical acclaim and had a 12 week theatrical released across Australia in 2018 , making it one of the most successful Australian documentaries in recent years. The Song Keepers was nominated for best feature documentary by Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Awards 2017, Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 2018, the audience award for best documentary at MIFF 2017 and for the prestigious Walkley Documentary award for excellence in journalism.
In 2020, Naina directed and produced the 8 part series Jimmy Shu’s Taste Of The Territory for SBS Food, exploring the multicultural tapestry and culinary landscape of the Top End of Australia, focussing especially on the personal stories and cuisines of South East Asian migration to the Northern Territory. Hosted by Sri Lankan Chinese chef and Northern Territory icon, Jimmy Shu. The series is currently available on SBS On Demand and has had over 1 million views.
Blandine ruffo
Blandine Ruffo has been part of the Darwin Film Society family for 6 years. After studying films and film production in her home country France, she roamed the globe for a few years until Darwin found her. Blandine has discovered a vibrant filmmaking community in the Top End through her work as the local content coordinator for DIFF and continues to carry this important mission of industry support in her new role as festival manager. She has found in Darwin what so many have found before her: a sense of belonging… and a pretty sweet lifestyle.
Tour Advisory Committee
Provide advice about the various tour destinations and schedules
Identify new opportunities for growth and capacity building for NTTFF
Identify and suggest any locations suitable for the Tour
Members;
Marlene Timothy - Artback Cultural Events Officer in Borroloola & Director of Malandarri Festival
Sveva Falletto – Nitmiluk Tours
Courtney Collins – Ngukurr Story Projects
Marlene Timothy
Marlene Timothy is a senior Yanyuwa/Garrwa woman. As the Cultural Events Officer in Borroloola, Marlene delivers a wide range of projects that support cultural maintenance, intergenerational exchange and Community Arts and Cultural Development practice. She is the Director of the Malandarri Festival, and runs projects in both Borroloola and Robinson River across art forms. Marlene works at Waralungku Arts Centre, annually on the National Indigenous Music Awards. In 2019 she was elected as Councillor to the South West Gulf Ward, Roper Gulf Regional Council, awarded Citizen of the Year and graduated from First Circles: supporting the next generation of Aboriginal leaders.
Sveva Falletto
From the beautiful island of Sardinia, Italy, Sveva Falletto was born into a culture of Hospitality. As an experienced Tourism and Hospitality professional, her upbringing remains at the core of her approach.
Holding a Postgraduate degree in Business Administration and a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors, Sveva has held leadership positions in Europe, Middle East, South-East Asia and now Australia. From luxury accommodation to campgrounds, SCUBA diving to cruises, Aboriginal tourism to a variety of nature- based experiences, she has been working at multiple levels of tourism planning, destination development, management and project delivery. A core focus has always been to invest in the effectiveness and future sustainability of the organisations she has been involved with.
Sveva is the Chief Operating Officer of Nitmiluk Tours and Cicada Lodge, a position she holds since 2017.
Courtney Collins
Courtney Collins is a writer and producer. In 2017 she started Ngukurr Story Projects to support talented local storytellers in Ngukurr NT to tell the stories they want to tell in the language they want to tell it in. Her first novel, The Burial (Allen & Unwin) was published in ten countries and shortlisted for numerous prizes including the Nita B Kibble Literary Award, the NSW Premier's Literary Awards for New Writing and the Stella Prize. It is being adapted as a feature film directed by Jasmin Tarasin. Last year, Courtney was selected to be part of the Australian Screen Producers' Association's 'Ones to Watch Program'. She is currently developing a web-series Shady Ladeez and is at work on a new novel.