highlighted its investment in a second major screen studio in Sydney.<\/a><\/p>\nThe team at Scoundrel also told B&T it was \u201cincredibly proud\u201d to see director Selina Miles open the Sydney Film Festival with Silenced.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge achievement and a testament to her talent, vision and relentless commitment to powerful storytelling,\u201d Kate Gooden, partner and executive producer at Scoundrel said on behalf of the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cSelina has always had a remarkable ability to connect audiences with deeply human stories, and it\u2019s exciting to see that recognised at one of the country\u2019s most significant cultural and film events.\u201d<\/p>\n
A milestone for inclusive filmmaking<\/p>\n
Also speaking to B&T on the red carpet was Sydney-based director Genevieve Clay-Smith, founder and former CEO of Bus Stop Films.<\/p>\n
Clay-Smith was at the opening night ahead of the world premiere of Boss Cat on Sunday. The feature film follows 23-year-old Sonja, a woman with Down syndrome, as she fights for her independence after the death of her mother. When her estranged grandmother attempts to sell the family home, Sonja embarks on a journey of self-discovery, friendship and self-expression through dance.<\/p>\n
Clay-Smith said the project was a powerful example of what can be achieved when inclusion is embedded from the outset.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just shows that inclusive filmmaking isn\u2019t hard, it doesn\u2019t slow things down, and it doesn\u2019t compromise on quality. You just have to give people a go, they\u2019ll rise to the occasion, and you can create something amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clay-Smith said her commitment to inclusive storytelling had been the driving force behind her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want people to miss out on being seen, and I didn\u2019t want people to miss out on this industry of storytelling, because it should belong to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that authentic representation is something audiences increasingly want to see, while also fulfilling a deeply human need.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople want to be seen, that\u2019s one of our longings as humans, we want to be fully seen and fully loved.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\")
Genevieve Clay-Smith, director of the upcoming Boss Cat film and founder of Bus Stop Films, with Henry Smith, founder of Inclusively Made.
Photographer: Belinda Rolland \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n
Also attending the festival was Clay-Smith\u2019s husband, Henry Smith, who is well known across adland as the founder of Inclusively Made, a certification standard for inclusive production across film, television and advertising. The organisation works with brands, agencies and production companies to embed disability inclusion from day one, helping position accessibility as a creative and cultural asset rather than an afterthought.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenevieve has made something spectacularly beautiful. And it\u2019s also a historic moment for inclusion,\u201d Smith told B&T.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoss Cat is the world\u2019s first feature film to achieve Inclusively Made certification, scoring the highest we\u2019ve ever seen for the inclusion of people with disability both in front of and behind the camera.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also commenting on Silenced, Clay-Smith said it\u2019s a reminder of what\u2019s possible when women are fully in charge of the story, with the documentary being a masterclass because \u201cit\u2019s fearless, precise, and made with deep conviction\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m exceptionally proud to have Boss Cat premiering in the same festival,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I look at both these films sitting in the same festival, I see what happens when women are trusted to lead and that\u2019s the world I want my daughters to grow up in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith echoed this sentiment, adding he was deeply moved by the choice to open the festival with Silenced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe film puts three uncomfortable truths on the table: the imbalance of power between genders, a legal and social system that struggles to believe survivors and the enormous personal cost of seeking justice through that system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a dad of twin girls, I left very grateful for people like human rights lawyer Jen Robinson, who traces her conviction back to her grandmother, and who stood in front of 2,000 people last night and asked us to hold that same line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karla Grant, journalist, presenter and long-time host of NITV\u2019s Living Black, and her daughter, Lowanna Grant, an actor and presenter.
Photographer: Belinda Rolland \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n
Also in attendance last night were Malinda Wink, executive producer of Silenced and executive director of Minderoo Pictures, Karla Grant, journalist, presenter and long-time host of NITV\u2019s Living Black, and her daughter, Lowanna Grant, an actor and presenter, Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, cinematographer Ari Wegner and many more!<\/p>\n
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ian Darling, executive director of Shark Island Institute and Chair of Shark Island Foundation, was also in attendance. Darling\u2019s latest documentary, The Valley, is also set to premiere at the festival. Set in the secluded Kangaroo Valley community in regional New South Wales, the film is a meditative portrait of the people who call the region home, exploring themes of solitude, resilience and connection.<\/p>\n
Check out the trailer for The Valley below.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
A mix of brands back the festival with Australian insurer GIO the major partner, alongside Official Airline Partner Air Canada. Combined with support from Federal, State and Local Government partners, other organisations investing in Australia\u2019s screen and cultural sector include luxury car brand Genesis and Japanese beer brand Kirin Ichiban.<\/p>\n
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\t\tSubscribe\n\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 2,000 people gathered at Sydney\u2019s State Theatre on Wednesday night for the opening night of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[22633,22634,6258,22635,22636,247,3901],"class_list":["post-24419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-genevieve-clay-smith","tag-henry-smith","tag-jennifer-robinson","tag-scoundrel","tag-selina-miles","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/26.06.03-SFF-Wed-Day-1-by-Tim-Levy-1040-scaled.jpg\"\/)
The top team behind Silenced<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/26.06.03-SFF-Wed-Day-1-by-Tim-Levy-1100-scaled.jpg\"\/)
L-R: Producer Blayke Hoffman, Director & Screenwriter Selina Miles, & Lawyer Jen Robinson<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_9258-scaled.jpg\"\/)
Genevieve Clay-Smith, director of the upcoming Boss Cat film and founder of Bus Stop Films, with Henry Smith, founder of Inclusively Made.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_9735-scaled.jpg\"\/)
Karla Grant, journalist, presenter and long-time host of NITV\u2019s Living Black, and her daughter, Lowanna Grant, an actor and presenter.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/26.06.03-SFF-Wed-Day-1-by-Tim-Levy-1063-scaled.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n