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New faces join NITV,
Voices of First Nations rise,
Stories to be told.
NITV makes three appointments to commissioning team
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has made three new appointments to its commissioning team, including Dena Curtis, a Warlpiri, Warrumungu and Arrernte woman, who will join in November as Head of Indigenous Commissioning and Production.
Curtis is an award-winning producer, writer and director with experience at NITV, the ABC, Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), and her own independent production company, Inkey Media.
Meanwhile, Cieron Cody, a Wiradjuri man, has been appointed as Senior Commissioning Editor. He returns to NITV after nearly four years with Screen Australia's Documentary Unit.
Joseph Meldrum, a Ghungalu writer, director, producer and production executive, has been elevated to Commissioning Editor. He was previously a Content Assessor with NITV.
Acting Director of Indigenous Content at SBS and NITV, Jason Oakley, said: "NITV is home to Australia's most distinctive content offering, and we're looking forward to having Cieron come back to NITV in this role, see Joe take the next step in the team, and to have Dena with her extensive experience taking on this key leadership position for the channel. They bring incredible talent and diverse experience from across the screen industry, and share a passion for developing, elevating and empowering the Indigenous production sector and First Nations storytellers. As NITV continues its growth, we're excited to continue our trajectory in investing more in distinctive, award winning, First Nations stories with wide appeal and meaningful impact."
Dena Curtis will commence with NITV on 4 November, and Cieron Cody and Joseph Meldrum will commence in their roles from 18 November.
"NITV is home to some of the best First Nations content from Australia and the world. I look forward to continuing to build on the channel's brand, collaborating with the NITV team, broader SBS colleagues and with the very talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers and content makers from across the country, delivering high quality and distinctive original scripted and unscripted content to our audiences," said Curtis.
"Australia's First Nations screen sector is a force unlike any other and NITV's audience a clever base of curiosity, power, voice and more. Rejoining NITV to play but one part in connecting these sources is humbling. NITV has a sincerely unique opportunity to work with a changing Nation and the potential is uncapped, powered by excellence, ambition and an imagination guided by the longest continuous culture in the world. I cannot wait to share in raising the many talented voices of mob from the remote heartlands and beyond," said Cody.
"Having grown up watching NITV from my home in remote Northern Territory, I have witnessed the profound impact the network has had on giving our communities a voice and a platform to share important stories, news and culture around the country, and around the world. NITV has a long-standing legacy of investing in unique and captivating stories and championing and nurturing emerging and established voices and I look forward to contributing to this important mission. It is my goal to pay homage to our past, reflect on our present and look towards our bright future under the guidance of our Elders and Ancestors. Our storytellers have gone from strength to strength and I am excited to be a part of this next chapter in NITV's commissioning," Meldrum.