Feature Film • 2025

Ex-con Johnny `Spit' Spitieri arrives back in Australia and gets locked up. He makes new friends in detention and teaches them his version of mateship, while facing some old enemies.

Case Study: Spit

Producers: Trish Lake and Greg Duffy
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky

Dower Productions was engaged on the feature film Spit to provide access coordination services, supporting the production to work authentically and respectfully with Deaf cast member, Sofya Gollan and embed Auslan into the film.

As a key cast member, it's important for performers like Sofya to be able to focus on their role and performance, without having to worry about advocating for any access requirements they may have. That's where we as access coordinators come into the picture, acting as an advocate for DDN cast and crew members whilst also being a valuable resource and guide for the production team. On Spit, we assisted the production team in connecting with Auslan interpreters, coordinating Auslan training and rehearsals for other cast required to sign during the film, and being available as a trusted communication channel for any access matters that arose during production.

In addition, Dower Productions offered insight and foundational knowledge to all cast and crew on Deaf culture and sign languages. This up-skilling helped to build confidence across the wider team and ensured interactions on set were inclusive, informed, and aligned with best practice.

As a result, the production team was able to work with confidence, the key cast was fully supported in their roles, and audiences got an authentically entertaining film.

Conference Multi-day Event • 2024-2026

Screen Forever is one of Australia’s premier screen market, bringing together producers, commissioners, distributors, and financiers from across the industry.

Case Study: Screen Forever

Dower Productions has been proudly engaged multiple times as the event’s access coordinator, working with the Screen Forever team to ensure the conference is inclusive and accessible to screen practitioners from the DDN community.

In this role, we guide the team on embedding accessibility across the event and how we can address specific individual access requirements. As well, we act as a public point of contact for delegates who have specific access requirements. Having an access coordinator for the event provides a trusted space for delegates to ask questions and discuss their access requirements in more detail if they wish to. With consent, we then communicate such requirements to the Screen Forever team and advise them on how they can address any requirements during the planning of the event. This proactive approach provides delegates the confidence to register for the event, contributing to increased event registrations.

Once the event begins, we are on-call to resolve any accessibility concerns that arise, ensuring respectful, effective solutions are implemented.

Our approach allows the Screen Forever team to focus on delivering an outstanding, accessible event the industry has come to expect year after year, feeling confident that every delegate attending has the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the event program.

Testimonials

  • "Steph’s guidance and reassurance gave us the confidence and know-how to create an accessible and inclusive set, allowing one of our young dancers, who uses a wheelchair, to fully participate in a dance sequence alongside the other kids. Steph was a pleasure to work with and was always on hand to answer questions around accessibility during pre-production and filming, plus she supported our young talent and his family every step of the way. Steph is an invaluable team member with a strong understanding of the screen industry."

    — Helen Morrison, Producer, All Story Pictures (Dance with Tom, ABC series)

  • "As the Access Coordinator on Spit, Steph provided knowledge and expertise that allowed a key cast member from the Deaf community the freedom to focus on her acting role whilst knowing she was supported throughout the production. It was also important for us as the producing team to upskill our cast and crew in understanding Deaf culture, so Steph was vital in providing contextual knowledge of this and the use of Auslan. I highly recommend Steph for Access Coordination as her work was excellent."

    — Trish Lake, Producer, Freshwater Pictures (Spit, Feature film)

  • "Having an Access Coordinator gave us valuable insight into how, even by making small changes, we can assist those in our industry that may have additional needs. Previously, when I thought of making a production more accessible, I automatically considered physical access, such as ramps or lifts. But Stephanie was so fantastic (and diplomatic) about making us aware that having a disability spans beyond the obvious, and can include things like noise sensitivity or mental health conditions. As an industry, we tend to think of ourselves as open minded, but there is work to do in order to make our space more disability-friendly. An Access Coordinator can give you some direction on where to start, and can also serve as a conduit for any disabled crew, who may feel more comfortable discussing their needs directly with someone who better understands them."

    — Candice Preddy, Production Manager (The Bluff, Feature film)

  • "Steph has been an integral part of SCREEN FOREVER for the past two years and we’re excited for our team to continue working with her in 2026. Her guidance has provided the SCREEN FOREVER team confidence in delivering an event where attendees living with disability are genuinely included and able to participate in all aspects of the program. We strongly encourage any events teams to engage Steph’s skills and expertise, especially those working within the arts industries."

    — Samantha Gill, Screen Producers Australia (Screen Forever)