Elise Hawthorne
Producers Isabel Perez and Paul Scott from Mindful Media were recently awarded an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award for Best Documentary Television Program for their thought provoking Australian TV series Redesign My Brain. As Australia’s highest film and television Awards, the AACTA Awards are Australia’s equivalent of the Oscars and the BAFTAs – receiving this Award was a career highlight for Isabel and Paul.
Isabel is a generous woman who genuinely admires the works of others and said of her AACTA win, “I felt honoured and privileged to be nominated with such incredible filmmakers such as Andrew Ogilvie from Electric Pictures who produced Desert War; Sonya Pemberton, Genepool Productions, who produced Jabbed – Love, Fear and Vaccines, and Bentely Dean and Martin Butler who produced the First Footprints series”.
Paul Scott, Isabel Perez and Todd Sampson
Redesign My Brain was the surprise hit Australian TV show of 2013, it was a science program that rated through the roof, which would have no doubt pleased host station ABC TV and supporters Screen Australia and Universal Pictures Australasia. This ground breaking three-part series bought the brain, how it functions and brain training techniques into the spotlight. Host Todd Sampson of Gruen series fame was the lab rat who became part of the narrative, part of the experiment. The term brain-plasticity was bought to the masses and Dr Michael Merzenich’s life work became the topic of conversation around the water cooler. When the juggling balls segment was aired, retails outlets and wholesalers across the nation sold out of juggling balls in days; who would have thought!
I have known Isabel for many years and have always admired her tenacity and sheer passion for her chosen industry. Isabel wants to, “create programs that are both inspirational and useful, that make a difference to other people’s lives,” she is certainly well on the way to fulfilling her mission.
Her work as a producer has been recognised in the past, noticeably when her documentary Outback Fight Club was nominated for an AACTA Award in 2012. Isabel started in the film and TV industry producing short films in 1994; her career has been varied and extensive, including her work as post production manager on the critically acclaimed Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst, directed by Gillian Armstrong.
Isabel is now working on the Science of Prejudice series to be aired on SBS TV in Australia and the second series of Redesign My Brain, which is due to hit the small screen in 2015. Series 2 will focus on the issues of how we can make our brains more robust and also takes a look at what our brains are missing in this fast-paced modern world that we all now inhabit.
Isabel has been a mentor to many and her advice to budding producers is to get to know the funding bodies, find a mentor, attend industry events, volunteer, don’t be scared to start out as a production assistant – forge relationships and don’t be afraid of hard work and long hours. Isabel also sings the praises of the Screen Australia website, which hosts a goldmine of information to help any budding producers find their way.
When I recently asked Isabel to describe what documentary topic she would most love to explore, she replied “I’m living my dream right now”, we can all only be so lucky.
Isabel, I salute you.
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