Diverse Encounters on Screen Launch

Sheila Ngoc Pham has a multi-disciplinary background as a writer, editor, producer, radio maker and communications professional in Australia, the UK and Thailand. She has more than 15 years of experience across a range of sectors including the arts, media, government and public health. She currently serves on the City of Canterbury-Bankstown’s Arts & Cultural Reference Group.

Sheila has held digital and editorial roles with the ABC, and continues to produce for ABC Radio National. She has facilitated and produced events for Vivid Sydney, Writing NSW, Africultures and Inner West Council, among others. She was a curator for TEDxSydney 2012 and 2013, and directed the first TEDx in Chiang Mai in 2011. Her writing has been widely published in Australian and international publications, and staged at Carriageworks, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and Sydney Festival.

Sheila has undergraduate degrees in psychology and linguistics and postgraduate degrees in public health and bioethics. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation and lectures in public health ethics at Macquarie University.

Gary Paramanathan works at the intersection of arts, culture and community. Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Australia, Gary’s arts practice predominantly focuses on storytelling and writing. He has written and directed a number of short films, including for ABC iView. He has written feature essays and recounted personal narratives, including for The Guardian. Gary also ran a live storytelling night focusing on PoC stories, called Them Heavy People. He currently focuses on writing and performing short works of autobiography and fiction. He was shortlisted for the Deborah Cass Prize in 2021, won a Writing NSW mentorship and published in a Sweatshop anthology.

He has developed and presented work for Griffin Theatre, CAAP, Performance Space and Queer Stories. Gary is currently writing his first feature stage play, after joining the watershed program with Sydney Theatre Company. He has also written critique and content to bring processes and genuine representation in storytelling. Gary is passionate about migrant and diaspora storytelling and hopes to add to the rich tapestry of diverse Australian storytelling through his work.

Pearl Tan is a screen content maker and educator. She is the founder and director of Pearly Productions, a filmmaking boutique with a focus on diverse stories, and Senior Lecturer in Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Pearl has extensive experience in advocacy and governance, and currently sits on the board of the Australian Directors’ Guild, having previously served on the AFTRS Council, Critical Stages Touring Board, Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Board, Actors’ Equity’s National Performers Committee and as Co-Chair of the Equity Diversity Committee. She is currently completing her PhD in Creative Practice at the University of NSW, exploring the experience of diversity workers in the Australian screen industry.