FilmVic CEO to depart

Film Victoria CEO Jenni Tosi will depart at the end of the year, one year earlier than expected.

She was appointed CEO in November 2011.

“My time as CEO and also as the General Manager of Industry Development and Investment has seen a lot of change and been hugely rewarding. However, after ten years of working at a demanding pace it is time to take a break and recharge, before exploring new opportunities,” she said.

“It has been immensely satisfying to have been able to assist the many talented practitioners and businesses we have here in Victoria creating world class content such as The Dressmaker, Lion, Berlin Syndrome, Dance Academy, Ted, Seven Types of Ambiguity, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Offspring, Please Like Me, Upper Middle Bogan, Conviction, Figaro Pho, Nowhere Boys, Jack Irish, The Katering Show, The Warriors; prestigious international dramas like The Leftovers Season 3 and Childhood’s End along with highly successful games such as Armello & Crossy Road.

“As CEO my focus has been to ensure Victoria has a consistent pipeline of production activity and sits front of mind with local and international producers when thinking about where to locate their next production. With the support of our Board and the Victorian Government, we have been able to achieve this, playing to our strengths in television while also supporting a quality production slate across all genres and sectors. This approach has leveraged a total of $1.02 billion into the Victorian economy since 2011/12 from around 370 individual productions, delivering an average annual leverage of $170 million. This is a terrific outcome and clearly demonstrates the benefit of having an active Victorian screen industry.

“This achievement is enormously satisfying for me personally, while the many other initiatives we’ve been able implement over the years have had their own rewards. However I feel it’s now time for me to pass the leadership baton to new hands.”

Film Victoria President Ian Robertson said “Jenni Tosi’s achievements during her time with Film Victoria including her six years as CEO are very considerable. She has excellent relationships with the screen industry in Victoria and Australia, as well as in the countries which are relevant to us especially the USA. Her efforts have strengthened Film Victoria and helped to ensure that the Victorian screen production industry has remained vibrant, active and successful.”

Arts Minister Martin Foley said “Victoria’s screen industry has had a passionate and effective champion in Jenni Tosi over the past decade at Film Victoria. As CEO she has overseen an exciting period of success for Victorian made film, television, digital content and games, amidst significant changes for the industry globally, and she has remained deeply committed to nurturing local talent. I congratulate Jenni on a fantastic tenure and I hope she continues to contribute to Victoria’s screen industry in the future.”

Tosi will finish at Film Victoria on 31st December. The position of CEO will be advertised in the coming months. Screen NSW CEO Courtney Gibson departed her role in January following the of Screen NSW and Arts NSW.

“I believe the success of an organisation like Film Victoria comes from a team effort. It has given me enormous pleasure to work alongside an extraordinary and dedicated team of individuals, as passionate and enthusiastic about the screen industry as I am. Success requires a shared vision, which we have with our Government, Board, our many production partners and especially the talented screen practitioners and businesses based here in Victoria. It has been an amazing experience and a genuine privilege to be the CEO of Film Victoria,” Tosi added.

“It will be hard to say goodbye in December, however I look forward to utilising the knowledge and skills I have gained over the past ten years in other ways.”

Updated: Matt Deaner at Screen Producers Australia said, “Jenni Tosi is an incredibly well respected and loved screen executive that has represented her stakeholders nationally and internationally with passion, dedication and great care throughout her impressive career.”

“We are grateful for her generous support of our organisation and all of our members and for being such a critical partner to Screen Forever.”