NFSA Indigenous Research Fellowship
Congratulations to Daniel Syron: the NFSA’s first Indigenous Research Fellow
Based in Sydney, Daniel has worked in the film and television industry professionally for 5 years on a range of short and feature film productions such as Last Train to Freo, 2005 Freedom Ride, Forensic Investigators and he has been recently involved with Baz Lurhman’s feature film, Australia. Daniel will be joining the NFSA for 3 months from March – May 2008 researching the works and influence of Brian Syron, an Indigenous pioneer in the film and theatre world.
Brian Syron, Daniel’s uncle, was a human rights advocate, teacher, actor, writer, stage director and director of the unreleased and contentious feature film, Jindalee Lady (1992). Born in 1934 in Eora country (Balmain) NSW, Brian was a child of a bi-cultural marriage. His artistic career began in 1960 at the Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli. He studied acting in New York and London and worked in theatre until 1970 when he returned to Australia. He was the first Indigenous Australian to work as a director in the Australian theatre industry whilst teaching and working in television productions. Over the years, Brian published several papers and books and was an advocate for Indigenous people in the arts. Brian died in 1993 and Daniel describes his uncle as, ‘a man ahead of his time’. Daniel will undertake the Indigenous Research Fellowship to produce a filmography and research document on the professional life of Brian Syron.
