Happy Wednesday everybody!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for joining in the journey so far.

Sometimes, you just get lucky in life.

By lucky, I don't mean winning lotto or getting stuck with George Clooney on his yacht although that may not be so bad.

I mean lucky as in the people with whom your life paths have crossed. 

Joy does not begin to express how I feel about introducing to you today's guest who embodies passion, risk-taking and resilience.

Sheila Jayadev is an award-winning film producer,  Entertainment and Media Lawyer and all-round creative powerhouse. 

She is the daughter of Indian immigrants, having grown up in the western suburbs of Sydney.

In this heart-felt and raw tell-all, Sheila reveals the reality check that her childhood and upbringing instilled in her and how it informed her passion for social justice and commitment to telling diverse stories, ranging from multiculturalism, immigration, racism, and family ancestry.

She unpacks the glamour of the film industry, and reveals it for what it is: an industry where tenacity, rigour and dedication count so much more than the red carpet moment, although she acknowledged the importance of celebrating the wins through attending premieres.She shares the importance of family support in encouraging her to pursue her film making dreams, and the hard yakka it takes to work on a feature in the middle of the Australian desert with none other than Cate Blanchett, Yvonne Strahovski and Asher Keddie.

After law school, she worked as an Entertainment Lawyer in Sydney whilst making short films, She then won a major award which enabled her to work in development at Scott Free, Ridley Scott’s London-based production company.

She has also been a Development Executive for Screen NSW and Screen Australia. Sheila has written and directed various short form productions which have screened at film festivals internationally. She produced Australia’s first Muslim rom-com Ali’s wedding in 2016. 

Her most recent production Stateless, which features none other than Cate Blanchett, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2020.

Show breakdown :

• min 1:15 - background to stateless with and the Berlinale premiere . It takes a village to raise a child 
• min 15- 21 childhood aspirations coming from a migrant indian family in the western suburbs of Sydney, winning first film competition  
• min 22 - 27: career rebranding in her 30s from lawyer to producer with Ridley Scott’s production company learning the craft of producing, script development, reading books and proposals for script 
• min 28: 00 - 3 2 myths of producing in the film industry, different types of producers, the secret truth to what a producer is and does ! working hand in hand with director not just finance raising - wholistic carriage of a project as a producer from inception- marketing/publicity which is different to a director 
• 33:20 - 36:00 3 people who inspired her 
• 36:00 - 39:00 diversity is not just niche in the industry everyone needs to get behind it…new project from underrepresented emerging script writers/actors novel format, 8 characters/chapters/stories. black lives matter and what will happen when diversity becomes so mainstream 
• 39:00 - 41:00 covid morale on the film industry /how to shoot with cameras, actors when a scene calls for a physical embrace 
• 41:50 advice to her 25 year old self 
• 43:10 dealing with failure

EPISODE LINKS

• STATELESS IN THE US
• STATELESS IN AUSTRALIA
• SHEILA'S PRODUCTION COMPANY EMERALD PRODUCTIONS
• ALI'S WEDDING (2016)

Thanks as always for your passion and feedback.

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I'm not selling a thermomix, pea-based protein powders, healing crystals or any of that stuff.

I am all about sharing stories and experiences from amazing people.

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• If you have any feedback or suggestions please write in to inspiration@thesparkpodcast.show !
• If you also have any ideas for people you would love to hear, do let me know 
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