Designed to enable brands, advertising agencies and casting directors to find talent with disability.
The Shift 20 Initiative has unveiled its new TikTok channel, Shift 20 Casting Call, via Special.
Designed to enable brands, advertising agencies and casting directors to find talent with disability, the channel - launched in partnership with founding partner TikTok - further helps the Shift 20 Initiative’s efforts to increase disability representation on screen.
Uniting the expertise of the Dylan Alcott Foundation, TikTok and inclusive acting and modelling agency Zebedee, Shift 20 Casting Call will provide a casting channel for Australians with disability interested in a career path in the talent space.
Providing not only a space for talent discovery, the channel will also offer resources for any person with disability considering getting in front of the camera.
The channel will feature educational content from talent with disability represented by Zebedee, including guides on how to self-tape an audition, what to expect on a production set and how to fill out an access rider.
Dylan Alcott said this past year has been monumental with getting some of Australia’s biggest brands onboard and seeing them take representation seriously.
"To continue this journey, and facilitate inclusion for people with disability we have to create safe spaces and employment pathways for people with disability who might fancy giving acting a crack," he said.
"As a community we’ve spent so long thinking it's not a place for us or something we can consider as a career or even a hobby, but I’m here to tell you that this absolutely is - and we want to see, empower and open up opportunities for all of you who might want to give it a go.”
In 2023 the Dylan Alcott Foundation launched the Shift 20 Initiative, aimed to bring the poor rates of disability representation on-screen (1%) much closer to the 20% of Australians living with a disability.
The campaign has seen success with a rise of over 10% overall recall of disability representation in advertising post launch.
Shift 20 Initiative partners, including Uber, ANZ, nib and Anytime Fitness, have committed to utilising the channel for future casting, creating new avenues for representation and tangible opportunities for people with disability in the industry.
Credits
Client
Client: Dylan Alcott Foundation
Founder: Dylan Alcott AO
General Manager: Georgie Saggers
Shift 20 Initiative Lead: Priya Addams Williams
Social Media Manager: Eliza Pickles
Shift 20 partners
Anytime Fitness
ANZ
McDonald’s
Nib
Uber
TikTok
Tourism Australia
Creative and PR agency
Agency: Special
Partner/CEO: Lindsey Evans
Partners/CCO: Julian Schreiber & Tom Martin
Partner/CSO: Bec Stambanis
Executive Creative Director: Ryan Fitzgerald
Creative Director/Creative: Adam Ferrie
Creative Director/Creative: Peter Cvetkovski
Managing Director: Tori Lopez
Managing Director, Special PR: Alex Bryant
Team Lead: Felicity Touzeau
Creative Strategist: Kate Wilkinson
PR Account Director: Sarah Halpin
Publicist: Allex Conley
Social & Content Lead: Morgan Barta
Head of Film & Content Production (Melb): Sophie Simmons
Head of Stills Production: Nick Lilley
Head Of Design: Adam Shear
Creative Services Manager: Leigh Cuda
TikTok
General Manager, TikTok Australia and New Zealand Global Business Solutions: Brett Armstrong
Creative Agency Partner: Nick O’Donnell
Production
Stills production
Photographer: Sean Izzard, The POOL Collective
Retouching: Nick Mueller
Film production
lowkii
Talent
Zebedee Talent
Director - Laura Winson
AUS and USA Division Lead - Victoria Wilson
Talent - Deb Roach
Talent - Juttima Chinasri
Talent - Emi Elmitt
Consultants
Get Skilled Access
Co-CEOs - Zack Alcott & Nicole Vongdara
Access Consultant - Bridie McKim
Media agency
PHD Australia
Managing Director: Simon Lawson
Digital Director: Carrie Nguyen
Activation Manager: Riana Adams
Activation Director: Christy Permata
Research & Insights
TRA
