Martha Ansara
| Martha Ansara | |
|---|---|
| Born |
9 September 1942 United States |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | Australian Film, Television and Radio School, University of Technology, Sydney |
| Occupation | Documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Employer | Ballad Films |
Martha Ansara (born 9 September 1942) is a documentary filmmaker whose films on social issues have won international prizes and been screened in Australia, the UK, Europe and North America. Ansara was one of the first women in Australia to work as a cinematographer, is a full member of the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) and was inducted into the ACS Hall of Fame in 2015. Martha is a Life Member of the Australian Directors Guild and a founding member of Ozdox, the Australian Documentary Forum. She has also worked as a film lecturer and film writer and has been active in the trade union, women's and peace movements.
Ansara was born in the United States, where her father was a leading figure in the Syrian-Lebanese community and her mother an educator specializing in dyslexia. She migrated to Australia in 1969, becoming involved in the Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative, the peace and women's liberation movements and in the vibrant political Left of that period. She started making films with other young filmmakers through the Co-operative, but was unable to break into the then male-only domain of professional cinematography. However, in 1975, following the birth of her second child, she was admitted as a student in the first three-year full-time course of the Australian Film, Radio and Television School, directed by Professor Jerzy Toeplitz and Head of Program, Storry Walton. There she studied cinematography under Bill Constable and Brian Probyn BSC, working with a group of students which included many filmmakers later to make their mark in Australia and overseas.
After graduating, Ansara gained experience as a camera assistant and starting worked as a cinematographer and maker of social documentaries. She began writing reviews and articles on film for Filmnews, the monthly newspaper of the Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative, and then for a range of publications. She organized and taught in the women's film workshops of this period, eventually lecturing in film production at tertiary institutions and conducting short courses in filmmaking throughout Australia. She also worked extensively as an assessor of projects for government film bodies and was involved in promoting the development of women's filmmaking through the Sydney Women's Film Group and the Women's Film Fund of the Australian Film Commission.
A resident of Sydney's inner west, she is the mother of three children, including Australian actor Alice Ansara.
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