- Name: Jeni
- Surname: Thornley
- Location: Sydney, Australia
- About Me: I am a documentary filmmaker. My films are personal, poetic works in the essay mode that explore ideas around memory and private and public histories. I love working with images as a way of telling stories and expressing ideas. Each film takes many years to make. Several of my films explore the impact of colonisation and neo-colonialism. I like to work collaboratively and cross-culturally. I produced my film 'Island Home Country' (2008) as a DCA doctoral project (film and thesis) at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Filming in Tasmania, where I was born, and working with Aboriginal protocols and Tasmanian Aboriginal community members, I learned a lot and am still learning, particularly around cross cultural issues and Indigenous knowledges. 'Island Home Country' screened nationally on the ABC and is distributed by the Education Shop with a Study Guide by the Australian Teachers of Media (2008). My other films include 'To the Other Shore' (1998) a diary film about motherhood and psychoanalysis; the co-directed feature documentary and Penguin book 'For Love or Money: a history of women and work in Australia' (1983) and 'Maidens: four generations of an Australian family' (1978). All my films are available VOD/PPV at beamafilm:
http://beamafilm.com/catalogue.php?search=jeni+thornley
From 2002-2013, I lectured in documentary at the University of Technology, Sydney, focusing on documentary film’s history, changing forms, and ethics. I also work as a consultant script editor, researcher and film valuer for Australian film archives and the Federal Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.
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