Swinburne University of Technology: Student ‘movie moguls’ curate films for ACMI’s streaming service

Watch out Netflix, Stan and Disney+. Swinburne students are moving into the streaming market through the Movie Mogul project with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

Swinburne Screen Studies students have curated eight seasons of movies that have just launched on ACMI’s streaming service Cinema 3. These seasons cover themes as varied as True Crime, Historical Biopics, and Music Documentary and feature an eclectic range of films including The Elephant Man, La Haine and Paddington 2.

Students selected films from more than a thousand international titles, and carefully curated seasons in collaboration with ACMI for their Cinema 3 streaming platform. They also developed inventive strategies to promote their seasons including podcasts and social media campaigns.
As student Michael Hollis says, “The Movie Mogul project really put our cinematic skills to the test. Scouring the gigantic database of films available to ACMI to find a common thread for our curation was an incredibly rewarding challenge.”
Screen Studies discipline leader Associate Professor Liam Burke says the growth of streaming services has fundamentally changed how audiences watch film and TV.
“Our course is very attentive to how technological changes impact industries and audiences. A real-world assessment like Movie Mogul prepares students with the skills they need to thrive in a screen landscape increasingly dominated by streaming,” says Associate Professor Burke.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image exterior
ACMI partnership
Movie Mogul is another outcome of Swinburne’s partnership with ACMI that offers rich and diverse opportunities for collaborative public programming, research and thought leadership.

ACMI Chief Experience Officer Seb Chan says the Swinburne partnership is a great opportunity for students to experience a truly innovative collaboration.

“This partnership with ACMI offers a fantastic way for Swinburne students to get industry-experience in a real-world setting,” says Chan.

“With streaming services playing a pivotal role in the screen industry, ACMI’s Cinema 3 provides an opportunity to learn the trials and tribulations of programming niche films for a streaming platform along with all the complexities around consumer behaviour, marketing, access to titles, and B2C sales.”
Throughout the project the student teams have received X-Factor-style mentorship from Screen Studies staff. This has created good-natured competition between students and staff as groups compete to attract the widest audience.
Student Andrew Roberts notes, “Movie Mogul has been great to experience the pressure and intricacies of curating a cohesive season of movies, yet also fascinating to view unrelated films through a different lens. Working with the group, working with ACMI and working with the teachers has all been incredibly insightful.”