Industry Insider > Panel, Speaker
Samantha Lang is a filmmaker and visual artist who has worked in Australia, France and the US over the last 20 years. Her feature films ‘The Well’, ‘The Monkey’s Mask’ and ‘L’Idole’ screened at major international festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Locarno, and have received international recognition at the highest level, The Well competing at the Cannes Film Festival for the Palme D’Or. In Australia, her films have been awarded many times including – at the Australian Film Institute Awards and the Sydney Film Festival. In 2019 – her feature documentary “It all started with a stale sandwich’ competed in the DAF awards at SFF.
Most recently she has made two VR films ‘Prehistoric VR’ and ‘Anthropocene VR’ in collaboration with Erth Visual and Physical and supported by Create NSW. These VR films form part of her creative practice doctorate (PHD). Her areas of research include the eco-feminine, the post-human, environmental histories, geopoetics, the Anthropocene, and non-traditional forms of screenwriting.
As well as being a creative practitioner, she has mentored, supervised and lectured emerging film directors in her capacity as Head of Directing at AFTRS (2010-2016), as well as at Create NSW and Screen Australia.
In 2017 Samantha was co-leader of HIVE lab at AIFF 2017 where she facilitated twelve arts practitioners to reimagine their creative projects as works for the screen.
In 2015 she was elected as President of the Australian Director’s Guild and in 2016 was on the taskforce at Screen Australia that rolled out the Gender Matters Initiative to redress gender and diversity imbalance in the sector. She is a creative production consultant for Screen Australia, Screen NSW, Screen Tasmania, has been on panels at Australian and International film festivals, including Jury Member at Edinburgh, South Korea, and filmmaker masterclasses at Stanford University.
Currently Samantha works as Head of Development /Executive Producer at I AM THAT/See-Saw Films where she oversees a slate of film and limited TV series. Samantha’s personal projects include a screen adaptations of ‘Kill The Messenger’ by indigenous playwright, Nakkiah Lui (Brilliant Stories initiative), and an eco-film called ‘Brown Lake’
Industry Insider > Panel, Speaker
Michelle Rae is the Equity Director for Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). MEAA is the union that represents Performers, crew and media workers. As the head of Equity Michelle is responsible for ensuring Performers voices are heard.
Industry Insider > Panel
Tony is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Mighty Kingdom. With over 50 million downloads, having worked with Sony Pictures, Lego, Dreamworks and Mattel, and listing on the ASX in 2021, Mighty Kingdom is a leading Australian Video Game developer. Tony was previously the General Manager of 2K Australia and worked with his team on Borderlands the Pre-Sequel, BioShock Infinite, BioShock 2, and The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, games which have grossed. Tony is a board member of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, Australia’s game industry member organisation, and a previous President of the Game Developers Association of Australia. Tony holds an MBA (Executive) from the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney (AGSM), and a BA, Television and Sound Production from Charles Sturt University.
Industry Insider > Panel, Speaker
Matthew Deaner is the Chief Executive Officer of Screen Producers Australia, a national organisation that unites the screen industry to campaign for a healthy commercial environment. Screen Producer’s Australia supports the interests of businesses, large and small, in their production of feature films, television programs, interactive content and games across all genres and formats.
Matthew oversees all aspects of Screen Producers Australia’s advocacy work, industrial negotiations, events and operational issues. He also works closely with our Council to set the strategic direction of the organisation as well as identify and execute new business development opportunities. Matthew brings a wealth of knowledge to Screen Producers Australia with his experience as a lawyer in both Sydney and London and in senior policy and strategy positions with Screen Australia and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association.
In July 2015 Matthew was appointed to the board of Media Super as an employer-representative director, nominated by Screen Producers Australia.
