REBECCA ELLIOTT

REBECCA ELLIOTT

Rebecca is an Adelaide based producer with 10 years experience in production, across film, series and TVCs. She is an Associate Producer at KOJO Studios and their JV company with LA-based Stampede Ventures, The Alliance, working in Development and Production across both their slates. She is currently line producing KOJO’s SBS Viceland project A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO GRIEF.

In 2019 she was selected to participate in Screen Producers Australia’s One To Watch initiative, mentored by GoodThing Production’s Head of Factual Charlotte Wheaton, and received the Emerging Producer Award at the South Australian Screen Awards.

In 2017, her two documentary proposals were selected for production by ABC Arts’ Art Bites initiative. UNBOXED, a portrait series profiling Australian gender diverse artists produced with Epic Films’ Kirsty Stark, and LESSONS FROM A MIDDLE CLASS ARTIST, about a struggling musician travelling to America to learn from a novelty song performer, were released on ABC iview in April 2018.

For six years Rebecca presented and produced a 90 minute weekly live radio programme called Behind the Screens focusing on the Australian screens industry on community station Radio Adelaide.
SEBASTIAN ANGBORN

SEBASTIAN ANGBORN

Sebastian Angborn started his career as a screenwriter and actor, having appeared in titles such as The Elephant Princess, Sea Patrol, and 500 Miles. A film graduate of Bond University, Sebastian also studied at the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York City, and undertook an intensive screenwriting mentorship with the Associate Chair of Film at Savanah College of Art and Design, Mr Shawn Kasinger, focusing on Gnostic Philosophy in Western Cinema.

Previously he has also been employed as the Senior Academic Manager at the New York Film Academy Australia, and has taught screen structure and acting at the National Theatre Academy of Romania, at the Television Workshop in Nottingham and at the Sydney Theatre School.

KHOA DO

KHOA DO

Khoa has worked in the Australian film and television industry since 2000, when he wrote the multi-award winning half-hour drama DELIVERY DAY for SBS, and for which Khoa received his first AFI Award nomination. His feature directing debut was THE FINISHED PEOPLE in 2003, for which Khoa received multiple AFI Award nominations.In 2013, Khoa wrote and directed the mini-series BETTER MAN for SBS, a four-part mini-series which earned him Best Director in a Mini Series at the Australian Director’s Guild Awards. The series won a slew of awards including a Silver Logie. In 2014, Khoa directed SCHAPELLE for Nine Network.

For the past six years Khoa has been a board director with a seat on the board of the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australian government’s arts funding and advisory body.

GAIL KOVATSEFF

GAIL KOVATSEFF

Gail manages Adelaide Film Festival’s programming department, responsible for film submissions, selection and Awards alongside industry development, audience expansion and AFF Youth. A prominent figure in the SA Screen Industry, Gail led the Media Resource Centre and Mercury Cinema for 12 years as CEO, transforming its professional program including introducing the Screen Makers Conference and establishing the cinema as a vital part of the city’s cultural life via launching programs such as Seniors on Screen.  Gail graduated university with an on-going love of American Literature and European History. 

ALEJANDRA CANALES

ALEJANDRA CANALES

Dr. Alejandra Canales is an award-winning documentary filmmaker with an extensive career in directing, producing, curating and programming, and teaching and curriculum development. She holds an MA Hons from AFTRS (2005) and a Doctor of Creative Arts from the renowned Institute of Culture and Society at Western Sydney University (2011).

Alejandra is an experienced educator across documentary and screen media, both practice and theory. She is currently Senior Lecturer in Documentary at AFTRS. Previous teaching roles include NYU Sydney, Western Sydney University, Sydney Film School, and The National Institute of Dramatic Arts, NIDA.

Alejandra has been an artist in residence at numerous prestigious international programmes such as 5 Sur 5 in La Louviere, Belgium (2006) and IDFAcademy in The Netherlands (2008). She has also been awarded multiple art scholarships and prestigious grants including the Ian Potter Cultural Trust (2009). As a grounded community educator, Alejandra is grateful and honoured to have had the opportunity to designed and lead short training courses with aboriginal communities in Australia, vulnerable communities in Chile, and refugee youth in Western Sydney. More recently, she has been part of several mentoring programs such as Leading Lights for the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC), MentorHer for Women in Film and Television (WIFT) and Curious Women for Curious Works.

Her documentary film work as both director and producer has been broadcast at the ABC and screened at several festivals worldwide including IDFA (The Netherlands), Sheffield DocFest (UK), CPHDOX (Denmark), Cinema del Donne (Italy), Vision du Reel (Switzerland). The International Documentary Association in Los Angeles; Melbourne Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival. In 2006 she won the Dendy Award at Sydney Film Festival and the ATOM award. She received a special mention from the Film Critics Circle of Australia 2007 and was nominated for an IF Independent Spirit Award 2007.

Alejandra was co-founder and co-Director of the inaugural version of Antenna Documentary Film Festival (Sydney, 2010) and was part of the programming team for several years.

She is currently working across virtual reality, immersive storytelling and mixed realities and recently presented her work at Sheffield Doc/Fest in the UK and NewImage Festival in Paris.

JOSH MCCARTY

JOSH MCCARTY

Josh McCarthy is the Program Director: Film and Television at the University of South Australia, and oversees the Bachelor of Film and Television, Graduate Certificate in Compositing and Tracking, the Graduate Certificate in Dynamic Effects and Lighting, and the Graduate Certificate in Film and Television. Josh teaches across a diverse array of disciplines, including film, photography, digital media and visual effects.

NICOLE MILLER

NICOLE MILLER

Nicole is a skilled storyteller with credits in both narrative and documentary projects. She has produced and directed The AFL Show, a 25-episode series introducing AFL to a Chinese audience, and Power Dreaming, which explores the power of football in Indigenous communities. She was a producer on series two of Chef Exchange, which screened across QTV in China, Discovery SouthEast Asia and SBS Food. Nicole recently directed a short documentary Deafinition, in partnership with the SA Film Corporation and SBS, which aired on SBS’s Short Film Festival in early September 2019. Her debut feature documentary This Is Port Adelaide was in cinemas across Australia from April 2021.

DOROTHY STARUCHOWICZ

DOROTHY STARUCHOWICZ

Dorothy Staruchowicz is the South Australian Business Development for Media Super: the $7b industry super fund for print, media, entertainment and arts professionals, looking after the retirement savings for members of our creative communities.

With extensive experience working in superannuation and financial services, Dorothy has represented Media Super in South Australia for 20 years helping members engage in and understand their super better, ultimately providing them with more choices surrounding retirement.

JUSTIN DONOGUE

JUSTIN DONOGUE

Justin Donoghue has over twenty years’ experience working in film and television development, production and distribution. In London he worked on projects for Hallmark Entertainment, Channel Four Films, Channel Five, Downtown Pictures and Kudos Film and Television.  He has worked on the development and production of a diverse slate of feature films in the UK, Europe and South Africa. In 2011 he returned to Australia and joined Screen NSW as a Development and Production Executive and also ran the Aurora script development program. Justin joined Screen Australia as a Development Executive in late 2014 and has worked across drama development and initiatives for features, series, shorts and on-line.

LISA SCOTT

LISA SCOTT

One of Australia’s leading producers of television drama, with a list of highly acclaimed productions to her name, her current series, The Tourist, is currently in post-production with the Emmy and Golden Globe winning UK producers, Two Brothers Pictures, and is the second outing for her newly launched South Australian company Highview Productions. Highview’s first production was A Sunburnt Christmas, in association with Every Cloud Productions, which premiered on Stan in December 2020.

Other recent productions include The Hunting for Closer Productions, SBS’s most successful Australian drama to date, nominated for Best TV Mini Series or Telefeature in the 2019 AACTA Awards and Best Drama Series Production in the 2019 Screen Producers Australia Awards, Pine Gap, a six-part geopolitical thriller for Netflix/ABC, nominated for the 2019 TV Week Logie Award for Outstanding Mini Series, and the second series of the Wolf Creek for Stan.

The lead producer of the internationally celebrated miniseries ANZAC Girls – recipient of the 2014 Australian Writers Guild Award for Best Mini Series (Adapted) and was nominated for both Best Series in the 2014 Screen Producers Australia Awards and the 2015 TV Week Logie Award for Outstanding Mini Series. Internationally, ANZAC Girls was also nominated for Best Mini Series in the 2015 Golden Nymph Awards held in Monte Carlo.

Producer of three seasons of the acclaimed Janet King with Karl Zwicky, the first season was nominated in the Best Television Drama Series category in the 2015 AACTA Awards and was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in the 2015 TV Week Logie Awards. The third season was the number one show on the ABC iView platform on its debut. Lisa was again nominated in the Best Television Drama Series category in the 2017 AACTA Awards as well as being nominated for the Best Drama Series Production in the 2017 Screen Producers Australia Awards.

Her other credits include Crownies, A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne, The Cut, Always Greener, Water Rats, Bordertown and Police Rescue. During her stellar career to date, Lisa was a Project Manager for the Film Finance Corporation, and was also the Head of Literary at RGM, representing Australia’s leading Writers, Directors and Cinematographers.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Episodic

I am looking for bold female-driven stories that could play as a limited run or reoccurring series set in Australia but able to find an international audience. I am more interested in drama that can play on ABC, SBS or an SVOD services.

Not looking for procedural drama such as medical or police series.

MICHAEL MCMAHON

MICHAEL MCMAHON

Michael McMahon is a screen content producer. He was a founder and first Executive Chairman of Matchbox Pictures Pty Ltd. He is Professor, Film and Television at Swinburne University of Technology and teaches at the University of South Australia.

Michael’s documentary production and executive producing credits include Sadness, Wildness, the Anatomy Series, Next Stop Hollywood and The Coming Back Out Again Ball. His television drama credits include Call Me Mum, Saved, The Slap and series 1 of Nowhere Boys. Feature film credits are The Home Song Stories, Lou, Cut Snake and Ali’s Wedding.

He is an executive producer on the Netflix Original series Clickbait. His company Big and Little Films has several projects in development.

Michael received the Screen Producers Australia Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

STEPHEN OLIVER

STEPHEN OLIVER


Previously an award-winning filmmaker, Stephen is now Manager of Documentaries at the ABC and oversees many of the national broadcaster’s biggest hits, including Love on the Spectrum, Fight for Planet A, Big Weather, Australia’s Ocean Odyssey, Revelation, Exposed: The Case of Keli Lane, War on Waste and Employable Me. Stephen is passionate about telling stories with real world impact. In 2020, Stephen headed up several ground-breaking shows and game-changing impact campaigns around climate and the environment. Outside of work, he likes tennis, mountain-biking, and dogs. Oh and his kids, he definitely likes them too.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Episodic, Documentary

We are looking for Bold documentaries (30 or 60 mins) or factual series of 30min or 60min episodes, hosted or unhosted, featuring diverse stories form a range of perspectives.

Short form is hard for us to program currently

KINGSTON ANDERSON

KINGSTON ANDERSON

Kingston was most recently the CEO of the Australian Directors Guild and Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collection Society. THE ADG represents over 600 Australia directors including BAZ LUHRMANN, GILLIAN ARMSTRONG, PETER WEIR and PHILLIP NOYCE to name a few. He comes from a theatre and film background working as a theatre director, film and television producer as well as a consultant for screen organisations across Australia. He was the Film commissioner for the state of New South Wales in Australia and has served on a number of boards including the ASSOCIATION OF FILM COMMISSIONS INTERNATIONAL (AFCI). He currently sits on the board of the AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY CONFERENCE (AIDC) and the AUSTRALIAN COPYRIGHT COUNCIL (ACC). He has been a judge for the documentary category of the Australian Walkeley Awards, the Australian Subscription Television & Radio Association Awards and on the jury for the Oceania Film Festival . He has produced a number of documentary programs for Australian television including the series “TAXI SCHOOL” for SBS Television Australia and ‘A FRONTIER CONVERSATION’ and ‘KULKA’ for National Indigenous Television (NITV). He was also one of the producers on the SBS drama “AFTERSHOCKS” about the devastating Newcastle earthquake that was based on a verbatim account of events. This film won the Best Actor Award at the Australian Film Institute Awards for its lead Jeremy Sims. He is currently producing for his company WONDERLAND PRODUCTIONS and has a slate of documentary, drama and comedy projects in various stages of development and production.

RICHARD WELCH

RICHARD WELCH

Richard Welch is an experienced documentary curator, lecturer and filmmaker, with over 15 years’ experience in the screen media industry.

As Festival Co-Director and a founding member of the Antenna Documentary Film Festival, Richard presided over establishing Antenna as one of Australia’s premier film festivals dedicated to documentary cinema since its inaugural year in 2011. The festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2022.

Throughout his tenure as Festival Co-Director, Richard drove innovative industry programs, including the Antenna DocTalk and Horizons, forging connections with some of the world’s leading festivals, broadcasters and OnDemand platforms including Sundance, Berlinale, Hot Docs and BBC Storyville. Locally, he has extensive and long-standing relationships with broadcasters, funders, distributors, and documentary filmmakers.

With over ten years teaching experience, across media and documentary, Richard has designed and delivered outstanding short, medium and full-time courses for an array of institutions both in Australia and the UK. Prior to becoming Head of Documentary, he successfully ran the Graduate Certificate in Documentary at AFTRS for three years. Richard has also consulted and mentored on numerous documentaries for television and festivals.

Richard has a Bachelors degree in Film; a Masters by Practice in Documentary; and a Masters by Research. He is currently undertaking a Higher Research degree candidacy at Macquarie University, in the Doctor of Philosophy program, exploring the interconnectivity between national identity and sport, which will include a feature archival-essay documentary as part of his thesis.

An experienced documentary director and producer, Richard’s recent credits include The National Game and Tea for Two. Before moving to Australia, Richard worked on numerous documentaries and produced over 50 films for the Visionaries initiative, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Richard currently has several projects in development including a series and long-form feature documentary.

KRISTA JORDAN

KRISTA JORDAN

Krista Jordan has over twenty years professional industry experience in creative and commercial filmmaking. Her professional film credits include The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, Rabbit- Proof Fence, Moulin Rouge and the Academy Award-winning Happy Feet.

In recent years, Krista’s focus has shifted to learning, leadership and strategic development. As Learning and Development Manager at Animal Logic, Krista was a pivotal member of the leadership team and drove program and curriculum development, mentorship, industry, education and government engagement. Krista worked with the curriculum development team to establish the UTS Animal Logic Academy Master of Animation and Visualisation degree.

Krista is an experienced and highly gifted presenter and learning facilitator and has lectured, facilitated and run masterclasses for both external professionals, students and internal employees. She has an extensive professional network in the local and international industry and across educational providers, government and corporate bodies.

PAUL RYAN

PAUL RYAN

Paul Ryan is an Adelaide based Producer and Director whose experience spans the last three decades, working across a range of projects from documentaries, film and corporate projects. Early in his career, Paul produced some of Australia’s most successful children’s programs for Channel Nine.
Independently, he has been an extremely active Producer, often drawn to projects with a strong social conscience or health focus. In the early nineties, Paul managed Foundation Studios, producing over 20 titles on Women and Children’s health issues. He spent three years working for The South Australian Film Corporation as Manager of Government Film, before moving back to an Independent Producer/Director role working for various advertising agencies and local Adelaide Production Companies.
As Owner/Director of 57 Films, Paul works closely with his team to ensure effective storytelling content that connects and engages with audiences. Paul has tertiary qualification in media and education which has underpinned his communication career
Paul established 57 Films to produce high-quality, story-driven content for television and factual series for national and international audiences, including Chef Exchange, a food and wine show broadcast across China and Australia. Paul managed the Australian component of the production of Speed, a 40-part Chinese TV series. Paul facilitates international productions seeking to film in Adelaide. His recent successes include CHS Media’s If Time Flows Back, and Barefoot Through Australia for Berlin-based Schiwago Film. And Produced the theatrical released feature “This Is Port Adelaide” in 2020

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Documentary

● Episodic series
● 20th century history with international appeal
● Popular science and natural history (Human Animal, World’s Most Toxic, Baby Animals
● Factual and factual entertainment with international appeal
● Feature Docs

Yes not looking for Animation

NATHAN ANDERSON

NATHAN ANDERSON

Nathan Anderson’s dual expertise in film production and creative technology allow him a forward-looking approach to the evolving new media landscape. He brings a futurist mentality to the VR industry, embracing immersive technology as a tool for emotionally resonant narrative storytelling. After beginning his career in the film industry, Nathan followed the dotcom explosion in the late 90s, making a transition into digital.

He leveraged this tech startup background to dive into multiplatform digital development and transmedia content creation. Nathan has produced digital media content for all platforms, working with such top international brands and companies, such as Foxtel, Disney, Viacom, ABC, BBC and NBCUniversal.

Active in the VR industry since 2015, Nathan has Produced and EP’d over 50 XR projects including critically acclaimed and awarded projects such as Wentworth VR, Awake: Episode One and VR Noir.

Nathan is a member of the Producers Guild of America and is also a participant and advisor to Screen Producers Australia. He is a regular speaker at industry conferences and has graduated with a Masters by Research exploring interactive narrative from the Australian Film TV and Radio School (AFTRS)

AARON SMITH

AARON SMITH

Aaron Smith is a freelance cinematographer, director and producer working across documentary, drama, comedy and commercial productions. Aaron co-created, produced, directed and shot the ABC’s ground-breaking series You Can’t Ask That, winner of the prestigious Rose d’Or, AACTA Award, Walkley Media Diversity Award and three United Nations Association of Australia Media Awards. The format, now in production in over a dozen countries worldwide, is the ABC’s most successful format ever with 47 international sales to date.

Aaron shot Sarah Ferguson’s AACTA and Walkley award-winning documentary series Hitting Home, the Walkley and AACTA nominated investigative documentary The Queen and Zak Grieve, the ABC’s AACTA-winning Employable Me and the primetime arts documentaries Matilda & Me and Making Muriel. In 2019/20 Aaron shot Sarah Ferguson’s groundbreaking documentary series Revelation for ABC and Blackfella Film’s long-form observational documentary series Addicted for SBS.

Aaron was the director of photography on the narrative comedies PlonkHow Not To Behave and ABC’s Fresh Blood: Be Your Own Boss. He directed the provocative documentary series Dumb, Drunk and Racist and Head Firstfor ABC2 and entertainment series The CheckoutThe Hamster WheelMyf Warhurts’s Nice and Hungry Beast for the ABC. 

His work has been recognised with a Walkley Award, Australian Cinematographer Society Awards, United Nations Association of Australia Media Awards and numerous Logie and AACTA nominations. He was a finalist in the National Portrait Gallery’s National Photographic Portrait Prize and has had portrait work circulated on an official Australia Post stamp series.  

ESTHER COLEMAN-HAWKINS

ESTHER COLEMAN-HAWKINS

My goal is to help people get the very best out of their creative career, thrive in the freelance life and tell the very best stories they can – about themselves and the world around them.

I love stories. As a TV producer I’ve had the privilege to tell stories all across the globe. I’ve seen TV shows change the way people think, worked with world leaders in their field and witnessed the power of personal transformation.

But I’ve also seen people in the creative field flounder, struggle with where they’re going or burn out. At the same time practical, industry focused support for those wanting to come into the field was limited.

I wanted to do something about it.

In 2020 I started post-grad study in Career Counselling and co-founded Media Mentors.
I’m using my decades of professional production experience, and my new learning, to build a business that will supports creatives to make content they love and thrive professionally and emotionally in their chosen career. It’s sometimes tougher than a tricky edit but it’s always satisfying to see someone’s self-worth reflect their actual value.
MICHAEL DRAKE

MICHAEL DRAKE

Michael Drake is a development executive for ABC children’s content where he manages the ABC Me slate for primary school aged children. Michael looks after a vast slate of projects including live action drama and comedy, animation and factual. He also works across the development slate for internally produced series. Specialising in scripted narrative, Michael has worked on Hardball S2, Itch S2 and MaveriX in the live action space, and Strange Chores, 100% Wolf and Space Nova in the animated space, the latter of which he also executive produced. An experienced writer and editor, Michael also developed and script produced The Wonder Gang, ABC Kids’ new flagship pre-school series. He also co-created, produced and script produced Mackaroy Uncovered Australia’s first scripted podcast for children which received an AWGIE nomination for best writing in audio.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Children & Animation

We are looking for child led series that are reflective of modern Australia that speak to the lived experience of our audience and told through a child’s POV. We are looking for stories with stakes that are relatable to that same audience. We want authentic stories that embrace diversity and inclusion. We want strong stories, with robust characters that can generate and sustain a series that asks big questions, make us think and feel but most of all is incredibly entertaining.

We are looking for live action, half hour comedy and drama, and we are looking for animated series that are half hour and quarter hour. We are also looking for high concept factual shows which embrace exciting new formats and storytelling devices.

We are not looking for feature films or shows that have completed production. We are not looking for branded content or lifestyle series. We are not looking for games.

TODD ABBOTT

TODD ABBOTT

Todd leads the commissioning and creative execution of the public broadcaster’s narrative and scripted comedy programs across multiple platforms. He has produced landmark television programs including the globally-lauded ABC series Please Like Me with Josh Thomas and the iconic Olympic comedy series The Dream with Roy & H.G. Other career highlights include reimagining Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals for Seven, rebooting Rove for Ten in 2007, and producing Judith Lucy’s Spiritual Journey for the ABC and the short-lived but fondly remembered Micallef Tonight for Nine. He has produced comedy, entertainment, sport, current affairs and documentary content for the ABC, Seven, Nine, Ten, Foxtel, Stan, Amazon Prime and Pivot, and prior to joining the ABC he was Creative Director at Guesswork Television.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Episodic

Our number one aim is to find laugh-out-loud, half-hour comedy series of 6 – 8 episodes to appeal to the established audience of FTA viewers on Wednesday nights and to build the rapidly-growing streaming audience on iview.

Not looking for short form or web series, and not looking for “the Australian version of…” whatever is hot internationally right now. Be original, or have an original spin on a well-known genre.

SUSANNAH EMERY

SUSANNAH EMERY

Susannah is a Lecturer of Game Design and Digital Media at the University of South Australia. She is currently completing her PhD in game design and her research interests focus on video games and digital media for education and social change. Susannah is involved with several projects in this area, including ‘Hannah’ – an interactive narrative game that helps family and friends provide support to those experiencing Domestic Violence.

Susannah is committed to promoting diversity in the games industry and is an International Women in Games Ambassador. As an Ambassador she helps to support and encourage women and girls in understanding the games industry and the opportunities there are within it.

STEPHEN MURPHY

STEPHEN MURPHY

During his childhood Stephen Murphy developed a fascination with film, television and sound that has been with him ever since. On leaving high school he made this his life work, commencing with study at the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Entering the industry he first worked on commercials, corporates and short films, and within a few years moved on to telemovies, mini-series and feature films. He has worked on location and in post-production, and has also spent many years teaching and training others. For 16 years Stephen worked for Dolby Laboratories as a sound consultant, and he has taught at TAFE NSW, was Head of Teaching and Post-Production at International Film School Sydney, and Head of Film and Animation at International Screen Academy.

Stephen is currently the President of the Australian Screen Sound Guild, and Head of Sound at the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

STEPHEN DE VILLIERS

STEPHEN DE VILLIERS

Stephen is a producer/director who has made more than 20 narrative films. Throughout his career, he is privileged to have worked with some of South Africa and Australia’s top actors, including Ian Roberts (Tstosi), Sean Cameron Michael (24, Black Sails) and Socrates Otto (Wentworth).

An alumnus of the directing program at AFTRS, his most successful narrative film to date, ‘Super Sounds’, screened at over 50 festivals, winning awards and nominations at many, including San Francisco International FF, Giffoni, Flickerfest, and was selected by Virgin for their in-flight entertainment. His broadcast credits span documentary and drama and he is currently in active development on his first feature, with equity finance secured from the private sector.

In a commercial capacity, Stephen has been directing for all screens full time for 12 years, with his work taking him to over 20 countries on five continents.

He recently directed a half-hour broadcast documentary about the life and legacy of Australian war hero and sporting legend, Bob Quinn and has recently completed his latest short, Butterfly, which he co-directed wth his wife, Chloe Gardner and which is scheduled to premiere at the world’s largest Children’s film Festival, Giffoni.

SAMANTHA LAIDLAW

SAMANTHA LAIDLAW

Samantha is the Founder and CEO of Femflix, an SVOD subscription service dedicated to bringing audiences the very best curated content created by women from Australia, New Zealand and around the world. The service is focused on ensuring fair, transparent & accelerated revenue streams for rights holders while aligning with UN Women’s goal to achieve economic empowerment by closing the gender pay gap. Samantha was recently nominated as a Top 3 Finalist for the Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards 2021 as an Emerging Entrepreneur.

Prior to launching Femflix in 2020, Samantha worked with Screen Queensland as a Content Director and in 2019 was appointed (Acting) Executive Vice President – Content, responsible for overseeing the management and operations across all funding programs which apply to film, TV, multi-platform and games projects. Samantha has previously worked as a Producer, Creative Executive, and in physical production in the Australian and North American film and television industry.

She produced a feature documentary “Built to Fail” documenting the history of streetwear in America which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. She has produced multiple short films including “The Boggabilla Bus” winning festival awards and securing international distribution through Flickerfest, most recently being screened throughout ASEON (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) within a program initiated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She’s previously volunteered as proxy to the Chair of WIFT Australia and was also a member of the steering committee of WIFT Queensland advocating equality for all women in the Screen Industry.

SAM MATTHEWS

SAM MATTHEWS

Sam Matthews is a director who established her career in the film industry in post-production. She is co-owner of creative production agency Beyond Content and works across a variety of projects as a director, editor, colourist and animator.

Projects aiming to increase the diversity of characters on our screens often consult with Sam. These are opportunities for her to raise greater public awareness of queer and transgender identities. In 2017, Sam directed ‘Unboxed’, an award-winning 6-part documentary series about trans artists for the ABC’s Art Bites initiative.

Her recent post credits include My Name is Gulpilil (2021, colourist, dir. Molly Reynolds), The Rover of Tobruk (2021, editor/animator, dir. Stephen de Villiers) Aquaphobe (2020, editor/colourist, dir. Melanie Easton), Yer Old Faither (2020, colourist, dir. Heather Croall), Damage (2020, colourist, dir. Madeleine Blackwell), Getting Their Acts Together (2020, colourist/animator, dir. Richard Jasek) and Lucy & DiC (2019, colourist, dir. Jeremy Kelly-Bakker).

SALLY HARDY

SALLY HARDY

An AWGIE winning playwright, Sally is also a screenwriter, children’s author and producer, and is a member of the National Executive Council for the Australian Writers Guild. Originally trained as a screenwriter at RMIT, Sally has worked as script consultant and concept developer for SLA Films and KOJO and produced a documentary with Red Wall Films in 2019. In theatre she has worked with such companies as Brink Productions, Slingsby, Patch Theatre, State Theatre Company, ActNow, Ink Pot Arts and the True North Youth Theatre Ensemble. Her plays have been published by Australian Plays Transform (APT) and Trinity College London, and have featured in the DreamBIG Children’s Festival (2019 & 2017), World Festival of Children’s Theatre (Canada, 2016), Come Out Children’s Festival (2015), Adelaide and Melbourne Fringe Festivals, as well as featuring on the VCE Playlist (2006). As a Dramaturge she has worked on shows in the Adelaide Festival (2018) and Adelaide Cabaret Festival (2018). In 2016 she won an AWGIE (Youth & Community Theatre) for A Kid Like Me, and in 2014 she won the Trinity College London International Playwriting Award for her play Gone Viral. She has received multiple grants, including from Arts South Australia, the Australia Council for the Arts, the Adelaide Festival Trust, the City of Adelaide Cultural Fund and Mt Barker District Council. Recently Sally was the 2020 Artist in Residence for Slingsby Theatre Company, where she wrote her play Night Light with funding from Arts South Australia. Also in 2020, Sally was a core writer for the State Theatre Company / ActNow digital co-production Decameron 2.0, writing for all 10 episodes. Her work as a teaching artist has seen Sally work with students from preschool age through to elderly citizens and has taken her to Primary Schools, Kindergartens, High Schools, Universities, youth theatre companies and community arts organisations, throughout Adelaide and regional South Australia.

RUTH ESTELLE

RUTH ESTELLE

Ruth has been a professional writer in the screen industry for over ten years. She’s worked across a wide range of genres and formats including feature film, television, multi-media projects, podcast and animation. Ruth’s work has been funded by state and national agencies, and she has been commissioned for international projects. Almost all of her original projects have been optioned and had funded development. For the past seven years, Ruth has been writing with Pete Monaghan, in the ‘Word Ninjas’ partnership. They currently have two major feature films in late development and three television series gaining traction in the marketplace. Ruth is keen to share what she has learned about pitching along the way. She reckons if an introvert like her can do it, you can, too!

PIETER AQUILIA

PIETER AQUILIA

Dr. Pieter Aquilia is a scriptwriter, script editor and director, who has combined her creative practice with a career in academia. Formerly an Associate Dean and Associate Arts Professor for NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia, she was also Associate Professor and Head of Program at UNSW Asia and University of Newcastle. Pieter completed her Doctor of Creative Arts in Scriptwriting at University of Technology Sydney in 2000. Her research publications cover International Television Drama, the Globalization of Screen Education, Ethnic and Gender Representation on Screen, and the Media in Asia. Dr. Aquilla graduated from the BA Program at the Australian Film Television and Radio School in 1988.

PETE MONAGHAN

PETE MONAGHAN

Pete is a South Australian-based writer and comedian. A multi-talented ex-anthropologist, he wrote music for and performed in Rolf de Heer’s iconic film ‘Bad Boy Bubby’.

Pete is a content creator and scriptwriter for original features, TV concepts, animation, and podcasts. His writing skills also include FM Breakfast Radio, TVC copywriting, solo comedy shows, and more improv songs than you can poke a stick at.

He has exceptional problem-solving abilities, story nous, and high creative output. Pete seamlessly turns his hand to any format or genre/genre-mix and has a direct line to ‘left field’ which gives his ideas an impish, zany edge.

Pete and Ruth Estelle established Word Ninjas in 2013 and many of their projects are highlighted on their website www.wordninjas.com.au. They have animation and podcast content pushing forward as well as commissioned work with local and interstate producers.

PETER HERBERT

PETER HERBERT

A writer, producer and executive producer for a many national and international companies, among them Crawford Productions, PBL Productions, Taffner Ramsay, Beyond International and Granada, Peter began his career writing and producing for television classics such as Cop Shop, The Sullivans, The Flying Doctors, The Comedy Company and Acropolis Now. He produced the inaugural Comedy Festival Charity Gala in 1992 and created The World Comedy Tour in 2000. He also produced The 34th Annual TV Week Logies, and he has created or co-created a number of series, among them Skirts, The Comedy Sale! The Agency, Parties, FAQ, and The Big Wig for Sky1 in the UK. Working with Caroline Aherne of The Royle Family, he co-created, co-wrote and produced the BBC2 comedy series, Dossa and Joe. Other credits include the Network Ten production, Unreal TV, a sitcom Sit Down, Shut Up, as well as the tonight show, The Big Schmooze and a number of other productions at thecomedychannel for Foxtel, and script editing on the Lindy Chamberlain mini-series, Through My Eyes and the feature Perfect Victim.
Peter has taught at a number of universities in screen business, creative industries and producing. He is currently Head of Screen Business and Producing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).

NICOLE COVENTRY

NICOLE COVENTRY

Nicole Coventry is a Sydney based producer and story developer committed to creating and supporting thought provoking projects that cross disciplines and celebrate diversity.

Between 2018 and 2020, Nicole worked as production supervisor within the scripted commissioning team at Australian broadcaster, SBS managing the development and production of SBS’s critically acclaimed drama slate including series such as The Hunting, Hungry Ghosts, On The Ropes, New Gold Mountain, The Unusual Suspects, The Tailings and Robbie Hood.

Prior to joining SBS, Nicole worked in various capacities on a wide range of drama series, feature films and documentaries including Top of The Lake, Undercurrent, The Good Cop, Safe Harbour, Ali’s Wedding, Hunters, Wonderland, Tangle and Love My Way. She has also produced movie review and long form interstitial programs for Showtime Australia and worked for 6 years at the Australian Film Commission.

Nicole’s personal slate includes a diverse catalogue of award-winning short films and music videos including Sherbert Rozencrantz, You’re Beautiful and the Lexus Short Film Fellowship funded How The Light Gets In.

Under the banner of Cosmic Pollen, her development and production company, Nicole’s latest work as producer is Dreamer Awake – an audio fiction/ proof of concept for screen series in development with ABC Audio, and she is a producer of Deity, a digital screen series selected to participate in Screen Australia, SBS and NITV’s 2021 Digital Originals initiative.

MICHELA CARATTINI

MICHELA CARATTINI

Michela Carattini is an Intimacy Coordinator (IC) and Company Director at Key Intimate Scenes (KIS). Her IC screen credits include “Nine Perfect Strangers”, “Blaze”, “Le Prelude”, “Learning the Curvature of the Earth” and “This River.” She co-created and co-instructed the first Intimacy Coordination Workshop for Directors at AFTRS, was a member of the panel which drafted MEAA’s Australian Intimacy Guidelines for Stage & Screen, and created the first Australia-specific training curriculum for ICs. She has been a expert speaker/interviewee on Intimacy Coordination for IF Magazine, Cinema Femme Magazine, ABC News, WIFT, SFAA, and co-founded the Australasian Intimacy Coordination Network.

MARION PILOWSKY

MARION PILOWSKY

Marion Pilowsky is a writer/director/producer. Her debut feature film, The Flip Side starring Eddie Izzard was released by 20th Century Fox in 2018. She has held senior positions in both London and Australia in production, financing, sales and acquisitions before shifting her focus to writing and directing.

MARCUS GILLEZEAU

MARCUS GILLEZEAU

Marcus Gillezeau [Jillezo] is best known for creating and producing high profile projects for film, TV and digital media.

He has won some of the industries’ most prestigious awards including the AACTA Award (Australian Academy of Cinema Television Arts), Best Feature Documentary for “STORM SURFERS 3D” and the International Digital Emmy® Award and Australian Directors Guild Award for the all-media drama “SCORCHED”. He was twice honored by Screen Producers Australia for Best New Media and Interactive Producer of the Year.

Recently, he produced theatrical feature documentaries Own the Sky and Living Universe and was EP on Motorkite Dreaming. He executive produced the feature drama NERVE that screened at Sydney Film Festival and Shanghai Film Festival. He has written, directed and produced prime time television in Australia and for major international networks in Asia, North America and Europe.

Marcus is also a successful author of two books “Hands On – Tips and Experiences in All Media Producing”, and “Hands On – A guide to production and technologies for film, TV and new media.”.

Specialising in all-media development, production and delivery across all platforms, he has built a reputation for being at the forefront of digital innovation, production and distribution.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Documentary

Open to giving feedback and hear your fantastic ideas! Mainly interested in hearing feature docs and features.

No TV episodic and online drama

MADELEINE PARRY

MADELEINE PARRY

Madeleine directed Emmy-award winning Hannah Gadsby: Nanette for Netflix and began her career directing award-winning documentaries Murder Mouth, in which she killed her own food for the first time (Best Film – Cineglobe, Bondi FF), Meatwork (Best Standalone Documentary – ADG) and the Maddie Parry series (Nominated, Best Series – ADG). She is currently writing scripted feature The Storm with the SAFC/AFF/Mercury CX Film Lab: New Voices program, and was a recent recipient of the SAFC’s Lottie Lyell Award.

LISA SHAUNESSY

LISA SHAUNESSY

Partner at Australian production and distribution company, ARCADIA, Lisa produced 2067 (XYZ/RLJE Films/Netflix), starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ryan Kwanten and Deborah Mailman, which debuted as the No 1 movie on Netflix (ANZ) and No 2 on iTunes (US), following its theatrical release. Lisa also produced the critically acclaimed Killing Ground that premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2017 (IFC Midnight) with Joe Weatherstone; The Furies (Sitges Film Festival, 2019, Shudder/StudioCanal); AACTA award-winning series Hipsters (SBS, 2015), hosted by Samuel Johnson; Black & White & Sex (IFF Rotterdam 2013, co-producer) and ASC award-winning documentary Slammin’ Sam (Foxtel, 2013). She is currently in post-production on Sissy (XYZ, LevelK & Arcadia), that stars The Bold Type’s Aisha Dee, and co-stars Hannah Barlow who co-writes and co-directs with Kane Senes.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features & Episodic

Arcadia are looking for projects across feature and TV that stand out in the crowd, are bold and present new ideas from authentic voices. We’re genre agnostic, but we love clever horror, sci-fi and thriller concepts. And rom coms!

We are not looking for projects that are derivative of other projects in the marketplace (especially in the horror, sci-fi and thriller space), or the “Australian version” of something currently or recently successful in the international market. We’re also not looking for takes on hospital, crime or cop dramas.

LAUREN HILLMAN

LAUREN HILLMAN

General Manager Lauren Hillman leads the team at C44 with over 16 years of industry experience. Lauren has had an exciting and varied career in the South Australian TV and media industry working for ABCTV, Channel Nine, and as an independent freelance producer. In 2014, Lauren wrote, directed and produced ‘The Daters’ for ABC which is currently still streaming on iView. Lauren also produced two award winning sold out Adelaide Fringe shows with Annabel Crabb in 2016 and 2019. In 2018 Lauren was named one of Adelaide’s ‘Top 40 Under 40’ business leaders. In 2021, Lauren and her team were responsible for lobbying and successfully securing Channel 44’s free to air licence for three years until 2024. Recently, in collaboration with C31 in Melbourne, Lauren has also spearheaded the rollout and launch of the new national Community TV streaming platform, CTV+.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Episodic, Web Series, Shorts, Documentary, Games, Lifestyle/Entertainment, Childrens, Animation

Channel 44 and CTV+ are looking for short and long form series with ideally a minimum of 6 episodes. We are on the hunt for high quality, locally produced, excellent story telling series. The content can be niche- that’s what Community TV is for. Open to all ideas! Excellent opportunity to test a series on local broadcast TV and online.

Not looking for branded content – Community TV has strict guidelines around sponsorship. We would still encourage local sponsors but not branded content pieces.

KEN CROUCH

KEN CROUCH

While growing up in country NSW, the opportunity to pursue a career in the arts, screen or cultural industries was never really an option. Sadly, that hasn’t changed much over many decades which now drives me to get out of bed each day and to put blood, sweat and tears into creating more opportunities and jobs in regional Australia.

One month after starting at Screenworks, the Federal Government announced budget cuts which led to the loss of government funding for the organisation. Faced with the potential failure of the organisation, that situation kick-started my entrepreneurial journey to converting Screenworks from a small Northern Rivers-focused association to the national non-profit charity that it is today, delivering programs, initiatives and workshops in regional areas across every state and territory of Australia.

Since starting in 2014, Screenworks’ revenue and memberships have both grown by over 500%, it has delivered over 250 events across regional Australia attended by over 12,000 people. Screenworks is now Australia’s premier regional screen industry and talent development organisation recognised for the quality of its programs and workshops, along with the strong relationships and collaborations it builds with others in the screen industry.

Some of Ken’s greatest achievements at Screenworks include the creation of the Regional Screen In LA program – a two-month international internship providing unparalleled access to Hollywood for an undergraduate or recent graduate from regional Australia – and the Career Pathways Programs that provide tailored professional development opportunities for emerging regional practitioners in the screen industry.

In this role (and roles before this one), Ken has gained a reputation for creating and maintaining strong relationships with a diverse range of industry stakeholders including producers, broadcasters, industry guilds and funding bodies at state and federal levels. In fact, it’s only because of the mutually beneficial partnerships that he has created that so many opportunities for regional Australians have been created.

Outside of Screenworks, Ken has been on non-profit executive boards and advisory groups, and has also mentored many others to help them achieve their success. He has consulted with business leaders and helped provide strategic plans and visions for industries and small businesses in the film & TV sector. He’s also guilty of spending too much time with his dogs.

KATHERINE SLATTERY

KATHERINE SLATTERY

Katherine is the Scripted Development Manager at Matchbox Pictures. She was previously the Fiction Development Manager at Film Victoria and has worked as a Production/ Development Executive at Screen NSW, Screen QLD and Screen Australia. She was Head of Development at Arenamedia/Footprint Films when the company developed projects including ‘The Turning’ and ‘Paper Planes’, produced the feature film ‘Balibo’ and distributed four feature films including ‘Samson and Delilah’ (winner – Camera d’Or). She was Script Consultant at Waking Dream Productions and during her time developed projects including ‘The Babadook’, ‘The Daughter’ and ‘Babyteeth’ (Official selection, Venice Film Festival, winner 9 ACCTA Awards). She Produced the short film ‘Family’ (‘The Turning’ – MIFF) and the two-part doco-drama television series ‘Stories I Want To Tell You in Person’ for Matchbox Pictures (MIFF, ABC TV).

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Episodic

We are looking for scripted television – all genres (30 min. 45 min, 1 hr format). Returnable or limited seasons.

Not looking for animation. Also not looking for period especially, although never say never…!

JULIE RYAN

JULIE RYAN

Julie Ryan is an Australian film producer who has produced 15 feature films over her 20+ year career. Her recent achievements include “H is for Happiness” which received a Special Mention by the Children’s Jury in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlin International Film Festival 2020, and won the prestigious 2019 Cinefest Oz Film Prize; Hotel Mumbai, the most successful Australian film to release internationally in 2019; Ten Canoes, the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize winner at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2006; and the Australian box office smash hit Red Dog in 2011. She has received eight Best Film nominations at the AFI/AACTA awards over her 20 plus career including nominations for “H is for Happiness” and “Hotel Mumbai”, and won for “Red Dog” and “Ten Canoes”. Julie began working at the South Australian Film Corporation as Production Executive in 2020.

JULIAN CRESS

JULIAN CRESS

Julian Cress has worked as a television producer for 30 years starting in 1988 on Beyond 2000. His background is in investigative journalism and he was a senior producer at 60 Minutes for a decade before moving into reality television as co-creator of The Block in 2003. He has worked for all three commercial networks and been Executive Producer of 17 series of The Block winning 5 Logie awards along the way. Working alongside business partner David Barbour, he is a co-creator of several other successful formats both in Australia and the US. Julian is also the founder and managing editor of online content site themotorists.com.au, e-commerce site theblockshop.com.au, charity app shout and a founding investor in influencer marketing app tribe digital.

JASMINE YANG

JASMINE YANG

Jasmine is the head writer and general manager for Glitch Productions, an independent Sydney animation studio that makes their own programs for Youtube. With experience in plays, online programs, and fantasy D&D books, Jasmine brings a unique melange of backgrounds to any writing project she is on.

Jasmine is also a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community as an openly bisexual trans woman.

JANELLE LANDERS

JANELLE LANDERS

Janelle Landers is President of WBMC, a creative production company with offices in Perth and Sydney, working across narrative and documentary projects for features, television and other screen content. She recently completed Rams, directed by Jeremy Sims and starring Sam Neill, Michael Caton and Miranda Richardson. Other credits include Ben C. Lucas’ feature film OtherLife, and Julius Avery’s Son of a Gun, starring Ewan McGregor and Alicia Vikander. She also produced Lucas’ debut feature Wasted on the Young. With a background in visual arts and First Class Honours degrees in Law and Media Arts Production, Janelle worked as a lawyer and producer in Sydney before joining WBMC in 2006. As President, Janelle oversees development and production for all of the company’s screen content.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Episodic, Documentary

WBMC is open to all kinds of ideas striving for excellence, with a clearly defined target audience and a realistic pathway into production.
Ideas that are made for cultural entertainment. From environmental series to sports documentaries. Shorts about artists or films about humans and our natural world. Would love to develop ideas that tell a story of a subculture and how we can create an emotional connection for a wider audience. Personally, I love humble human stories about people who are moving mountains or anything about the ocean. Anything with heart and soul.

WBMC is not likely to be interested in horror or low-budget genre projects.

JAMES MARSHALL

JAMES MARSHALL

With a career that covers Film, TV, Online, VFX, VR, Game development, Animation, and a brief stint in state government, James is now helping CDW Studios expand into Animation and Games Production. He is also Managing Director of Golden Age Studios and serves on various advisory panels and boards across education and industry advocacy groups.


Previous roles include Head of Learning and Development for Technicolor, Senior Producer at Start VR, Transmedia Producer for Yahoo!7, Chief Creative Officer at Mudita Games, and various others.

IAN MURRAY

IAN MURRAY

Ian founded 113 Partners in 2012. 113 Partners is a strategic advisory firm that that assists businesses in the creative industries to grow, seek investment, and realise their value. They are strategic advisers to Australia’s most cutting edge creative businesses and bring a wealth of insights, access to strategic partnerships, and on the ground experience to his clients.

Ian is an experienced, hands-on media expert who has had senior executive roles in both public and private businesses including COO of the branded content business Brand New Media and COO of the television production company Freehand Productions.

He uses his in-depth commercial experience to assist creative businesses to plan robust and achievable strategies to achieve domestic and international growth, financial stability, sustainable resourcing, and streamlined operations. He has advised many of Australia’s top television production, broadcast, music, design, advertising, media and entertainment companies as well as working directly with several government agencies.

Ian sits on numerous advisory boards and has a passion for all things digital.

GEORGIA HUMPHREYS

GEORGIA HUMPHREYS

Georgia Humphreys is a creative producer with CTPA where she is developing a slate of film and television projects for local and international audiences. After graduating high school, Georgia started out in Italy’s tourism industry managing guided tours and eventually owned Europe’s largest and Rome’s longest running pubcrawl – The Colosseum Pubcrawl.

On her return to Australia she opened Rockefeller, a beachside café where she met her producing partner, Marion Pilowsky.

Her first production, the short crime fable Yia Yia was invited to the AFF, Australian Greek Film Festival and Fort Lauderdale (USA) in 2015. Her next short film Frida and Diego – The Australian Years starring Tiriel Mora was funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign and premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2016. Georgia produced Indigenous writer/director Edoardo Crismani’s short film 440, funded by the South Australian Film Corporation’s 2017 Aboriginal Short Film Initiative and is the co-producer of The Flip Side, starring Eddie Izzard, for 20th Century Fox, released in 2018.

In 2020, together with Marion Pilowsky, Georgia co-created, directed and produced the lifestyle format series for Channel 44, Recipe For Love. With writer/director Peter Ninos, Georgia was selected as one of three teams in the SAFC’s 2021 Film Lab: New Voices, where they are developing Greek LGBTQI+ horror, The Mati.

She is looking to work with new and emerging creatives who speak with authentic, bold and noisy voices.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Episodic, Documentary, Lifestyle/Entertainment, Children’s and Animation

Not looking for anything particular but must-have elements of diversity.
Female-led stories are especially appealing.

ESTER HARDING

ESTER HARDING

Ester Harding is a screen producer and Head of Drama, at Sweetshop & Green. Her focus is on Australian and New Zealand narrative features and series with international co-production and financing potential. Developing from both underlying IP and original ideas, her ambition is to bring talent-driven, culturally diverse and thematically relevant stories to global audiences. 

As a development executive for Screen Australia, Ester oversaw narrative features, episodic and extended reality projects, and the fostering of emerging talent. Prior to this, for See Pictures she co-produced feature SWINGING SAFARI (Edinburgh 2018), produced television pilot REMEMBERING AGATHA (ABC 2018) and served as production executive on Simon Baker’s BREATH (TIFF 2017). Ester’s earlier career was in feature and interactive documentary projects, including I AM A GIRL, THE SURGERY SHIP and CALL ME DAD for Media Stockade; STORM SURFERS 3D for Firelight Productions / 6ixty Foot Films; and AFTER 6/4 for Freehand Productions and SBS.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Episodic, Documentary

Sweetshop & Green is an Australian and New Zealand production company that develops, finances and produces narrative and documentary film and series projects for identified domestic and international audiences – local for global. Our sensibilities lie with culturally diverse stories that have something to say; we are open as to genre and period.

We are not looking for reality or factual formats; features with budgets less than AU$1.5M; fantasy, horror, westerns, comedy (unless the storyworld and point-of-view reflect an under represented voice in the Australian and New Zealand market); projects that feature violence against women, or mass murder.

ENZO TEDESCHI

ENZO TEDESCHI

A versatile filmmaker, Enzo is recognised among his peers as a prolific and innovative Producer, Director, and Writer.

Enzo’s varied body of work ranges from viral horror feature film The Tunnel – which amassed over 20 million views and downloads around the world – to the hit indie feature documentaries Food Matters & Hungry For Change and the Sydney Film Festival Audience Award Winning theatrical feature documentary The Crossing.

Enzo joined forces with Julian Harvey to write and produce The Tunnel – a project whose innovative approach to funding and distribution saw it hit international cinema screens despite being crowdfunded and simultaneously given away for free online. In addition to reaching a massive global audience, the film garnered Enzo and Julian the Screen Producers Association of Australia Award for Breakthrough Independent Producers Of The Year.

As a Director, Enzo made his theatrical feature film debut with conspiracy thriller Event Zero and was also a co-creator of A Night Of Horror Volume 1. He was an Executive Producer on Megan Riakos’ Dark Whispers Volume 1.

Enzo created the multiple award-winning online conspiracy thriller series Event Zero (upon which his feature film directorial debut was based), science fiction series Airlock, as well as Producing several productions for the Blackpills mobile streaming platform including Skinford, Skinford Chapter Two. His ongoing commitment as a Creator in the web series space and his work within that community earned him The Michael Ajakwe Jr Lifetime Achievement Award from Melbourne WebFest.

Enzo is the Showrunner of the Shudder Original Series, Deadhouse Dark, which screened at the prestigious CANNESERIES in 2020 and premiered on the platform in 2021.

DAVID NGO

DAVID NGO

In 2010 David co-founded the production and post-production company Projector Films, which has worked on numerous national and international productions, including the AACTA and KidScreen New York award winning series THE ADVENTURES OF FIGARO PHO (ABC, BBC), the ABC series TOUGH JOBS, as well as feature films MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY (Tribeca, Sydney) and the James Beard Award winning documentary BARBEQUE (SXSW, Netflix).

Recently David produced the critically acclaimed feature films ONE EYED GIRL (Austin Film Festival: Winner – Best Picture) and RABBIT (Sitges Film Festival, FantasticFest), starring Adelaide
Clemens, Alex Russell and Veerle Baetens, which won David the Melbourne International Film Festival’s Best Producer Award.

He is currently in production on the controversial documentary series NEVER GET BUSTED!, directed by Stephen McCallum (Outlaws) and Executive Produced by John Battsek (Searching for Sugarman) and Chris Smith (Tiger King), about the Texan narcotics officer that flipped the script on law enforcement and started busting his fellow police.

DAN THORSLAND

DAN THORSLAND

Dan has over 35 years in industry as a creative practitioner, first as a comic book writer/editor at DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics in the U.S., then transitioning to digital storytelling on his arrival in South Australia. From 2001 to 2019, Dan produced a large portfolio of video games and other digital projects for major brand partners such as Atari, LucasArts, Disney and LEGO.

At Flinders Dan manages Flinder University’s motion capture and virtual production stage The Void. This stage has hosted over a number of private industry partner collaborations in the past year, including both of the Epic Game funded Unreal Short Films shot in SA. The Void is the focal point of Flinders acclaimed screen and performance education programs aligning with state-of-the-art industry technology to explore the future of immersive culture and narrative.

CAROLYN JOHNSON

CAROLYN JOHNSON

Carolyn Johnson is an award-winning producer of documentaries and dramas.

Her films include Tanna which was nominated for an Academy Award® in 2017. Carolyn’s films have won awards and screened in festivals throughout the world including Venice, Berlin, Busan, London, Hong Kong, Rotterdam, and many others.

Carolyn’s credits include A Sense of Self, A Law Unto Himself, Stumbling in Hillary’s Footsteps, First Footprints, Son of a Lion, and The Last Goldfish.

Carolyn is the Australian Producer of Life in Colour.

CHLOE GARDNER

CHLOE GARDNER

Chloe has a varied background involving performance, teaching, business management, entrepreneurship, travel, film production, directing and motherhood. Completing her MBA at the Laureate recognised – Torrens University Australia, in 2019, and winning the Winnovation Award for Creative Entrepreneurship in 2016, Chloe has been wearing many hats for the last 20 years.

Chloe launched Kids Camera Action (a film school for youth) in 2010 and has seen it rise to become the most successful film school for youth in Australia, with contracts in UAE, USA, NSW, Victoria and of course SA. In 2011 Chloe launched Adelaide’s first film festival for youth, the Adelaide International Youth Film Festival which was acquired by the Adelaide Film Festival in 2019.

Chloe joined the team at Beyond Content in 2018 has been expanding her expertise in the film and corporate sector as a valued producer, production manager, line producer, and Business Development Manager. Chloe became a Company Director in 2020.

CAMERON PATRICK

CAMERON PATRICK

Award winner whose screen experience spans 30 years. He is an accomplished composer and orchestrator of music for film and television, with credits that include Spider-man: Homecoming (2017), Zootopia (2016), Jurassic World (2015) and Inside Out (2015) amongst many, many others. Cameron is also an accomplished violinist and violist, with an extensive list of credits in the film, television, theatre and recording industries.

Cameron is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s film scoring program and was an instructor in the UCLA Extension’s Film Scoring program from 2015 to 2017. He has been involved with the Queensland Music Festival for the past six years in partnership with the Griffith Film School and conducted and presented education concerts with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 2019. Cameron is a professional member of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, the Society of Composers and Lyricists (US), the American Federation of Musicians (US) and Broadcast Music Inc. (US).

KIRSTY STARK

KIRSTY STARK

Kirsty Stark is a television producer based in Adelaide, South Australia, and the owner of independent production company Epic Films.

She has worked in the film industry since 2007, initially as a freelance camera assistant and cinematographer before moving into production in 2012.

Kirsty’s recent work includes producing the acclaimed children’s series First Day, winner of multiple international awards including a Kidscreen Award and aRose d’Or.She also co-produced the 13x AACTA award-winning Stateless with Matchbox Pictures, now screening internationally on Netflix. Her other credits as Producer include Goober, Unboxed and Wastelander Panda: Exile for ABC iview,First Day for ABC ME and the feature filmA Month of Sundays.

Kirsty has presented at SXSW and TEDxAdelaide, and received multiple awards for her work. Epic Films was named the Screen Producers Australia “Breakthrough Business of the Year” in 2016.

REBECCA SUMMERTON

REBECCA SUMMERTON

Rebecca is a producer and is co-owner of the award-winning screen production company Closer Productions. Her feature film credits include break out low budget feature 52 TUESDAYS, which won the directing award for World Cinema at Sundance and the Crystal Bear at Berlinale, and feature documentary SAM KLEMKE’S TIME MACHINE which premiered at Sundance and in Official Selection at HotDocs and Rotterdam. Her most recent feature, ANIMALS, is an official Irish/Australian co-production based on the acclaimed novel, which premiered at Sundance 2019.

For television, Rebecca has made numerous documentaries including Dendy Award-winning I WANT TO DANCE BETTER AT PARTIES and 3-part Arts series HANNAH GADSBY’S OZ. Her television drama credits include the 6-part online series F*!#ING ADELAIDE, which premiered at Series Mania and was the most watched ABC iView Original in 2018. She also produced THE HUNTING, a 4 x 1 hour drama series which premiered on SBS Television in August 2019 and was SBS’ most successful commissioned drama ever. Rebecca recently completed AFTERTASTE a new 6 x 30 comedy drama for the ABC which premiered on ABC TV in February 2021. Rebecca also sits on the Board of the South Australian Film Corporation.

MATT VESELY

MATT VESELY

Matt Vesely is a South Australian writer/director. He works with award winning creative collective Closer Productions. Often combining his love of science fiction with a sincere view of human relationships, Matt has directed a number of successful shorts and worked as a writer across TV & film.

Matt has worked in writers’ rooms with Closer Productions, Matchbox Pictures, Bunya Productions, the ABC and SBS. He was a part of the writing team for the ABC’s flagship iView series, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi WASTELANDER PANDA, and wrote an episode and was a staff writer across the entirety of Closer’s award-winning comic drama for ABC, FUCKING ADELAIDE. In 2014, Matt was the recipient of the Colin Thiele Scholarship for Creative Writing. In 2018, his feature script OVERHEATER – a dystopian romantic comedy – was shortlisted for the Australian Writer’s Guild’s John Hinde Award for best unproduced science fiction screenplay.

Matt works as Closer’s Development Manager under the mentorship of Sophie Hyde and Rebecca Summerton, and was the script producer for Closer’s 4 part series THE HUNTING (SBS), starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh. In 2021, he script produced and wrote for Closer’s comedy series AFTERTASTE (ABC), starring Erik Thomson.

Matt continues to lead Closer’s writers’ rooms and develop his own television projects, including a series based on OVERHEATER, supported by Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation. SYSTEM ERROR, his new proof of concept short for OVERHEATER, was selected to have its world premiere at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

BELINDA DEAN

BELINDA DEAN

Belinda Dean is a producer and founder of independent production company unko. She is equally passionate about the comedy genre, as she is diverse and inclusive storytelling.

Her credits as producer include the multi-award winning Create NSW & SBS funded short film Joy Boy, documentary The Funny Ones for ABC ME celebrating aspiring young female comedians, the provocative online series, Cloudy River, which premiered at the Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival and is now available on SBS On Demand, and most recently, the short film Weather Girl, one of the top 5 films in the Epic Games Unreal Engine Short Film Challenge. Belinda is in active development on several projects, including the short form series she created, Freewheelers, one of three projects selected from over 600 applications for development in the inaugural SBS & Screen Australia Digital Originals Initiative.

She is a foundation member of the all-female producing network Screen Vixens, and in 2019, was selected as a Screen Producers Association ‘Ones to Watch’.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Episodic, Web Series

We are looking for low-mid budget/contained features with some kind of social awareness at their core. Genre agnostic, though we tend not to pick up horror or supernatural thrillers.

On the TV side, same understanding of social issues with characters and a story world that help shed light on taboo subjects, and/or provide interesting and unexpected forms of representation. Drama or comedy/drama preferred.

Creators with something to say, not necessary drawn from their immediate experience, but with an understanding of the impact a good story can have on culture at large.

Not looking for period pieces, and this includes the recent past.

ARI HARRISON

ARI HARRISON

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Documentary, Animation

We are looking for Australian and New Zealand theatrical features and documentaries of all Genres.

We are not looking for TV and Web-based productions.

ANNABEL DAVIS

ANNABEL DAVIS

In her role as CEO at Co-Curious, Annabel has been instrumental in designing, implementing and delivering a number of industry development programs. This includes the Behind Closed Doors program which resulted in feature film anthology, Here Out West, which she produced with Sheila Jayadev from Emerald Productions and Bree-Anne Sykes. She has extensive screen industry experience and a
successful history in creating proposals for key arts and film funding bodies. From 2017-2018 she was the Partnerships Manager with CuriousWorks and prior to CuriousWorks, Annabel spent seven years with the Australian Writers’ Guild, where she played a key part in developing their Pathways Program. She also helped lead the establishment of Scripted Ink, which provides world first development opportunities to Australian writers. Annabel has also worked as a Script Department Manager across a number of Australian and international drama products.

ANNA HODGE

ANNA HODGE

Anna Hodge has managed Rising Sun Pictures successful educational program with UniSA for five years. Prior to this, she worked in vocational education for over 17 years. Anna has experience in developing, managing and growing educational initiatives in the screen and media area to reflect the changing and diversifying industry, education and training market.

With a proven record in securing both training and employment opportunities for students, Anna is focused on building strong and secure partnerships between education and industry for the purpose of developing job ready graduates.

ALEXANDRA DAUNT WATNEY

ALEXANDRA DAUNT WATNEY

Alexandra joined Mr. X in April 2020 as Head of Studio, bringing with her over 17 years of VFX production experience. Previously, as the Senior Production Supervisor at Rising Sun Pictures, she managed the production team, and was instrumental in delivering projects such as X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Dumbo and Thor: Ragnarok. During her time there she was also the Senior Producer on Captain Marvel, Ford v Ferrari and Tomb Raider.

Alexandra’s career began at Framestore, London, where she progressed to the role of VFX Producer. During her 13 years there, she contributed to the successful delivery of many major projects, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Paddington, Wrath of the Titans, Sherlock Holmes, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Golden Compass and a number of the Harry Potter films.

In her role as Head of Studio at Mr. X, Adelaide, Alexandra is responsible for all the projects in production, as well as the effective day to day running of the studio, ensuring alignment to the greater Mr. X global framework and strategy; including managing financial and operational risk and driving business strategy.

1:1 PITCHES – WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Format: Features, Episodic, Animation

We are looking for people who are interested in working in VFX or are currently working in VFX.

We are not looking for non VFX related queries.