if 209 December 2022-January 2023

INSIDE:

FEATURE: How have streaming services changed the documentary landscape in Australia?

TAKE TWO: Sari Braithwaite and Chloe Brugale have each other’s back.

FEATURE: People with disability remain under-represented in the industry. How can the sector do more to drive change?

WELLBEING: Screen Well co-founder Ben Steel plans to bring the screen sector in line with other creative industries.

OF THE

MPIBS chairman Murray Forrest asks you to consider colleagues in need.

WHAT A YEAR 2022 was! Do you feel tired? We certainly do; it’s felt like the industry spent all of it at full throttle.

The reason we all might feel tired is the production boom shows no signs of slowing down. While the industry lacks comprehensive data on the full scope of production that takes place in Australia – something we’d argue really should be measured by a federal body – when it comes to scripted, there has never been more spent on it in this country.

Screen Australia puts drama expenditure in 2021-22 at a record $2.3 billion, with a whopping $1.5 billion of that spent on Australian projects. To put that into perspective, that expenditure on Australian drama is almost double the previous record.

So, a big question: Can current levels of local production be maintained into the future, as a baseline, knowing that international production will always be subject to the whims of the dollar and incentives?

A huge swathe of the industry would argue one way to help that would be to regulate the streaming services to make local content. The new Labor government promises their National Cultural Policy will address this.

While top line figures are strong, we also can’t ignore production of some genres, like children’s, are under strain. Whether we’re pre-schoolers or adults, where we are watching content is changing.

Only a handful of Australian films cracked the $1 million mark at the BO in 2022. Alongside the WB-backed mega success Elvis were Wog Boys Forever, How to Please a Woman, The Drover’s Wife the Legend of Molly Johnson, Three Thousand Years of Longing and UK co-production Falling for Figaro

For the most part, there is lots to celebrate. For one, there's the industry’s swathe of talent, including those on our Rising Talent list (page 10)! There’s also lots to debate and consider. We hope to be along the ride for all of it.

To our readers, advertisers and contributors, thank you. We’re a small team trying to work miracles. Without your ongoing support and engagement, we wouldn’t be here. IF has been going for 25 years now (!), and we hope to continue on for many more.

Jackie Keast, Editor jkeast@if.com.au

This issue

Executive Chair: Simon Grover

Managing Director and Group

Publisher: Mark Kuban

Editor: Jackie Keast, jkeast@if.com.au

Journalist: Sean Slatter, sslatter@if.com.au

National Sales Manager: Daniel Shipley, dshipley@if.com.au

Senior Designer: Jacqui Cooper

Prepress: Tony Willson

Production Assistant: Natasha Jara

IF was founded by David Barda and Stephen Jenner, co-founded by Martin Zoland.

Circulation and Subscriptions Australian Subscription Rates 1yr 6 issues for $43.50

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RISING TALENT 2023

IF’s Rising Talent list is now an annual fixture: Here are the names we think you need to pay attention to.

BETTER REPRESENTATION

While around 1 in 5 Australians have a disability, recent data suggests they are one of the most vastly under-represented groups both on screen and behind the camera.

FACING THE FACTUAL

How are streamers impacting the documentary landscape? Some argue they’re not only changing subject matter, but also style.

40 Supercharge your creativity

A positive relationship with your creativity is the bedrock for a successful screen industry career. Ellenor Cox explains how to supercharge yours.

4 Letters, 15 Seconds

42 IF I Had A Gadget

43 In Production

50 What’s On

Heard on Twitter...

Noticeboard

Gillian Flynn @TheGillianFlynn

Cannot say how much fun I had watching Glass Onion (@KnivesOut) last night - the most twisty, clever, funny movie I’ve seen this year. Then I had my name dropped right in the movie! Thank you for the moment, @rianjohnson.

Mitch McTaggart @MitchMcTaggart

Happy to write a thinkpiece for someone about how #Fisk is a perfect show @ABCTV

Denise Scott @_denisescott

It’s true. Matt Okine and I are in reboot of Mother and Son. To be clear I’m the Mother. Matt is the Son. I’m excited. Terrified. Honoured. Humbled. Will I get to go to the Logies? @abctv #MotherandSonTV #ABCIn23

Sabrina Ramirez @sabrinaonfilm

It’s been a little over a year since the nicole kidman AMC ad premiered, and it still stands as the most culturally significant cinematic experience of its time.

Lex would buy a lighthouse  please @LexPlans

Hugo Weaving is the cool parent of Australian cinema. Always ready to pick you up no matter what you’ve done.

David Mack @davidmackau

Paul Mercurio, star of the Australian film Strictly Ballroom, has just been elected as a state lawmaker in Victoria.

Brian Lowry @blowryontv

Feels like “Not everybody’s life deserves a four-part docuseries” shouldn’t be a controversial thought, but streaming appears to be changing that.

Rob Huebel @robhuebel

The Dad on Bluey (best show ever) has set the bar for being a Dad way too fucking high.

Cameron Williams @MrCamW

Prediction: ‘Cocaine Bear’ & ‘Barbie’ will be highest grossing films of 2023

Vadim Rizov @vrizov

A curated gallery show of Wikipedia pages that have clearly been written by the filmmakers and artists in question.

Written in response to ‘‘You Won’t Be Alone’ Australia’s submission for Best International Feature Film Oscar’ published November 2, 2022.

The fact that You Won’t be Alone was completely overlooked on home soil says more about the unrefined sensibilties of scores of nonprofessional and unvetted AACTA voters – the type who will only view and vote for films like Elvis – than it does about this extraordinary film.

Lottalove

So many of our films here get overlooked by AU – and yet overseas they get the respect they deserve.

Peter Kalos

Written in response to ‘Drama production spend reaches record $2.3 billion, with $1.5 billion on Australian projects’ published November 10, 2022.

Urgent need for expanded production facilities to match. We need ‘ready to go’ production offices, costume and prop, special FX workshops etc., both for short term projects and long-term suppliers. Not all the investment funds should be going into funding scripted projects if we expect to continue quality on screen.

Suzy Carter

Written in response to ‘Frances Elliott, Samantha Marlowe win major prize at AWGIE Awards’, published November 17, 2022.

Well-deserved win by Barton and Amweero for the visceral, powerful, wild, utterly original and absolutely extraordinary ride that is Blaze.

Lottalove

Written in response to ‘Peter Weir pays tribute to crews, reflects on the New Wave as he accepts honorary Oscar’, published November 21, 2022.

It was a great honour for me to work on Gallipoli with Peter. I have never worked so hard and long, but he made you feel appreciated and respected.

Sash Lamey

Written in response to ‘BO Report: ‘Seriously Red’ has slowish start, ‘The Menu’ is served, ‘Strange World’ disappoints’, published November 29, 2022.

Why do films have to measured like a superhero blockbuster? Sometimes films are a slow burn, word of mouth then it builds up, as they don’t have the same Hollywood marketing budgets. Profoundly annoyed by films' value only viewed in this way like it’s real estate. Let’s shake it up please!

Catherine Scott (via Facebook)

Seconds15

The biggest issue facing the Australian film or TV industry is: Defining “the biggest” is hard, but one that plays on my mind a fair bit is the amount of queer characters that are still being played by straight actors. I don’t believe that only gays should play gay and straights should play straight, no way, but the casting scales here are still so lopsided and it continues to tell queer actors that there isn’t a place for them at the industry table.

Best movie quote of all time: Nothing beats Romy escaping talking to a suit salesman in the club in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion: “Would you excuse me? I cut my foot before and my shoe is filling up with blood.”

Do you Google yourself? Unashamedly so. Totally normal thing to do as an actor to find review quotes, pics of yourself, to check if you’ve been cancelled yet…

Classics I would like to remake: Remakes are so 2010. It’s all about requels now (a rebooted sequel). I want to requel I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Craft, Never Been Kissed, Romy and Michele; any of those classic '90s films because nostalgia is in.

Favourite comedy film/show of all time: And we’re back to Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion! I’ve watched it so many times that Romy and Michele now feel like my friends and the three of us are all just out here searching for some sort of businesswomen’s special together. TV show? Fleabag. I like my comedy on a knife’s edge.

Favourite comedian? Anne freaking Edmonds. Closely followed by Australia’s first attractive comedian™ Elouise Eftos.

Favourite guilty pleasure? I don’t feel guilty about enjoying any pleasure. Especially not eating hot chip sandwiches on buttered white bread and drowned in tomato sauce while watching YouTube compilations of news bloopers.

Worst filmmaking experience?

Do self-tapes count?

Unsung Australian film/TV hero/heroine?

My NIDA classmate Briallen Clarke is one of the best actors in the biz. But she is about to be sung!

If a film about your life was made, who would play you? Me. I would play me. I need the work. I mean, it’s a stretch but I reckon I could do it.

I’d spend my last $20 on:

A bottle of rosé to drink with my best friend, Molly Brown.

Matthew Backer.

Matthew Backer has appeared in ‘Wellmania’, ‘The Twelve’, ‘Joe vs. Carole’, ‘Born to Spy’, ‘Operation Buffalo’ and ‘Play School’.

VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY

Amid the holiday season, chairman of the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society of NSW Murray Forrest asks the industry to consider colleagues in need

FOR 32 YEARS it has been my privilege to serve the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society of NSW, of which I have been chairman for 26 years. Since its inception in November 1931, the MPIBS has continuously provided financial and emotional support to film industry colleagues in need.

The MPIBS was the brainchild of a group of film industry distributors and publicists who formed The 47 Club in the late 1920s.

I like to imagine that they were at some favourite Sydney watering hole after work, perhaps discussing the poster for the historical epic For the Term of His Natural Life, or enthusing about the first sound film to screen in Australia — The Jazz Singer, which premiered at Sydney’s Lyceum in December 1928 — when they had the inspiration to create an organisation to lend a helping hand to industry colleagues who had fallen on hard times.

In their original blueprint, the society pledged to assist past or present practitioners from cinema exhibition or film distribution in NSW to help them get back on their feet. In 2003, the MPIBS remit was

broadened to include those in film production and post-production, based anywhere in Australia. By that time, The 47 Club was long gone, but the MPIBS continues, now a registered charity, and we do our best to honour their legacy and help our industry colleagues who need it. How does the MPIBS help? Well, we provide financial assistance according to individual needs. That may include regular gas, electricity and phone subsidies; contributions to special hospital treatments; private health fund payments; pharmaceutical expenses; emergency computer upgrades; urgent house and car repairs; Cabcharge vouchers; Vital Call accounts and, in some cases, funeral expenses.

In the past couple of years, some beneficiaries received emergency support due to the NSW bushfires, and as a result of the pandemic.

If you need assistance, and you work in cinema exhibition or film distribution in N, or film production and post-production anywhere in Australia, reach out. Our assessments are undertaken in strictest confidence.

If you need assistance and you work in the cinema industry in Victoria

If you would like to donate or sponsor the MPIBS, or require assistance, visit: mpibs.org.au

or Queensland, the MPIBS website features a link to the Cinema Industry Benevolent Fund of Victoria Inc. and information on the MPI Benevolent Association (Queensland) Inc. These organisations are not affiliated with the MPIBS but provide much-needed support in those states, so I want to give them a shout-out.

The MPIBS is completely dependent on donations. The support we traditionally receive from exhibition and distribution companies and members of the production and post-production sector has understandably dropped dramatically during the past two years, exacerbated by COVID, which has obviously hugely impacted our industry and many of our people. At the same time, the need for our assistance has never been greater, with cost of living and housing pressures taking a heavy toll.

As the festive season approaches, I appeal to you – can you help support the work of the MPIBS?

There are various ways you can help. Make a one-off donation. Donate a designated amount every month – packages start at the price of a takeaway coffee. Buy some quality MPIBS-branded merchandise – 100 per cent of the profits directly support our ongoing work. On occasions, the MPIBS has even been named as a beneficiary

in wills. We will gratefully accept any generosity at any time as every little bit helps. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Perhaps your organisation supports one charity with regular donations or chooses a different one every year. Or maybe your company donates film screenings to raise funds. Maybe you’d like to pass the hat around for a gold coin donation at your Christmas party? There are numerous ways corporate sponsors can support the work of the MPIBS.

Lending a hand to a friend or colleague who is down on their luck appears to be embedded in the DNA of most Australians. Even in times of scarcity, Aussies remarkably manage to dig deep.

I would like to give thanks to all the organisations and individuals who have donated to the MPIBS this year – we greatly appreciate your invaluable assistance.

Thank you also to our patrons, and welcome to our recently appointed patron Zareh Nalbandian, Animal Logic co-founder and CEO. Thanks also to our councillors, with special mentions for Tom Jeffrey AM (investigations and relief), John Rochester (finance) and Ross Barnard (secretary and treasurer).

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and success at the box office.

MPIBS chair Murray Forrest.

(Photo: Peter Jackson Photography for AIMC)

HAVING EACH OTHER’S BACK

Director Sari Braithwaite and producer Chloe Brugale have worked together on two documentaries, [Censored], created using film footage banned by the Australian National Archive from 1951-78, and the recent Because We Have Each Other, about a neurodiverse, working-class family in outer-suburban Queensland. The latter premiered at MIFF and is about to play Rotterdam. They talk to Susy Cornford.

SARI BRAITHWAITE

Chloe was working for Arenamedia, and I met [company director] Robert Connolly through my work as a film festival programmer. I told him I wanted to be a filmmaker, and so he brought me into the office and started helping me to develop my projects. Chloe was working there and that was how we met each other and started a friendship and working relationship. As my first project [Censored] got off the ground, Chloe was there to support me and became the producer.

Working with Chloe is one of the most rewarding and important creative collaborations in my life. She often talks about that being a producer is like being a midwife; that she’s there to support the filmmaker in birthing the film baby. That’s exactly the approach she takes in terms of how she and I work together. It’s such a supportive and nurturing relationship that’s built on a deep friendship and a philosophical alignment about what kind of films we want to make and how we want to live our lives. It always feels like even in the depths of when filmmaking is hard, which it often is, we have that core that we always come back to.

She’s not only the producer of the film, but also my [source of] mother advice when I’ve got questions about my daughter.  When she was really little, Chloe was the one who baked me quiches and held the baby when she wouldn’t stop crying.

We can disagree on things, but I don’t know whether it ever feels like intense conflict. One of the things that I really value in our relationship is that we can be really honest with each other. And one of the things I also appreciate, and that I think Chloe appreciates too, is that we know that we are good at different things. When we have a disagreement, I feel like we can always understand that there’s a different way of seeing a problem and that we both bring skills to the table to try and figure out how to resolve it. I think that’s really valuable, and you’ve got to have a really honest relationship because if Chloe isn’t tough on me, then I’m not going to be pushed. And I also think that I thrive when I’m challenged to try and figure out what I really want and what’s important.

CHLOE BRUGALE

We met in 2016. At the time I was working for Robert Connolly at Arenamedia; I was the general

manager. We met in the office; she just came in one day and we got along really well. Her project, [Censored], was interesting, but really complex. She got a bit lost in it. As Rob was busy, and I was trying to also develop my creative practice, we just started collaborating. I helped her find a way through it and ended up producing the film.

[Working together is] fun, exciting and intellectually rewarding. It pushes me to be a better producer and to think deeply about things. Sari has an interesting take on things, and an amazing moral compass. The way she works with people and her subjects is just really fascinating. It really makes me rich inside.

We’ve grown together as filmmakers because we’ve worked together for so long. I think also we understand each other in terms of where we are at in our lives. We had a child at the same time. We’re mothers, we’re workers, we are wives, we’re friends; we’ve got this really rich life.

What I love about Sari is that she’s never judgmental and she’s my compass. I know that

wherever she goes I will follow, because together we just find our way.

She’s got amazing intellectual rigour. It’s exhilarating, because I know that whatever she does will be really thoughtful. We have this drive to create things that are ethical, that are new, creative, bold. We get like two little kids just trying to create something new or exciting. We always try to find ways of doing things a bit differently.

We were looking for a place to film and we went to a bird sanctuary on the Gold Coast. The person who works with the birds took us into this amazing enclosure, and there were two macaws. As we walked in the lady was like, ‘Don’t look at them, just walk slowly’. As we walked in, the macaws came towards us - sweeping - and they’re massive. We had this absolute instinct to jump in each other’s arms and protect each other. And I think that’s part of our creative partnership; we have each other’s back. I felt like that that showed how we’re so important to each other.

Chloe Brugale and Sari Braithwaite.

So impressed are we with the industry’s up-and-comers, we have decided to make our Rising Talent list an annual fixture. These are the people we think the industry needs to sit up and take notice of; the names you’ll need to know and want to work with in the years ahead. Some faces are relatively new, while others have recently moved up the chain into leadership positions

RISING TALENT 2023 ACTORS

JULIA SAVAGE

Julia Savage’s feature film debut in the lead role of Del Kathryn Barton’s Blaze, shot when she was just 13, saw her nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in 2022.

In 2023, she will be seen globally in Amazon series Class of ‘07 and Disney+ series The Clearing. Savage’s previous roles include Mr Inbetween, Dead Lucky, Hardball, Doctor Doctor, The Other Guy and Mary – Making of a Princess.

Her work in short film includes Sherbert Rosencrantz, You’re Beautiful, Sweet Tooth, The Familars and All Silent Dogs.

MARKELLA KAVENAGH

In 2022, Markella Kavenagh’s career reached global heights as she starred as Nori Brandyfoot in Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

In 2023, she will also be seen in Stan’s Bad Behaviour, recently selected for Berlinale Series.

Kavenagh made her screen debut in Foxtel’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, going on to TV roles in Romper Stomper, The Cry and The Gloaming, and films True History of the Kelly Gang and My First Summer.

The actor also has ambitions behind the camera, and is one of the finalists in VicScreen, SBS and Arenamedia’s Originate program for screenplay Into the Blue with Katie Found.

where they are making change.

Thank you again to everyone who helped us put this list together, including the hundreds of submissions we received through our public call out. We know this list is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the talent in this industry, but we hope it hints towards its future.

TUULI NARKLE

Tuuli Narkle was born and raised in rural Western Australia and is of Aboriginal and Finnish descent.

In 2022, she won the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama for her role as Mary in Mystery Road: Origin, and was named a rising star by the Casting Guild of Australia (see page 32).

Narkle’s first major acting role came as Ruby in the play Stolen by Jane Harrison, directed and produced by Leah Purcell. This drove her to audition for NIDA, graduating in 2018.

In 2023, Narkle will be seen in Stan’s Bad Behaviour, recently selected for Berlinale Series. She also starred in the AACTA Award winning short-form series All My Friends Are Racist, and in theatre, has been seen in Winyanboga Yurringa, Black is the New White, Sunshine Supergirl, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Cyrano.

THE ENSEMBLE CAST OF HEARTBREAK HIGH

SHANTAE BARNES-COWAN

After her 2019 breakout in Total Control, Shantae Barnes-Cowan was cast in Operation Buffalo and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, before landing the lead in Jub Clerc’s debut feature Sweet As.

Sweet As screened at both the Melbourne International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022, and will soon screen in Berlin. Barnes-Cowan stars as Murra, a troubled Indigenous teenager on a journey of self-discovery.

Immediately after shooting Sweet As, Barnes-Cowan was cast as Shanika in the AMC+ international series Firebite.

Barnes-Cowan was named a rising star by the Casting Guild of Australia in 2019. She has also been a recipient of the Australia Day Youth Citizen of the Year Award, a NAIDOC Week Award, and has been a SA ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

When Netflix’s Heartbreak High premiered in September, it cracked the top ten most watched shows in 43 countries, hitting number one in Australia. Its global success is in no small part due to the strength of its young cast of rising stars, including Ayesha Madon, James Majoos, Chloe Hayden, Asher Yasbincek, Thomas Weatherall (who won an AACTA for his performance), Bryn Chapman-Parish, Will McDonald, Gemma Chua-Tran, Sherry-Lee Watson, Brodie Townsend and Josh Heuston, as well as Chika Ikogwe as the students’ teacher. With each of these actors poised for international careers, we believe the entire cast deserves an ensemble recognition.

Graduate Diploma in Visual Effects

CINEMATOGRAPHERS

TYSON PERKINS

Tyson Perkins is Arrernte and Kalkadoon DOP based in Sydney.

In 2022, Perkins won the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography in a Television Series for his work on Mystery Road: Origin, on which he worked alongside frequent collaborator, director Dylan River. He was also DOP on the AACTA Award-winning short Finding Jedda, and shot second unit for Netflix’s Heartbreak High.

This year, he will shoot Samuel Van Grinsven’s second feature film, Went Up the Hill

Perkins’ other credits as cinematographer include Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair’s AACTA-winning documentary Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra, Allan Clarke documentary The Bowraville Murders, Amazon Prime Video sketch series The Moth Effect and SBS’s AACTA-winning short form series Robbie Hood. In 2021, he received two Gold ACS NSW Awards for his work on Julia Stone music video We All Have and TVC The Upside Sport.

KATE CORNISH

Kate Cornish is cinematographer from Sydney, who shoots across narrative, documentary and music. She is passionate about authentic queer representation in her storytelling.

As Cornish launched her freelance career, she began to make her mark shooting comedy, most notably for SBS’s The Feed, shooting over 150 sketches for television and online in 2019.

In 2021, Cornish was recognised as an emerging talent and named a Canon Australia ambassador. Canon granted her support to make a film chronicling the untold story of Australia’s Dykes on Bikes, which in 2022 won a Silver ACS Award.

Most recently, Cornish served as a DOP for the upcoming Seven sketch show, We Interrupt This Broadcast, produced by Helium. She was also a shadow cinematographer attachment on Wolf Like Me season 2.

MAXX CORKINDALE

The Adelaide-based Maxx Corkindale’s recent work includes Rolf de Heer’s The Survival of Kindness (in competition this year at Berlinale), an episode of the ABC's Aftertaste, and 2nd unit cinematography on Thomas M Wright’s The Stranger and the BBC/HBOMax series The Tourist.

Corkindale also worked with director Molly Reynolds for four years to create the AACTA Award winning feature documentary My Name is Gulpilil – the late actor David Gulpilil’s life story –a project that he counts as a career highlight.

From 2012-2014, Corkindale co-shot documentary Sons and Mothers with mentor Aaron Gully ACS, winning both an AACTA. In 2014, he also received Best Cinematography at the St Kilda Film Festival for the short film Welcome to Iron Knob, which also became the AACTA Short Film of the Decade.

Corkindale has shot two ARIA-nominated music videos for the Hilltop Hoods, Cosby Sweater and Exit Sign, along with the awardwinning clip for A.B. Original’s political anthem, January 26

Upcoming projects include the true crime docu-drama Speedway, the indie thriller You’ll Never Find Me, and music videos for Stace Cadet and JJ.

EDWARD GOLDNER

Edward Goldner ACS is a cinematographer working across television drama, feature films, commercials and music videos.

Goldner recently shot season two of Love Me and is attached to several long-form projects shooting this year, including James Robinson’s debut feature First Light.

Early in his career, Goldner won Best Cinematography in the National Kodak Film School Competition for his work on Morning Star (dir. Jessica Barclay Lawton). Shortly after, he was named Emerging Cinematographer of the Year by the ACS and NFSA. The award provided Goldner with a grant to travel to Hungary and complete the Budapest Cinematography Masterclass under the tutelage of the late Vilmos Zsimond ASC HSC.

Since then, he has received over a dozen awards from the ACS, along with a number of festival awards.

Outside of his motion picture work, Goldner also regularly undertakes and exhibits personal photographic projects. These often examine isolated communities throughout the world, looking at the interplay between tradition and modernity. This work has taken him to extremely remote areas of Russia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mauritania and Iran.

SISSY REYES

Sissy Reyes is a Mexican-Australian cinematographer. Raised in vibrant Mexico, she has a passion for telling stories through colour and light.

With a background in fine art photography, Reyes developed her storytelling flair by crafting standalone narratives for each of her photos. She was awarded a NSW Artist grant and the Ian Potter Cultural Trust grant in support of her Arteles Artist Residency in Finland, where she produced the photo series The Martians are Coming, exhibited in 2017 in Australia and internationally.

Moving into cinematography, Reyes started working in corporate and video art, and was later awarded the ACS Drew Llewellyn Scholarship to attend Camerimage in November 2018. In 2021, Reyes moved to TV broadcast, shooting and editing documentaries for SBS’s The Feed, closely collaborating with journalists and executive producers. In 2022, she received a Walkley Award for outstanding Indigenous Affairs Journalism for Vanished: the unsolved cases of First Nations women. This also earnt her an ACS NSW Gold award. Reyes is currently freelance, working on documentary, factual and narrative projects.

COMPOSERS

ANGELA LITTLE

In 2022, Angela Little was nominated for both a Screen Music Award and an AACTA Award for her score for A Stitch in Time. She was also nominated for a Screen Music Award for Best Music for an Advertisement for Ausfilm: The Australian Job, which also won her a Hollywood Music in Media Award.

Little’s break in screen scoring was back on Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, for which she composed additional music, and was singer and co-writer of the film’s end song, By The Boab Tree. In 2015, she featured as a vocal soloist on Marco Beltrami’s score for Gods of Egypt, and composed the score for documentary Zach’s Ceremony.

Little relocated to LA in 2018 to complete a Master of Music Screen Scoring at the University of Southern California. There, she was mentored by Thomas Newman, and was awarded the Sandra and Alan Silvestri scholarship and the Joe and Alice Harnell Award. After graduating, she began composing for LA-based Hexany Audio, working on AAA game titles such as Tencent’s Honor of Kings. In 2022, she signed to Peermusic.

Little’s recent credits as composer include Everybody’s Oma, Never Too Late, Streamline, Mistletoe’s Ranch, Swimming for Gold, Back of the Net and Dive Club, for which she was nominated for a Screen Music Award in 2021. In 2019, she won a Screen Music Award for short film For The Girl in the Coffee Shop.

DANIEL O’BRIEN

EVELYN IDA MORRIS

Evelyn Ida Morris started their career releasing albums under the name Pikelet. In 2017, Morris then released their first self-titled album, which represented a significant departure from the looping pop of Pikelet and instead focused wholly on piano. Thematically, the album dealt with the experience of being non-binary.

Morris’s debut film score was for Thomas M. Wright’s debut feature Acute Misfortune, which was nominated for an ARIA. They have since scored two further features, David O’Donnell’s Under My Skin and the recent NZ feature Millie Lies Low, directed by Michelle Savill, which played in Berlin and SXSW.

Morris also scored Lucy Knox’s short Hot Mother, which screened in Berlin in 2020.

Over the past three years, Morris has also worked as a sound designer and composer for conceptual artists Agatha-Gothe-Snape and Sarah Rodigari, and has presented works at MUMA gallery with them both. They are currently making their own collage film series featuring contemporary dancers, to be presented as an installation and released alongside their upcoming album Like Comfort. This will be released on Remote Control Records, as well as an improvised piano album called Extended Time, made in response to the work of painter Elizabeth Newman.

Daniel O’Brien is a Brisbane-based composer whose recent credits include Bluey, The Strange Chores and season two of Fisk.

O’Brien was classically trained at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, majoring in composition. In 2021, he graduated with a Master of Arts Screen (composition) from AFTRS.

In addition to his long-form work, O’Brien is a two-time BADC (Brisbane Advertising & Design Club) award winner for his television commercial work with major clients such as Sea World, Dreamworld, Gold Lotto, and CPL.

O’Brien enjoys collaborating with fellow musicians, composers, and filmmakers. In his spare time, he collects weird and whacky instruments.

SALLIANA SEVEN CAMPBELL

Salliana Seven Campbell is a freelance composer and multi-instrumentalist performing on five-string violin, nyckelharpa, octave mandolin, baritone bowed psaltery, piano, hammered dulcimer, hurdy gurdy and vocals.

She recently made her feature film debut on Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, which saw her win the Screen Music Award for Feature Film Score of the Year in 2022 and nominated for an AACTA.

Campbell studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and has performed with artists such as Alex Lloyd, Bernard Fanning, Powderfinger, Kate Mille-Heidke, Russell Morris, Kasey Chambers, Grant McLennan, Michael Leunig and Lior.

She has also written soundtracks for theatre, notably Shake and Stir’s A Christmas Carol and is a session player recording fiddle and string arrangements for artists and bands.

Currently she tours year-round with Alex Lloyd playing five-string fiddle and piano.

DMITRI GOLOVKO

Dmitri Golovko is a composer and sound designer who has worked on feature films, documentaries, TV series, commercials and games.

Golovko started composing music at an early age with a background in percussion and piano. With an infatuation with films, games and storytelling he went on to study filmmaking at the VCA. While that didn’t last long, since abandoning his film studies he has gone on to pursue a successful career in music.

In 2019 and 2021, Golovko was nominated for Screen Music Awards for his work on Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. In 2019, he was nominated for Best Music in an Advertisement, and in 2022, Best Music in a Short Film for Bellysaurus. He was also nominated for Best Soundtrack Album for Red Hill back in 2011.

His other diverse credits as composer include The Gloaming, China’s Artful Dissident and Footballer Wants A Wife, with his music also featured in The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

COSTUME DESIGNERS

at 17. At 22, she studied a BA Design at Goldsmiths College. During this time, she started work experience as fashion assistant at Men’s Health Magazine, leading to a job as an assistant on Vogue Russia and Vogue Japan.

Her first break into the screen industry was styling a KFC commercial. This soon turned into TVCs and music videos for artists such as Ed Sheeran, Rufus Wainwright, Florence and The Machine and Take That.

Lamp moved to Melbourne in 2018 and became a mother. She primarily works in TVCs, having recently having opened a studio space specifically for costume fittings, Lampy’s

In 2022, she designed her first TV show, SBS Digital Original Latecomers. The project gave her a taste for long-form which she hopes to explore further.

OLIVIA SIMPSON

Olivia Simpson is an British/ Australian costume designer living between Sydney and London.

Since 2010, she has worked her way up from runner to designer, working across film, TV, music videos and commercials. After working under greats such as Lizzie Gardener and Catherine Martin, Simpson completed postgraduate studies in costume design at AFTRS in 2013.

Simpson’s long-form credits as costume designer include Pimped, Measure for Measure, Friends and Strangers, and UK feature A Christmas Number One. She has worked in the costume department for numerous productions such as The Dig, The Nightingale, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Peter Rabbit and 2:22.

In 2020, Simpson was nominated for both an AACTA and an APDG Award for her work on the Measure for Measure, and in 2022, was twice nominated at the APDG Awards for A Christmas Number One and Friends and Strangers.

GENEVIEVE GRAHAM

VICTORIA PERRY

Victoria Perry is a costume designer and maker predominantly working between Sydney and Adelaide. She is a graduate of NIDA, where she was the 2019 recipient of the Judith Meschke Award for excellence in costume-making.

Her recent experience has spanned both Australian and international productions. She has designed costumes for both short and feature films, such as Stakeout Films’ debut thriller You’ll Never Find Me.

Perry has worked as a costume maker for films such as Furiosa, Thor: Love and Thunder, Three Thousand Years of Longing and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

As a designer and collaborator, Perry is drawn to colour and texture, and has a special interest in textile design and manipulation. She draws on this and her experience in costume construction to help bring characters to life.

ERYN BURNETT-BLUE

Born and raised in Sydney, Eryn Burnett-Blue moved to Perth to study costume construction at WAAPA and graduated in 2017. She worked on a few theatrical productions between Sydney and Perth before entering the screen industry in 2019.

Her career began in Perth as a costume standby assistant, and she has since had work opportunities in both Australia and to London, where she was costume assistant on Stath Lets Flats and Ladhood. More recently, she has started to step-up as an on-set costume standby.

Burnett-Blue’s Australian credits in the costume department include Class of ’07, The Messenger, Itch, The Furnace, Blueback, How to Please a Woman, Kid Snow, and Sweet As. Burnett-Blue considers her favourite jobs as the ones that have involved visiting rural towns, seeing costumes come to life within the Australian landscape. She looks forward to challenging herself and exploring costume design in the future.

Genevieve Graham is NIDA graduate with both a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design for Performance) and a Masters of Fine Arts (Design for Performance).

In 2017, Graham received the APDG Emerging Designer Award for Live Performance for her production and costume design of Eurydike and Orpheus, directed by Priscilla Jackman. That same year, she designed the costumes for The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s Bittersweet Obsession, a new Baroque opera.

After graduating from NIDA, Graham was appointed costume designer for season two of Seven’s children’s series Drop Dead Weird. Since then she has designed costumes for both stage and screen, including The Ensemble Theatre shows Diplomacy, The Appleton Ladies Potato Race and A Christmas Carol.

In 2022, Graham was costume designer for SBS Digital Original Appetite and ABC ME series The Disposables. Earlier that year, she was lead costume buyer for Netflix’s Heartbreak High and most recently, costume buyer for Paramount+ series Paper Dolls

When designing costumes, Graham takes character as the starting point, and places the collaboration between designer, actor and director at the forefront of her design process.

(Image: Sam Steinle for Couch 44)

DIRECTORS

IMOGEN MCCLUSKEY

Imogen McCluskey is a writer and director based between Sydney and Los Angeles, with dual UK/ Australian citizenship.

In 2022, she was series director for all 10 episodes of ABC ME series Soundtrack to Our Teenage Zombie Apocalypse.

McCluskey made her feature debut in 2019 with the micro budget Suburban Wildlife, which was runner up for the Audience Award at Sydney Film Festival and screened internationally, including Taormina, Cinequest, and the London Australian Film Festival, where she was honoured as debut director.

Her web series Love Bug, funded by Screen Australia, has more than 2.5 million views on TikTok and earned her both an ADG and AWGIE Award nomination. She also directed a season of TikTok series Love Songs.

McCluskey’s AFTRS graduating short film GEM won the EU Film Award in 2018, and her short Atomic Love screened the 2020 BFI Flare Festival, Edmonton IFF, Encounters FF, OUTFEST LA, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and Short of the Week.

She is the recipient of Screen Australia Enterprise funding, a Sloan/AFI Scholarship and the American Australian Association scholarship to study a Masters of Directing at the American Film Institute.

NEIL SHARMA

Neil Sharma is a Sydney-based director whose directing credits include Netflix’s Heartbreak High, upcoming SBS Digital Original Appetite, and ABC children’s series The Unlisted and Born to Spy This year, Sharma will set up and direct the dramedy series Mother and Son for Wooden Horse and the ABC, starring Matt Okine and Denise Scott. Sharma graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts, Media and Cultural Studies, before furthering his studies at AFTRS. With high profile mentors such as Taika Waititi and Jeffrey Walker, he cut his teeth as an assistant director on productions such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Furiosa, Mortal Kombat, and The Dressmaker.

Sharma’s other credits include assistant to Waititi on Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as AD roles on Lost Flowers on Alice Hart, Lion, The Cry, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Whistleblower, Love Child and Dance Academy. Sharma is repped by HLA Management.

MATT VESELY

Matt Vesely is a South Australian writer/director, often combining his love of science fiction with a sincere view of human relationships.

Vesely’s debut feature film Monolith, backed by the South Australian Film Corporation’s Film Lab: New Voices initiative, premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival 2022 and will have its international premiere in March at SXSW.

His 2020 short film System Error was selected for Tribeca Film Festival and has more than 500,000 views on sci-fi social platform DUST. In 2015, his short My Best Friend Is Stuck on the Ceiling premiered at Adelaide, and was nominated for the Dendy Award for Best Australian Short at the Sydney Film Festival, where it received a special mention for the Short Screenplay Award.

Vesely has written for television series Aftertaste, Wastelander Panda, Fucking Adelaide, and The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, and script produced The Hunting and Aftertaste.

He is currently in development on his own television and feature film projects. These include Immersion, a television series with Garth Davis, which has received Screen Australia development funding.

Vesely is repped by HLA Management.

STEF SMITH

Stef Smith is creator and director of short-form series It’s Fine, I’m Fine, which premiered at Canneseries in 2022, before screening at MIFF and being picked up by SBS. The Sydney Morning Herald dubbed It’s Fine, I’m Fine “the best Australian drama series of the year” and it earned Smith an ADG Award nomination. Smith was also nominated for two further ADG Awards in 2022, for the immersive Moving Portrait Series and TVC Baroque In Bloom – Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

This year, Smith will direct No Stupid Questions for the ABC, a comedy series from Mercury Scout.

Smith’s Joy Boy, funded via Create NSW’s Generator Emerging Filmmakers Fund, screened internationally including Palm Springs, Iris Prize and in the American Pavilion Emerging Directors Showcase in Cannes 2020.

Smith directed the ABC iview Fresh Blood series The Lost Tapes, is a recipient of the Create NSW #SheDirects initiative, and was shortlisted for Sundance New Voices Lab 2019. She is also a recipient of the ADG 2018 Commercial and Content Mentorship Program, a MIFF Accelerator Lab alumni and directs commercials with Photoplay, winning the ADG Award for Best Direction in Commercial Content 2021.

Smith is represented by Casarotto Ramsay.

KANE SENES AND HANNAH BARLOW

Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes are a writing/directing duo from Sydney. Their sophomore feature Sissy opened the SXSW Midnighters section in 2022 to rave review, and quickly sold to streaming service Shudder for North America, the UK, Ireland and ANZ. The film would go on to be nominated for three AACTA Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction for both Senes and Barlow. On the festival circuit, it won multiple awards, including the Audience Award at BiFan.

The pair’s debut feature was 2019’s For Now, a semi-autobiographical mumblecore road film which they also starred in and made for just $20,000.

Barlow and Senes are represented by WME and Grandview Management

(Photo credit: Jonathan VDK)

LILY DAVIS

Lily Davis is a Sydney-based editor at The Editors.

In 2020, she co-edited her first feature documentary Run, which earned her a nomination for Best Editing in a Feature Documentary at the Australian Screen Editors Ellie Awards. Davis also co-edited the feature documentary Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow, which was selected for both the Melbourne International Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival.

In 2021, Davis won an Ellie Award for Best Editing in Corporate and Branded for her work on the ANZ campaign We Do How

Most recently, Davis edited It’s Fine, I’m Fine, the only Australian production in competition at CanneSeries, and SBS Digital Original A Beginner’s Guide To Grief, which won the 2022 AACTA Award for Best Digital Series.

Davis serves on the ASE’s executive committee.

RISHI SHUKLA

EDITORS

DANIEL OATES

Beginning his career as an assistant editor in kids TV, Daniel Oates was given his first opportunity to edit for broadcast TV on the ABC ME program This is Me in 2016.

In the years since he has honed his skills working across both children’s scripted drama and documentaries, including Random and Whacky, The Gamers 2037 and Miss Represented In 2022, he was editor of NITV’s Barrumbi Kids and the AACTA-nominated ABC docuseries, Muster Dogs.

Oates says he’s happiest simply when telling stories; finding threads and connecting moments to help build narratives that engage and emote.

MICHELLE MCGILVRAY

Michelle McGilvray, based in Brisbane, has recently cut First Weapons, a six-part series for Blackfella Films/ABC, and animated feature film Scarygirl for Cosmic Dino.

Her other credits as editor include animated features Daisy Quokka and Combat Wombat, as well as factual series Gem Hunters Down Under, Aussie Mega Mechanics, three series of Demolition: Down Under, The Ex Files and Am I Perfect?.

In 2019, McGilvray won the Australian Screen Editors Ellie Award for Best Editing in a Short Drama for Reverse.

Rishi Shukla grew up in the Western suburbs of Sydney, raised on a diet of Bollywood, Hollywood and world cinema, and making home movies on Super 8 and VHS.

After gaining acceptance into North Sydney TAFE for Film and Television Production, Shukla got got his first break as an assistant editor at the ABC, working on a variety of documentary and drama projects. He would then go on to study at AFTRS, and after graduating, moved further into scripted storytelling. His first feature was Moon Rock for Monday, winner of the 2020 Fipresci Jury Prize at the Schlingel International Film Festival.

In 2022, Shukla won the Australian Screen Editors Ellie Award for Best Editing in Short Drama for Stonefish, which was also nominated for an AACTA. His other credits include Bill Bennett’s documentaries Facing Fear and PGS: Intuition is Your Personal Guidance System.

As an assistant editor, Shukla has worked on an extensive number of projects, such as Carmen, Blaze, Go Karts, Cargo and Breath. Shukla is about to commence editing Bill Bennett’s Walk the Walk

ISAAC COEN LINDSAY

A Ngarrindjeri man originally from the Coorong, Isaac Coen Lindsay now hails from Berri in South Australia’s Riverland. With a passion for cinema growing up, Lindsay’s start in the industry came in 2013, when he attended a workshop at Port Augusta ABC Radio and made his first short, PostCard from the Edge. That led to him being part of the South Australian Film Corporation’s “micro docs” initiative in 2015, and an attachment to the electrics department on Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country

In 2018, Lindsay, wrote and directed his first funded short, Konya, starring Natasha Wanganeen and the late Ningali Lawford Wolf, which premiered at Adelaide Film Festival in 2018.

His editing work on the Kaurna Welcome to Country for the 2020 Adelaide Film Festival led to his first feature film as editor, Rolf de Heer’s The Survival of Kindness, in competition this year at Berlinale.

Lindsay is currently working on his own feature project, Bloodland, which he is writing, and which he intends to direct and edit.

HAIR AND MAKEUP

AOIFE MURRAY

Aoife Murray is a makeup artist living in Mparntwe/Alice Springs and originally from County Clare, Ireland.

Originating in theatre, Murray’s entry into film and television came via TV series Vikings. In 2016, she made the leap to Alice Springs, where she has since landed roles as head of department on Maverix for ABC/Netflix, SBS’s Robbie Hood, and NITV’s History Bites Back. She was most recently a makeup artist for SBS/NITV’s True Colours

Murray is a self-professed nerd for special effects and loves when things get gory. She has a passion for illusionist body painting, with her work showcased in exhibitions and live body paint installations.

Living amongst the colours of Arrernte country, she considers it a privilege to have worked on a variety of cutting edge First Nations productions, which continue to shape and inspire her as an artist.

REBECCA ALLEN

REBECCA BURRATO

Based in Adelaide, Rebecca Buratto has worked as a hair, makeup and SFX artist for over a decade. In 2022, she stepped up to designer on Talk to Me and A Beginners Guide to Grief. Within her time in the industry, she has worked in the hair and makeup department on productions such as Mortal Kombat, Sweet Country, 2067, The Stranger, Total Control, and Aftertaste

Her work with Danny and Michael Philippou on Talk to Me, screening in Sundance, SXSW and Berlin, continues a long-standing collaboration on their YouTube channel, RackaRacka.

Burrato has a strong interest in horror and sci-fi, so will always navigate towards productions that keep her interests sparked – and her hands a little bloody.

KAREN GOWER

Karen (Kaz) Gower is an Adelaide-based hair and makeup artist, with experience across media, from music videos, news, sport presentations and her true passion, film and television.

Gower served as head of department on both season one and two of ABC’s Aftertaste, and recently designed hair and makeup for feature film Monolith, due to screen at SXSW in March.

Her other recent credits include makeup artist to Jamie Dornan in BBC/Stan series The Tourist, as well as artist on Foxtel’s Rockwiz and ABC’s Bay of Fires. Her work can also be seen in Mortal Kombat, Escape to Pretoria, Storm Boy, The Hunting, Upright and The Secret She Keeps.

Gower is currently working on a TV series in Sydney.

Rebecca Allen is a Gold Coast-based makeup artist, prosthetics artist and hairdresser for film and TV.

After completing her diploma in makeup, Rebecca worked in bridal and fashion before breaking into the screen industry in 2011. She would go on to complete a Certificate III in hairdressing and then studied prosthetics makeup in the UK under the renowned Neil Gorton in 2016.

This led to work on cult classic Ash Vs Evil Dead, and alongside legacy effects artists on Guardians of the Galaxy characters for Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder

While based in Australia, Allen has worked across the globe including China for Legend of Sun and Moon, NZ for Cowboy Bebop and Alien Covenant and Europe for Amazon’s Wheel of Time

Her extensive credits also include Aquaman, Dora the Explorer, Godzilla vs. Kong, and crowd hair for Elvis. In 2019, she designed local cult horror Bloody Hell.

Most recently, Allen worked on George Miller’s Furiosa with Oscar winner Lesley Vanderwalt.

SAMARA GILDEA

Samara Gildea is a hair, makeup and prosthetics artist based out of Sydney. After graduating from the Australian College of Make Up and Special Effects in 2014, she has gone on to work on projects such as Hacksaw Ridge, Picnic at Hanging Rock, High Ground, Stateless, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Fall Guy, Class of ’07, Clickbait and Young Rock She also worked on The True History of the Kelly Gang, which won the AACTA Award for Best Make Up and Hairstyling in 2020.

Among Gildea’s career highlights has been working on Furiosa. She had previously completed work experience on the Sydney pick-ups on Mad Max: Fury Road, so to work as an artist on the prequel was a full circle moment.

Gildea is enthusiastic about education, and training new and diverse artists, believing there is room for everyone to share their craft and tell their stories.

BETHANY BRUCE

Bethany Bruce is an independent producer, making socially aware films under her production company, Staple Fiction. Her slate includes Make It Look Real, a feature documentary represented by sales agent Autlook Filmsales (Oscar-nominated For Sama), with frequent collaborator, director Kate Blackmore. Blackmore and Bruce’s previous work includes ABC documentaries The Art of Collecting, Video Becomes Us, and Art Bites: The Glass Bedroom

In 2022, Bruce’s A Cup of Tea with writer/ director Dee Dogan (Here Out West) and producer Bridget Ikin won the development prize in the Attagirl international feature film lab. She was also included among Screen Producers Australia’s Ones to Watch.

Bruce’s credits include short films The Butter Scene, Broken Line North, AACTA Social-Shorts nominated Wolf and Tinseltown, and she was executive producer on Birdie.

Bruce has been mentored by Felix Media’s Ikin as part of a Screen Australia Enterprise People grant, working on the BAFTA-nominated documentary Sherpa and The Rehearsal. She was also a co-producer of Selina Miles’s documentary Martha: A Picture Story.

Bruce holds First Class Honours in Media Arts and Production from UTS.

TSU SHAN CHAMBERS

Tsu Shan Chambers is an actor, writer and producer who is passionate about bringing awareness to issues that matter.

Chambers was recently elected to the Screen Producers Australia Council and was previously one of the organisation’s Ones to Watch in 2018. She was also awarded the Charlies Grant Residency with Australians in Film in 2021.

PRODUCERS

LIAM HEYEN

Liam Heyen is a Sydney-based producer who is passionate about telling stories that explore the LGBTQI+ experience.

From 2014 to 2020, he worked at Goalpost Pictures across all facets of the company, including as the associate producer of Cleverman and Helen Reddy biopic I Am Woman, and co-producer of Top End Wedding and New Gold Mountain. During this time, Heyen was also the production executive of feature films Upgrade and The Invisible Man, both directed by Leigh Whannell.

Through his production company Mad Ones, alongside producing partner Cyna Strachan, Heyen has produced shorts including Adult; You and Me, Before and After, which screened in Toronto in 2021; Strangers and Voice Activated, which was nominated for an AACTA Award in 2022.

Most recently, Heyen produced Latecomers through SBS and Screen Australia's Digital Originals program. He is currently producing Erotic Stories with Lingo Pictures – an 8 x 30 minute anthology series for SBS and ITV Studios and will next produce Sophie Hyde’s new feature film, JIMPA.

Heyen is a graduate of AFTRS and Griffith Film School. He was named among Screen Producers Australia's Ones to Watch in 2021.

SARAH FREEMAN

JESSICA MAGRO

Based in Meanjin/ Brisbane, Jessica Magro is a proud Samoan-MalteseAustralian producer and the founder of independent production company Purple Carrot Entertainment, which has a strong focus on Pasifika-led stories.

In 2022, Magro produced and directed documentary The Alexander Ball for SBS's Curious Australia initative. Her growing development slate includes drama comedy series DIVA, which received development funding through the SBS/Screen Australia Digital Originals initiative, and a long-form factual series. Purple Carrot’s previous credits include short doc FEZ for ABC Arts, showcasing SamoanAustralian entertainer Fez Faanana.

In 2021, Magro was named among Screen Producers Australia’s Ones to Watch, and was awarded the Screen Australia internship with Liliana Munoz from Maximo Entertainment. Magro previously worked as producer at WildBear Entertainment and currently works as assistant producer at Ludo Studio, producing the global publishing program for Bluey, while developing independent projects at Purple Carrot Entertainment.

Magro is also an avid writer, publishing a piece on Screenhub about the power of visibility for Pacific Islanders in the arts.

Sarah Freeman is a creative producer who is passionate about projects full of personality, compelling perspectives, and driven storylines.

Her projects include romance drama feature, Unsound, about deaf culture and pride. Directed by Ian Watson, the film was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Indie Film in 2020 and sold to Netflix in ANZ and Fuse TV in the US.

In 2022, Chambers completed her latest feature length project, SUKA, a multicultural action drama due to be released this year.

Last year Chambers was also selected for the Australian Writers Guild and Screen NSW’s First Break initiative, and her latest feature My Eyes, which she co-wrote and is producing, received development support from VicScreen.

Chambers serves on numerous industry committees, including the inaugural Diversity Justice Lens group for screen equity and inclusion and the AFTRS Alumni Advisory Group.

Most recently, Freeman produced Netflix’s reboot of Heartbreak High for Fremantle and Newbe, which reached the top five globally on the streamer and was nominated for 15 AACTA Awards, including Best Drama Series, winning six.

Freeman began her career in TVC production, before moving to Matchbox Pictures to work alongside co-founder and executive producer, Tony Ayres. Through Screen Australia’s Gender Matters program, Freeman went on to become Amanda Higgs’ producer attachment, then associate producer on the first and second series of International Emmy-nominated series, Mustangs FC.

In 2019, backed by VicScreen, Freeman undertook a producer placement at Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment in Los Angeles, working across a range of international and Australian film and television projects in development. In 2020, she produced the Gen-Z halfhour comedy series, Why Are You Like This for ABC and Netflix.

Freeman is currently in development on season 2 of Heartbreak High.

PRODUCTION DESIGNERS

AISHA PHILLIPS

Aisha Phillips is a freelance production designer and art director working across commercials, television and film since 2014.

Most recently she was the production designer for feature film 6 Festivals directed by Macario De Souza for Paramount+, and SBS Digital Original Latecomers

Prior to this, Phillips worked as set decorator on feature film Here Out West, which opened Sydney Film Festival 2021 and was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Film in 2022.

Her design work focuses on beauty in realism. Alongside her film work, Phillips co-founded Backyart, an exhibition series re-imagining private/public space through art and performance in the humble backyard.

WEI GUO

Wei Guo is a production designer based in Melbourne, with a Masters in Production Design for Screen from VCA, and a Bachelors of Interior Architecture (Honours) from UNSW.

While at VCA, Guo designed short films All We Have Is Time, which won the Vectorworks Design Scholarship in 2021 and Best Production Design for a Short Film at APDG Awards in 2022, and The Underpass He currently works between long-form narrative and short films. His recent credits include production designer for ABC Kaleidoscope Project Yaz Queens, and set designer for Shantaram, Crazy Fun Park, Better Man and Metropolis

Guo believes production design should be empathetic to the characters and create an atmosphere in support of the storytelling. His knowledge of interior design, research, character development and project management informs his work.

EMMA BOURKE

MARNI KORNHAUSER

Marni Kornhauser is a production designer and art director working across film, television and TVCs, who aims to complement story through attention to detail and love of colour and texture.

After an extended period in commercials, Kornhauser moved back into long-form as art director of Justin Kurzel’s Nitram, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the AACTA for Best Film in 2021.

In 2022, Kornhauser was then production designer for Netflix’s Heartbreak High, which saw her nominated for an AACTA Award. She has just finished designing the second season of Binge’s Love Me, and is currently in production for season two of Heartbreak High.

Kornhauser’s other credits as production designer include ABC/Netflix series Why Are You Like This? and she was art director for web series Other People’s Problems

JONAH BOOTH-REMMERS

Jonah Booth-Remmers is a South Australiabased production designer who completed his debut feature design credit on Carnifex in 2021. This was quickly followed with design roles on the second season of ABC comedy Aftertaste, the supernatural thriller Monolith, making its international premiere at SXSW in March, and cold case murder mystery Speedway

Booth-Remmers developed his aesthetic eye through many years of traditional art practice and visual art studies , including entertainment design and 3D animation at AFTRS. His passion is for building visually compelling and authentic worlds that enrich the narrative of a film.

Other recent credits in the art department include concept art for The Last Daughter, graphics for The Stranger, concept artist for Buckley’s Chance and swing gang for Mortal Kombat.

Emma Bourke is a production designer working in both the Gold Coast and Sydney.

Bourke recently worked as an assistant designer on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, under production designers Karen Murphy and Catherine Martin. She worked on the film for three and half years, from pre-production through to premiere, including assisting with the Elvis special in Vogue Australia.

In 2019, Bourke won the APDG’s Student and Emerging Designer for Screen Award for short film Sweet Tooth. That film was her capstone project at AFTRS, where she graduated from in 2018 with a Masters of Screen: Production Design.

In 2022, she was again nominated for an APDG Award for short film The Home Team.

Bourke also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Photography from UNSW, a Diploma of Screen Media and was the recipient of the Chris Ebling Industry Achievement Award in 2017. She has previously worked as a freelance makeup artist in film and TV and has a diploma in interior design.

ADAM DIXON-GALEA

SOUND

WERONIKA RAŹNA

Kaurna man Adam DixonGalea graduated from Flinders University with a Bachelor in Screen and Media in 2019 and quickly gained experience on a range of productions.

In 2021, the South Australian Film Corporation supported Dixon-Galea with a post-production attachment on ABC/Netflix children’s series MaveriX, working under industry leader Pete Best of Best FX.

Last year, Dixon-Galea had his first head of department role as sound designer, sound recordist and FX editor on Rolf de Heer’s latest feature film The Survival of Kindness, which made its debut at the Adelaide Film Festival. Working alongside Pete Best, Dixon-Galea also dialogue edited two feature documentaries: Madeleine Perry’s The Angel’s: Kickin’ the Door Down, chronicling the seventies Aussie rock group, and Larissa Behrendt’s You Can Go Now, tracing 50 years of First Nations activism in Australia.

XOE BAIRD

Based in Perth, Xoe Baird is an accredited supervising sound editor and ADR engineer for film, TV, and interactive media.

In 2016, Baird opened her own sound post-production facility, XB Studios. She has won several awards, including the AACTA for Best Sound in a Documentary in 2022 for Facing Monsters and in 2019 for 100 Days to Victory

Baird is currently the vice president and WA representative for the Australian Screen Sound Guild (ASSG). She’s passionate about nurturing young emerging talent and an advocate for the needs and growth of the WA industry. She has been nominated for three ASSG Awards, for Facing Monsters, Carmentis, and Sol Bunker.

Baird recently sound supervised both How to Please a Woman and Where All Light Tends to Go, and was sound editor for 100% Wolf: Legend of Moonstone.

ROSE MACKENZIE-PETERSON

Weronika Raźna is a Sydney-based sound editor/designer/mixer, hailing from Poland.

A graduate of sound engineering at Frederic Chopin University of Music, her focus is on sound post-production for film, audio and visual arts projects. She has a live mixing background (theatre and TV), and her interests also include field recording.

Her credits include documentaries The Final Quarter and I’m Wanita, features Square and Sweet River, and shorts Nice 14.07.16, Birdie, Sydney Film Festival winner Second Best, and The Best Fireworks Ever, which won the Canal+ Award at the Cannes Critics’ Week.

Raźna has been nominated for five Australian Screen Sound Guild (ASSG) Awards for her work across The Final Quarter and Machine in 2019, The Strange Chores and The Commons in 2020 and All Silent Dogs in 2022.

She is a member of SFP (Polish Film Association), AES (Audio Engineering Society), and the ASSG.

MARISA MARSIONIS

Marisa Marsionis is a freelance sound editor based in Sydney, with work spanning features, TV, shorts, TVCs, podcasts, immersive installations, live radio and theatre. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music and Sound Design from UTS, she quickly gained an internship as an assistant sound editor, falling in love the screen industry.

Marsionis was then hired as a junior sound designer at Wildbear Entertainment, working on projects such as And We Danced, a documentary series on The Australian Ballet; and Jurassic World By Brickman, an immersive Lego exhibition co-produced with Universal Studios.

In 2021, she moved back to Sydney and went freelance. Her current focus is on long-form drama as a dialogue editor, with recent projects including Three Thousand Years of Longing, Wolf Like Me and Elvis.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Sound and Music Design from UTS, Rose Mackenzie-Peterson initially went on to work as a score recordist, working on scores by composers including Dominic Lewis (Peter Rabbit) and Benjamin Wallfisch (Mortal Kombat). Recently, she has pivoted to focus more on composition for screen, studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, while continuing to work as a music editor, mix engineer and composer’s assistant, and picking up a few additional music and co-composer credits.

Mackenzie-Peterson has been nominated for two Australian Screen Sound Guild Awards: Best Sound in an animated short film in 2021 for Goodbye Home and Best Film Sound Recording in 2018 for Peter Rabbit.

Under her solo indie-pop project, VRDA, Mackenzie-Peterson fuses her background as a classical violinist and her love for rich synth and vocal harmonies to create a symphony of layered sounds. Her performance career began at age 14 touring NSW folk festivals, before becoming a violinist and vocalist for Lupa J. VRDA released her first EP, Honey Organza, in 2022 and signed to Peer Music Publishing in 2023.

VFX AND ANIMATION

ALANA LENNIE

Alana Lennie is lead lighting technical director for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) Sydney.

With over 10 years of experience in the visual effects industry, Lennie has built a career in CGI lighting and rendering for feature film and episodic work.

Starting her career at Iloura Melbourne in 2012, Lennie has worked across three continents at studios such as Digital Domain and Framestore. After years abroad, Lennie returned to Australia to land her current role at ILM.

Her credits include Star Wars: Episode VIII, Ready Player One, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and most recently The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Passionate about the space where film, technology and creativity intersect, Lennie’s lighting TD role sits at the end of the 3D pipeline and leverages 3D software such as Maya and Katana and render engines such as Renderman to realise the vision and creative direction of the client and visual effects supervisor.

Often handling complex computer-generated assets, effects simulations and animation, Alana’s workday ranges from technical problem solving for physically-based rendering to using creative knowledge of composition, colour and lighting to enhance storytelling within film.

Lennie loves the different voices, backgrounds and talents that come together within visual effects and is passionate about promoting and inspiring gender diversity within the industry.

JORDAN MCINNES

Jordan McInnes was a freelance character rigger at various studios around Sydney, before coming to Alt.vfx for what was to be a short one-month stint back in 2014. Recognising his skills and potential, Alt offered him a full-time role immediately, and he has been with the company ever since.

McInnes has been an instrumental part of Alt’s creature animation team, alongside his animation partner Chris Renatoul. Together, the team have created creatures for multiple films and TV shows such as The Power of the Dog, La Brea, and Penguin Bloom.

Promoted to CG Supervisor in 2019, McInnes helps oversee Alt’s entire pipeline of work across film, television and commercials, and has helped find and train the next generation of animation and VFX artists, a mentoring role that continues to this day. He has become an integral part of the technical and creative team, and the company’s motion capture and virtual production facility – Steelbridge Studio – helping to raise the profile of Brisbane as a creative hub.

MATT CRUMP

Matt Crump is an effects lead for Rising Sun Pictures, based in Brisbane. Crump has worked as a visual effects and motion design artist for more than 10 years, working at Cutting Edge as Houdini FX TD prior to joining Rising Sun Pictures as senior effects artist in 2021.

Throughout his career, he has contributed to various projects, including Thor: Love and Thunder, working on some of the most challenging RSP sequences in the film, as well as The Boys, Winchester, Jungle and Tidelands. He is currently working as an effects lead on a high-profile film for which he has developed and instituted crucial workflows.

Colleagues have recognised Crump for his dedication, attitude and passion for his craft, coupled with his genuine personality.

TESSA BRIGHT

Tessa Bright is the animation director for Flying Bark Productions on series LEGO: Monkie Kid. Bright studied Bachelor of Arts (Animation) at QUT from 2008-2011, and started as a junior at Flying Bark in 2016. She quickly rose to animation director, managing 40 animators, in a short space of time – striking a balance of traditional and contemporary animation techniques.

Bright’s other credits include Nickelodeon’s Glitch Techs, Nickelodeon’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Netflix’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, and the recently revealed Hades II trailer.

LEGO: Monkie Kid is a high stakes action comedy series that is an amalgamation of frenetic goofy animation styles and Anime-influenced action sequences. Bright’s team hand draws every frame in the show.

JOHN BASTIAN AND BEN WARD

AI experts and post-doctoral researchers Dr. John Bastian and Dr. Ben Ward joined Rising Sun Pictures in 2021 and contributed to sequences for Marvel Studios’ ShangChi and the Legend of the Ten Rings by developing a technique for facial replacement.

Since then, the duo has helped evolve this technique and technology, which has enabled RSP to accomplish more photo-realistic results. Their work has been considered fundamental to innovating RSP’s VFX pipeline and AI capabilities.

Prior to joining RSP, the pair worked at Australian Institute for Machine Learning for three years researching and developing machine learning and computer vision technology.

Dream BIG

Virtual production is quickly becoming an industry mainstay worldwide, allowing filmmakers both great and small unprecedented creative control whilst offering greatly reduced production and budget efficiencies.

As seen in Disney’s Mandalorian and James Cameron’s Avatar, the fully immersive, interactive environments allow actors to perform with actual characters, creatures and imagery rather than in a green screen void. DOPs gain complete artistic control over hyper-realistic environments, instantly adjusting the arc of the sun, extending fleeting magic hour brilliance throughout an entire work day, and switching from fully-lit day to night at the push of a button.

Completely believable simulated car travel can be achieved without the need for expensive and time-consuming location shoots, restrictive permitting, or cumbersome police escorts. Even modestly budgeted productions can now dream big without the astronomical costs formerly associated with massive sets, large cast numbers or cutting-edge post-production special effects.

Helping them on their journey is Dreamscreen Australia, the first and only permanent, end-to-end virtual production studio in the country.

Located in, the company is revolutionising the way movies, TV shows, commercials and music videos are created, even crossing over into realtime previsualisation of large-scale construction builds, and corporate events. Its cost-effective virtual production solutions allow for a level of realism and flexibility previously unattainable.

In its first 18 months alone, Dreamscreen has already provided stunning, award-winning sequences for productions, such as the first two seasons of Universal Television’s La Brea, Matchbox’s Fires series, Warner Bros International Television Production Australia’s Love Me, Wooden Horse’s The Clearing, ABC USA’s The Emmy’s, and commercials for Sportsbet, which received Marketech APAC’s Video Campaign of The Year.

Dreamscreen Australia CEO Clayton Jacobson says it brings to the table the ability to service clients, no matter the size of their production.

“Real-time photoreal virtual production offers storytellers and content creators unprecedented creative freedom without breaking the budget,” he says.

“At Dreamscreen, we can design and create full 360 environments covering the action with amazing flexibility and detail, all within the comfort of a 950 square metre state-of-the-art facility or at the location of your choosing.

“I really enjoy taking a producer or director through a studio tour just to watch their faces once they grasp the full scope of what we can provide them.”

A behind-the-scenes image of a Lexus commercial filmed at Dreamscreen.

The Docklands set for ‘La Brea’.

Behind the scenes on a Sportsbet commercial.

HUNA AMWEERO

Huna Amweero co-wrote the feature film Blaze with visual artist and filmmaker Del Kathryn Barton for Causeway Films, which premiered in Tribeca. The film earned both Amweero and Barton the 2022 AWGIE Award Best Feature Film – Original.

In 2022, Amweero also wrote two episodes of TikTok supernatural comedy series Krystal Klairvoyant with Erin Good, with whom she had previously worked on web series Jade of Death.

Amweero is currently developing her own projects in addition to being involved in the development of various other long-form projects for local production companies.

In late 2018, Amweero was selected to attend the Bunya Productions Engendered Masterclass for female genre writers and directors, hosted by Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Six Feet Under, The Handmaid’s Tale) and writer and showrunner Raelle Tucker (Supernatural, True Blood, Jessica Jones).

WRITERS

HANNAH CARROLL CHAPMAN

Hannah Carroll Chapman is the creator and writer of Heartbreak High, produced by Fremantle and Newbe for Netflix. The series featured in the top ten most watched shows in 43 countries, hitting number one in Australia. Carroll Chapman won the AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television for the pilot episode and was also nominated for an AWGIE. She is currently in development for Heartbreak High season 2, and a comedy drama series inspired by the ABC podcast Snowball for Matchbox/NBCU.

Carroll Chapman’s other credits include ABC serial The Heights, which earned her an AWGIE Award, and Home & Away. She has worked in development for Matchbox Pictures and as a production operator at Carnival Films in London. She began her career in 3D animation, post-production and VFX, with a degree in 3D animation from AFTRS.

JESSICA TUCKWELL

GRETEL VELLA

Gretel Vella’s original series Totally Completely Fine, which she created, wrote and executive produced, will launch on Sundance Now and Stan in April.

Vella’s break in TV came via Doctor Doctor for Easy Tiger/ Nine. Continuing to work with Doctor Doctor co-creator and Oscar nominee Tony McNamara, Vella’s next gig was three seasons of The Great, for which she also served as co-producer. That project saw her nominated for the Writers Guild of America’s Award for Best New Series and Best Comedy Series for 2021, as well as an AWGIE.

Vella is among the writers of Christmas Ransom and A Sunburnt Christmas, for which she was nominated for an AWGIE. Her credits also include the upcoming Amazon series Class of ’07.

Vella currently has projects in development with Fremantle Australia, Jungle Entertainment and Century City Entertainment. Her theatre credits include A Period Piece, Carking It, The Blood on Bloody Blood Ladder, Shandy’s Corner and Bathory Begins.

JOSH SAMBONO

Josh Sambono is a Jingili man and an action/horror writer based in Western Sydney.

Sambono has been in writers’ rooms for See-Saw Films, Bunya Productions and Blackfella Films. His TV writing debut came in 2021 on AMC+ vampire hunter series Firebite

His First Nations horror short Suspect premiered at BiFan in 2020 and won Best Australian Short at Sydney’s A Night of Horror. He was a director’s attachment to Taika Waititi on Thor: Love and Thunder, and co-wrote supernatural horror feature The Quarantine Hauntings, Sambono's creature feature Drop Bears, written with Laura Sambono, won the AACTA Pitch: Bite competition in 2021, with prizes including $10,000 in development funds and a distribution deal with Monster Pictures. Their script Terror Zone was also a finalist in 2020.

In 2022, Sambono was selected for the Emerging Writer’s Program for NCIS: Sydney, a CBS/ Paramount+ production. He also directed ABC iview docuseries No Offence!

Jessica Tuckwell is a screenwriter, script producer and director for TV drama and feature film, specialising in drama, comedy-drama and adaptations.

Tuckwell wrote for ABC’s Les Norton and was the first development executive for John Edwards and Dan Edwards at Roadshow Rough Diamond, running a broad slate of drama projects.

She then went on to become script producer for seasons one and two of Stan’s Bump, and wrote multiple episodes across all three seasons. Her season 2 episode ‘Am I the Arsehole’, which she also directed, was nominated for an AWGIE Award.

Tuckwell is the co-creator and script producer of Bump spin-off Year Of for Stan, due for release in 2023; she wrote 3 episodes and directed the final two episodes of the series.

Originally training as a theatre director and dramaturg at NIDA, Tuckwell worked for mainstage, independent and youth companies across Australia and the UK and was the inaugural Director in Residence at Bell Shakespeare. Her directing work specialised in Australian plays, adaptations and the development of new plays including Words They Make with Their Mouths. Her first full length play Tiny Remarkable Bramble is being adapted into a film.

Her short stories have been featured on Giant Dwarf’s Story Club podcast and ABC’s Tall Tales and True, she was a Moth GrandSlam finalist, and her first story No Strategy was published in the Harper Collins anthology Welcome to Story Club.

HOW TO RISE AND SHINE

Established industry practitioners from each of the 12 disciplines offer their advice on the best way to build a successful career.

COMPOSER

CAITLIN YEO

One of the first pieces of advice I would give myself is to start as I mean to go, and what I mean by that is employing best practice from the get go. Making sustainable business choices is incredibly important because often those clients, directors, or producers you work with in the beginning are the people you end up working with throughout your entire career. If you start by working for free, you set a precedent that that’s what the value of your work is. So I think it’s really important for young composers to start with good business choices, in terms of charging for what they do, advocating for their own interests, and making sure they retain their rights and read their contracts. If they don’t understand their contracts, they should pick up the phone and ask a colleague, or get in touch with the guild. It’s not enough to just get the gig – you need to negotiate a physical schedule with money to pay you to produce quality music.

COSTUME DESIGNER

MARIOT KERR

Be outspoken but listen as well. A good designer is also a diplomat, so learn to collaborate with directors, DOPs, actors and production designers. Stay open to different influences and opportunities, even if they don’t seem as grand as you’d ideally like. Small productions can be a great way to build skills and form connections, which can lead to lasting creative partnerships. There is no set pathway to succeeding as a costume designer, so make the most of your individual talents. You don’t need to be head of department straight away, so enjoy the journey. Celebrate your wins and learn from your mistakes. Respect the crafts that go into making a costume perfect for screen – research, costume making, art finishing, on set and behind-the-scenes roles. Always remember you’re part of a team – it’s a collaborative endeavour and is as much about the process as well as collecting credits.

PRODUCER

KYLIE DU FRESNE

For producers, it’s important to find creative collaborators that are your peers and who do the roles that you don’t, such as writers and directors that are at a similar career stage, so you can then find projects as a collective and move forward on them together. Producing is very much about having a slate of different types of projects. Projects are king but it’s equally about the relationships that surround the project you are making – creative relationships on projects are like marriages, so they can be as important, or more important than the projects themselves. As a young producer, finding some kind of mentor is often an underrated and underutilised thing. Finding your own way through is an incredibly important part of learning how to produce, but you can learn a lot from using other producers as a sounding board and sharing experiences, as well as observing and listening.

ACTOR

RYAN CORR

It’s not a race. Not against anyone else, or with yourself. Enjoy the process of growing with each job, and celebrate the successes of those around you. That way you can’t lose. With trust in the process comes trust in yourself. There are so many different paths and different timings in this business. If you can find joy in your personal journey, and the journeys of others, you take the pressure off yourself. You can remain about the work. Which, let’s face it, IS the important part.

HAIR AND MAKEUP

ROSALINA DA SILVA

Take every opportunity that is presented and use it to its fullest, whether you are meeting people or getting a new job. It’s important to gain knowledge and experience where you can because you just don’t know how that is going to pay off down the road. There are always going to be challenges, whether through locations, people, or product, but as artists, we love challenges, so you have to embrace them and ask, ‘What is this going to teach me?’

EDITOR

ANNETTE DAVEY

You have to be very willing to spend a lot of time with the material, and also be patient. It’s not dull in any way – I find everything really exciting – but you have to be willing to spend a lot of time there and keep trying different things, so I think it’s not the kind of job for you if you don’t like being alone, for instance. I feel like there is a real difference between people that head into production and those that go into post. Most production people crave that group feeling of everyone being part of the set, whereas with post workers, it’s mostly just you, your assistant and a couple of other PAs.

SOUND

BEN OSMO

If I was starting in the industry now, I would definitely go to university or film school and get that kind of education first, which would speed up the process a little. It took me a long time to learn my craft through the guidance of mentors and by making mistakes. Nowadays, we have good film schools and there are a variety of them. Getting that education and then starting as an assistant somewhere would probably be the most worthwhile thing I could say. It’s also important to love your job.

CINEMATOGRAPHER

GREIG FRASER

I think what is important for a young cinematographer to establish is their visual voice. It’s important that they look to work that has already been created but ultimately ignore it, thereby creating their own sense of place and their own voice. Every image that is created now is built on the shoulders of an image that has come before it, which makes it harder and harder for young cinematographers to create unique images and unique stories with their directors. If they can start drawing from their own backstory and their own history and their own personality to create images, then this will benefit the industry and give them a singular voice that people seek out. Another thing that I am looking forward to seeing with cinematography in the future are voices that have possibly been underrepresented in the past. We have an opportunity as an industry now to encourage those voices and to learn from their vision. I always say to anybody asking the question about ‘How do I get a foothold in the industry?’, ‘Shoot. Shoot. Shoot’. This will make you better cinematographer and will invariably put it in front of a lot more people.

DIRECTOR

ROBERT CONNOLLY

I feel like emerging directors need more than ever to have a clear idea of what they want to say with their work. Cinema is looking for points of view on the world from filmmakers more than ever, rather than just gun-for-hire storytellers. Looking to the films ahead, there are examples of this coming to our cinemas, from Sarah Polley’s Women Talking at one end to James Cameron’s environmental ambition for Avatar at the other. The best way to get ahead is to have a clear idea of what you want to say with your work, embrace your own personal and idiosyncratic qualities as a filmmaker, and be bold and distinctive creatively. There is no room in such a crowded world of screen content across so many platforms for filmmakers to choose the middle ground.

VFX AND ANIMATION

TONY CLARK

I think the key thing that is valuable for new starters out there is to start working with good people and to learn, listen, ask questions, and work as part of a team because the team skills are fundamental to what we do. In our industry, there tends to be a lot of fear around things like AI, which we should probably set aside and think of AI more of as an enhanced paintbrush rather than a replacement for people. Throughout the years, people have built more advanced technologies for realising art but there is still a creative person at the helm of that art.

WRITER

DOT WEST

My advice to emerging writers is for them to commit to their writing. Find the best time of the day to feel inspired and write every day. Connect with likeminded people you can trust. Share your stories with each other, and give and receive feedback. Connect with likeminded mid-career and/or established writers, many of whom are very generous to help and see whether opportunities can be realised. Above all, remember you are only as good as your last job or task, so make sure you do it on schedule and to the very best of your ability every time.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

FIONA DONOVAN

Seek mentorship as early as possible, either through your education institution, networking events, or a professional organisation like the APDG, ADG or ACS. Create a connection with a head of department or colleague. They can be a wonderful advocate and sounding board when you start out in the industry. Every job is an opportunity to meet your next collaborator. Don’t be afraid to take on different roles within your field or even in different departments. This is especially the case if you have directing or producing aspirations. By gaining experience in different roles, you will develop a greater understanding of the entire process; the work, technical skill, craft and professionalism that come together to create an entire production. Even as a mid-career professional, be open to learning new skills as it keeps you sharp.

WATCH THESE FACES

More lists! More faces! More exciting potential! Every year for the past eight years, the Casting Guild of Australia has identified a group of up to 10 actors it believes has the potential to break out on the world stage, deeming them ‘Rising Stars’. Here, we profile 2022’s cohort.

CHRISTOPHER BUNTON

Credits include: Down Under; Nude Tuesday; Relic; Kairos; Doctor, Doctor; The Other Guy; Love and Monsters; Lone Wolf; Wolf Like Me; It’s Fine, I’m Fine

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I’ve always loved watching films and TV shows, including all the behindthe-scenes footage, and this really made me want to be involved in the industry. Acting was a dream, but I think it became a realistic goal when I first saw other actors with Down Syndrome on TV. I then knew that having Down Syndrome was not a barrier to achieving my goal.

WHERE DID YOU STUDY OR LEARN YOUR CRAFT?

I first started at NIDA in a drama course for people with intellectual disabilities. It was my introduction to the industry, and it helped me to overcome my stage fright! From there I joined the Ruckus Ensemble which was a group of people with Down Syndrome who developed and

HATTIE HOOK

performed a yearly stage production with help from industry professionals. I am still studying, and currently attend Bus Stop Films classes.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

I have loved all of the projects I have worked on, but my favourite role so far is Evan in Down Under. It was my first feature film, and I played an authentic representation of someone living with Down Syndrome. I was treated as an equal to everyone on set and overall, it was such an amazing experience.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

My dream role is to work alongside Chris Hemsworth as a fellow Avenger. As a gymnast I think I have the physique to pull it off. I would

Credits include: Ten Pound Poms, Savage River, Of An Age

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I never had a big “aha!” moment. For as long as I can remember, it’s all I’ve wanted to do. I think the Harry Potter films had something to do with it. I was unhealthily obsessed with them growing up and was constantly acting out all the scenes. Apologies to my family, I think I was extremely annoying to be around.

WHERE DID YOU STUDY OR LEARN YOUR CRAFT?

A lot of my learning has come from working on set, watching films and reading about acting. I haven’t studied formally so most of my trial and error has been immortalised on camera, which is slightly mortifying!

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

Ebony in Of An Age. She’s an absolute mess and I had way too much fun playing her. Not only was it a great role, but the entire experience of making that film was completely life changing for me.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

I hope I’m not jinxing myself, but if I ever got to work with Yorgos Lanthimos I think I’d evaporate on the spot. I love everything he does.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT.

Calm the f*** down! In my experience, you do your best work when you’re having fun. Two of my biggest talents are catastrophising and panicking, so I still have to remind myself to take that advice.

hope to be the first Avenger with an intellectual disability.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

I would hate to be typecast as someone who is dumb. This is another reason I loved my first role, in Down Under, as the reviewers labelled me the most intelligent person in the whole film. My aim is to continue authentic storytelling and representation on screen in the roles I play.

SHAKA COOK

Credits include: Cleverman, The Leftovers, Black Comedy, Operation Buffalo, Top End Wedding, The Flood, Hamilton (theatre), Kid Snow

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

To make change, inspire hope in people and to leave behind a legacy.

WHERE DID YOU STUDY OR LEARN YOUR CRAFT?

Studied at WAAPA in the Aboriginal Theatre course for a year, then went to NIDA for three years.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

Waru from The Flood. Horse riding, gun-slinging heroic emotional roller coaster –that’s why.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

Taika Waititi, Rob Collins, Deborah Mailman, Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving, Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr, Tom Hardy, Matthew McConaughey – the list goes on.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT. Don’t ever doubt or give up on yourself.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

To be super vague, I’d hate to be typecast as anything. I think it’s inevitable sometimes, especially at the beginning of your career, but long term I hope to be growing and doing something different with every project.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

I would hate to be typecast and pigeonholed as JUST an Aboriginal actor.

LAST FILM OR TV SHOW YOU REALLY LOVED?

Top Gun: Maverick.

JAMES MAJOOS

Credits include: Heartbreak High, Fangirls (theatre), Vivid White (theatre)

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

It’s hard for me to pinpoint but I’d say since I was a child, I would be swept up in films. They created these worlds I wanted to be a part of that left an imprint on me from such a young age, that I guess I subconsciously pursued a career in it before I even noticed. Oh, I also loved to “lie”.

WHERE DID YOU STUDY OR LEARN YOUR CRAFT?

Again, risking sounding pretentious… but I think I started, subconsciously, as a little boy. Not only from being glued to the television set, but I remember having this curiosity about the people around me and had a fascination with them. See pretentious, I told you. I went to a heavily driven sports and academic school that didn’t have the greatest drama classes! But I was lucky to have supportive parents who put me into extra-curricular theatre classes outside of school. Once I graduated from secondary school I was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts.

FAVOURITE

ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

Darren Rivers. The short “why” answer would be the people. I could write an essay about playing Darren, but the most rewarding experience has really been the people I got to share the role with, on and off set. Heartbreak High is the show that it is because of the people that made it. Not to mention a CGA Rising Star accolade and an AACTA nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama, honours I didn’t see happening for my debut. It’s a privilege.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT.

Keep failing. Bask in each one, you’ll be better off – also you’re enough.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

Acting is a gift; it would be limiting to play the same experience all the time. I’d hate to be pigeonholed as anything.

MAGGIE (MAX) McKENNA

Credits include: Open Slather, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical (theatre), Dear Evan Hansen (theatre), Fun Home (theatre), Jagged Little Pill (theatre)

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I have always been drawn to creativity and all aspects of performing as early as I was cognisant. I don’t remember a time where I did not want to be on stage or in front of camera. I think of course, I was influenced by family and the upbringing that came with that, but I still think wanting to immerse myself in the arts was just innately in me. I do remember, at around the age of 15, consciously deciding that this was the only career path I wanted/could do. It has always been the only thing that has given me purpose and a place where I feel I belong. I am very grateful and privileged that I have been able to get to where I am now.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

The most lifechanging roles for me have been playing Muriel Heslop and Alison Bechdel, therefore they are both my favourite for different reasons.

MABEL LI

Credits include: The Tailings, New Gold Mountain, Safe Home, Never Closer (theatre), Miss Peony (theatre)

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I think there was a clear distinction and a good amount of time between discovering I enjoyed acting and performing and deciding I wanted to act. I knew I loved doing it in high school, it was something that completely alleviated and melted away the social anxiety I had in year 8 and I kept doing it because it felt so freeing. I think I only decided I wanted to act or gave myself the permission to dream about becoming an actor after I graduated from high school when I auditioned for drama school and got the call that I was offered a place.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

It’s really hard for me to pick my favourite role, because they’ve all been special to me in different ways! But one of the most impactful roles is Cheung Lei from New Gold Mountain. First of all, to be a part of a show that depicted the history of Chinese people in Australia was mind blowing and incredibly meaningful. Playing Lei was so much fun. What’s wonderful about her is that she does these extreme and flawed things, but you somehow love her and feel for her. She is this young woman who is so cunning, playful and independent but also in an incredibly precarious situation where her freedom can be taken away at any time. The tension between her exterior and interior was very satisfying to explore.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

There are so many people! Sophie Hyde; I just watched Good Luck to you Leo Grande and enjoyed the heck out of it. Shareena Clanton is someone I’ve been thinking about and admire a lot. Will Sharpe, Lulu Wang, Tony Leung.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT.

You deserve to take up space. And bring a container to set so you can take some dinner/dessert home!

Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical, was my first leading role in an original musical and it was such an exhilarating and fulfilling project to be a part of. That role gave me so much confidence and taught me about my own strength and I will always be grateful for that opportunity. Alison Bechdel from Fun Home on the other hand, was the first queer role I had ever played and as a queer person myself, it was such a healing and powerful process for me. Both roles will always live within me in some way, as they have shaped the person I have become.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

Until I came out as non-binary, I could feel myself start being pigeonholed as a sweet, young girl. It felt very suffocating, on top of my already compounding dysphoria around my gender. Thankfully, I felt safe enough to come out when I did because I felt it released me from being type cast as something I never connected to anyway. So, I guess I would have hated to be stuck in that phase of my life again.

LAST FILM OR TV SHOW YOU REALLY LOVED?

I have been obsessed with Mae Martin’s Feel Good. I think it’s such a beautiful, heartbreaking and hilarious series and I am very inspired by it, as a queer, non-binary writer and performer.

TUULI NARKLE

Credits include: All My Friends Are Racist, Bad Behaviour, Mystery Road: Origin

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I don’t think there was ever a defining moment in my life where I made the decision ‘I want to act’. I think throughout my childhood and adolescence performing across multiple mediums was the thing that kept bringing me joy, so I was chasing that, and as I continued to grow, acting became more of a focus because it’s what challenged me the most.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

Mary, from Mystery Road. I love drama as a genre, the grittier the better. And Mary is such a complex and nuanced character. Her experiences in life mirror aspects of my own in such a way that it was extremely cathartic and exciting to be able to draw on that in bringing my version of her to life. I was also afforded the incredible opportunity of working closely with Tasma Walton (who plays Mary in the older Mystery Road timeline), and she was so caring and generous in working with me to shape younger Mary.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT. You deserve to take up space! You deserve to be in the room! I think once I let go of that fear and self-doubt and was able to relax and focus on WHY I was there, the industry really opened up for me. And I really hope young people, particularly young people of colour, are starting to see and hear this more!

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

I think the biggest fear as an artist is being limited to one aspect or facet of yourself. The concept of typecasting is so bizarre to me because human beings are so complex and multifaceted. When did we decide that doesn’t extended to their artistry? This is not, however, to say every actor can play every character, because accurate representation in film and TV is where it’s at.

SANA’A SHAIK

Credits include: Jack Irish, Fam Time, Reckoning, 2067, Nomad, Dive Club, It Only Takes a Night, Class of ‘07, Summer Love

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I don’t ever remember making a conscious choice. When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a ballerina, but then my family immigrated to Australia, and I slowly started to pivot into acting. I remember being at university laying on the floor doing breathing exercises and thinking, “Wow, literally no one else on campus is doing this right now.” I think that’s where I started to think I could make a career out of this. Ever since then I’ve had this little voice in my head telling me to pursue a life in film... Still not sure if that’s a little Devil or an Angel though.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

I have two. First would be Nellie in Nomad. I got to travel around the world twice filming, plus it was beyond the most amazing experience! Second would be Stevie from Dive Club. I learned how to scuba dive and sail which are skills I’ll hopefully carry with me for a while. Plus, she was just the most fun to play, I had the freedom to try anything because she was such a loose cannon.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

Firstly, my boo, Adam Driver. Have loved everything he’s been in since Girls. I think he’s an incredible actor, even if I got to sit on the sidelines and watch him play that would be enough for me. I’d also love to work on anything with Phoebe Waller Bridge and Michaela Coel. Such powerhouse women that I ADMIRE. Lastly, it would be a dream to be in literally ANY A24 film.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT. Run your own race! Have more fun, take more risks, don’t do what you think ‘THEY’ want.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

I couldn’t put my finger on one thing, but to be typecast or pigeonholed in general would suck. But if I had to say one thing; it would be the sweet, understanding, non-confrontational best friend.

STEPH TISDELL

Credits include: Total Control, Class of ‘07

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I’d love to say, “it just kinda happened,” because it did. But I’d actually dreamed of it as a kid. I just didn’t think you could look like me and be allowed on screen!

WHERE DID YOU STUDY OR LEARN YOUR CRAFT?

I didn’t study and I learned on the job! But, as a comedian, you have to observe the world closely and it requires a level of empathy; empathy and self-awareness are important when giving a character a deep reason “why”.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

I loved playing Joely on Total Control. She was so different to me in that she seethed with anger, but she was so similar to me because she was driven by justice and used cheekiness to cut tension. I loved her.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

Anybody who’ll have me, honestly. I want every experience – I want challenging characters that make me grapple with myself.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT.

You’re in the driving seat of your character – if you need something to help you characterise, be honest, clear and open to communication. I learned this working with Nikki Gooley on Total Control as we had very in-depth conversations about the type of character Joely was and how she’d like the world to receive her. I also needed to feel/ look different to “Steph” so I could really get into character.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

A tough bitch/hard ass. I’m really afraid of that and fear it could happen because of my style of humour, size and appearance. I’m such a soft person in real life I’d hate for people to see me as something I’m not. But, if I look at in a positive way, it’s cool to inhabit characters that aren’t exactly like me.

MICHELLE LIM DAVIDSON

Credits include: After the Verdict, The Newsreader, The Secret She Keeps, Harrow, Black Comedy, Nursery Rhyme News Time, Get Krack!n, Top of the Lake: China Girl, Utopia, Doctor Doctor, Live from Planet Earth, Big Ted’s Big Adventure, Jay’s Jungle, Play School, Goldstone

WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO ACT?

I’m aware of how bizarre this sounds but it was at my audition for drama school. I had been auditioning to study musical theatre and thought I may as well try out for the acting course while I was there. I remember finishing my monologue and thinking, “Wow. Maybe this is what I’m meant to be doing.” Never in a million years did I think I would become an actor.

FAVOURITE ROLE SO FAR AND WHY?

I’ve been privileged to play a wide variety of wonderful roles both on stage and on screen. Playing Noelene in The Newsreader is special to me. It’s the first time I’ve played a Korean Australian woman on television and I try and bring my whole heart to the role.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

I admire Sandra Oh and have so much respect for her as an actor and producer. I’m in awe of how she articulates her principles and generosity as a performer. I would love to work with Youn Yuhjung, her energy and spirt is enigmatic. I adore Ben Wishaw, his range is endless and character

work precisely detailed. He also has incredible technical ability and moves effortlessly between theatre and screen.

ADVICE YOU WISH YOU’D GOTTEN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT.

You don’t have to be an actor all the time. It doesn’t have to be your identity. Keep exploring things outside of acting or the stuff you think you’re interested in. Be open to different experiences and continue to challenge your perspective. If you prioritise growing as a person you will have more to draw on for your work. Stay curious, generous and compassionate.

WHO WOULD YOU HATE TO BE TYPECAST OR PIGEONHOLED AS?

I’m not interested in playing hypersexualised Asian (not culturally specific) women. Especially when their only purpose in the story is to save male characters from themselves.

LAST FILM OR TV SHOW YOU REALLY LOVED?

Pachinko. The book by Min Jin Lee is one of my favourite novels. It was so beautifully and respectfully translated to television. I cried with joy and sorrow every episode.

DISABILITY INEQUALITY “RIDICULOUS”

While around 1 in 5 Australians have a disability, recent data suggests they are vastly under-represented both on screen and behind the camera. Susy Cornford talks to leaders in awareness and advocacy to find out how the industry can do more to drive change.

hen Chloe Hayden landed the role of Quinni in Netflix’s Heartbreak High, it was an “euphoric, incredible, overwhelming feeling”

“You audition for a thousand jobs and might get one. But to be able to get to a job, and you’re a neurodivergent person on top of that, was just like an absolute dream,” she tells IF.

Hayden has been advocating for better representation and understanding of people with disabilities for years through her work as a motivational speaker, actor, performer, influencer,

Wcontent creator, and disability rights activist and advocate. She is also the author of Different, Not Less: A neurodivergent guide to embracing your true self and finding your happily ever after.

The role of Quinni in Heartbreak High is one of the few portrayals of an autistic character played by an autistic actor, and this has been met with positive media responses. Autism advocate Mitchell Adams wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that Heartbreak High has “the best autism representation I’ve ever seen.” Fans of the show went to social media, with both neurotypical and neurodivergent praising the correct representation. Hayden hope all viewers take lessons from Quinni, and see themselves within her.

“I hope that autistic and neurodivergent people can see Quinni and see themselves represented; that for one of the first times ever in media they can look to an autistic character and go, ‘Oh, okay, I see myself in her’. Likewise, people that aren’t autistic can look at Quinni and change their perception of what media has told

us that autism is, and what society and the world as a whole has told us what autism is. I hope people can look at her and go, ‘Oh, okay, I get it now’. I hope she’s able to change minds and change opinions and be the person that I didn’t have growing up.”

Representation like Quinni remains relatively rare on Australian screens. The Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network (SDIN) recently published preliminary data from The Everyone Project, which suggests that people with disability are vastly under-represented compared to the population benchmark (17.7 per cent), both on screen (8.9 per cent) and behind the camera (5.3 per cent). The data, while limited, was based on the diversity characteristics of 944 cast and 1,967 crew across 70 registered TV and film productions completed in 2021–22.

Hayden has learnt how much representation can influence perception.

“I don’t think people realise how intensely media’s portrayal of groups and people actually affects

people. The media has such a hold on the way that we view humans in general. It’s not hard to have voices put into these places and to change what those media stereotypes are.”

Not-for-profit Bus Stop Films has provided a film studies program and filmmaking opportunities for people with disabilities since 2009. The organisation recently launched an employment program dedicated to connecting people with disability to jobs in the industry.

With funding from the Federal Government, Bus Stop will also run the Inclusive Crewing Project, which supports multiple paid employment opportunities for people with disabilities on a major project that it will shoot in 2023. In addition, it will see the development of department-specific resources for building the confidence of HODs to employ people with disabilities on their projects and in their teams.

Bus Stop co-founder and director Genevieve Clay-Smith tells IF the traditional structure of the screen industry has been hierarchical, performance-oriented and typically in servitude to one particular person and their vision.

“So how does inclusion fit into that? Well, it doesn’t.

“It’s an industry that has been built in servitude to the above-the-

Genevieve Clay-Smith on set with Bus Stop Films.

Chloe Hayden as Quinni in ‘Heartbreak High’.

line roles. The people in those roles need to understand the privilege it is to be in those roles; that there is an opportunity to put a ladder down and include others. Understand the importance of diverse representation and how that cannot happen without inclusion.”

Hayden thinks the time for equality is now. “The fact that it’s 2022 and there’s still inequality in the industry is ridiculous, especially in an industry that currently is trying to promote difference and trying to promote minorities. It is so past time that we actually involve minority groups within all aspects of the industry.”

Producer, writer and editor Stephanie Dower sees the restrictions of the industry as twofold; in attitude and physical accessibility.

“The first one is attitudinal barriers. I think the perception that society unfortunately still has of people with disabilities is very negative. It’s assumed that we can’t do a lot of what we can do. We haven’t had a lot of representation out in the world on screen, in positions of power, and so we haven’t been able to show the diversity of people with disabilities. We have the capabilities. We have the drive. We have all of this that we can offer,” she tells IF.

“We also have a lot of physical and other kinds of barriers when it comes to the way our industry works. We’re known for 12 or more-hour days. We’re known for fast turnarounds, and a lot of the time, very inaccessible locations physicality or geography-wise. Unfortunately, the way that we work

is so set into our industry.”

Dower runs her own production company Dower Productions and is part of the Screen Queensland Equity and Diversity Taskforce. She would like to see a more targeted approach to making sets more inclusive for people with disabilities.

“We’ve seen a number of [diversity] initiatives over the past however many years. I think this is the time that the focus needs to be put back on disability to try and get that perspective into the mix.”

For her own part, Dower is using her spot on the Equity and Diversity Taskforce to make positive changes in the industry, such as wheelchair access and other amenities.

“I hope that I can bring a shared experience to the mix and really make sure that I work as hard as I can to make sure disability isn’t left behind.

“We are slowly starting to see those changes and I think people with disability are gaining a stronger voice as we meet more people in industry.”

Hayden believes the solution is “simply including us.”

“Inviting us into the picture, having us in writers’ rooms and having us behind the scenes, as directors, producers, writers, and actors, having us involved throughout the entire picture.

“Heartbreak High showed me just how easy it is to not just involve disabled people within all aspects of the process, but also to make these changes, to make it easy and to make it accessible.”

Screen NSW’s annual

Yingna Lu, Steve Anthopoulos and Liam Heyen on set of ‘Voice Activated’.

Screenability Film Fund offers up to three teams with at least one key creative who identifies as having disability $30,000 to produce a short film. Writer-director Steve Anthopoulos and producers Liam Heyen and Yingna Lu are behind 2022’s Voice Activated, which reflects Anthopoulos’ experience with a stutter.

The film, nominated for Best Short Film at the AACTA Awards, premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

Anthopoulos describes the filmmaking experience as a “parallel reality where I was forced to face the stutter, have everyone face it with me, and learn that stuttering doesn’t need to be such a big deal.”

Lu agrees it has been gratifying seeing Anthopoulos express himself freely, without self-judgement. “Watching that, it taught me that there is great personal power in acknowledging your disability,” she tells IF.

Lu believes it is important that state agencies consider initiatives and grants aimed at supporting practitioners with disability.

“It is useful to have government supported initiatives because then there is greater exposure for stories beyond the film industry network,

and an acknowledgement that there is weight and expectation for all perspectives to be seen and heard.”

Heyen says Voice Activated would not have been possible without the Screenability fund, spearheaded by Screen NSW’s “incomparable” investment manager Sofya Gollan.

“I believe the continued impact of her work through the fund will be felt in the years to come as Screenability alumni move onto making features and television,” he says.

For people trying to enter the industry Heyen says: “There is a place for you in the industry and you are worthy of taking up space in front and behind the camera.”

On the importance of initiatives and grants Anthopoulos adds: “Australia isn’t Hollywood. Many of the biggest and most prestigious Australian film and TV productions are backed by government funding or rebates. Funding is such a central pillar in how our industry functions. So, it’s important that this system of funding filters down to emerging talent and Australians with unique experiences from different backgrounds. Taking away these initiatives wouldn’t make sense; the Australian industry isn’t self-sustaining enough to find and foster these creatives on its own.”

WHAT FILMS/TV SHOWS DO YOU THINK HAVE GOOD REPRESENTATIONS OF DISABILITY?

CHLOE HAYDEN: THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE

“I think kids TV often has better portrayal of what disability is and minority is. Thomas the Tank Engine, for example, has just brought in an autistic character, and sometimes it’s very unspecified. It’s coded disabilities, especially when it comes to autism.”

STEPHANIE DOWER: SPEECHLESS (TV SHOW 2016-2019)

“It was funny, and I think for me that’s the way into the disability perspective or the disability experience. It allows people to feel a bit more comfortable around things that they haven’t had experience with before.”

GENEVIEVE CLAY-SMITH: SEX EDUCATION

“They had a character with disability that actually turned out to be an antagonist, which is fresh because a lot of times people with disability are portrayed as innocent and very one-dimensional. This character had sexual desire, they were antagonistic, they were jealous. They were represented as a complicated person who happened to have a disability.”

YINGNA LU: BEAUTIFUL MINDS (2021)

“I don’t even think I read a logline that ever drew attention to the fact that the character lives with cerebral palsy. It was more of a story that centered on a relationship and a humorous situation.”

LIAM HEYEN: CODA

“As someone who is hard of hearing, and who has a Deaf family member who is very dear to me, I thought CODA was incredibly affecting, and I was thrilled that Troy Kotsur’s beautiful performance was acknowledged with an Acadamy Award.”

STEVE ANTHOPOULOS: SHADOW

“A fantastic film that represents disability in both a funny and revelatory way.”

(Photo: Phil Erbacher)

Stephanie Dower.

FACING THE FACTUAL

The proliferation of streaming services across the past few years has undoubtedly meant more choice for documentary lovers, but some argue it has not necessarily equated to greater opportunity for filmmakers. Sean Slatter speaks to those who suggest greater interest in the sector is shaping not only subject matter, but also style.

hen producer Gabriel Shipton set out to make documentary Ithaka in 2019, his objective was clear – detail the plight of his brother, Julian Assange, while focusing on his family’s side of a decade-long battle played out across the world’s media.

What proved harder to settle on was the project’s path to audience.

Shipton’s concept countered the narrative pushed by outlets such as the BBC and ABC, who instead focused Assange’s character and his behaviour while holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, making it a tough sell.

While he received positive feedback from the more than 50 pitch meetings he undertook in relation to the project, it did not translate to call backs.

“I think the funding bodies and streamers found it very hard to get on board with the fact we were telling this story from a perspective that wasn’t what was usually heard through the media,” Shipton tells IF.

“It was a personal story that gave the family’s perspective of this persecution, so I think there was a bit of resistance to that as well, even though that is our strength.”

Despite not securing financing, Shipton proceeded with the film, selling off most of his assets to keep the crew shooting and bring

Wdirector Ben Lawrence onboard.

He also received crowdfunding support via the Documentary Australia website, through which he was able to raise almost $100,000.

It was a gamble that would end up paying off, with Ithaka having its US premiere in November at DOC NYC, following screenings at the Sydney Film Festival, Sheffield Doc/ Fest and Doc Edge NZ.

In Australia, the film had a limited theatrical release via Bonsai Films, before being broadcast on the ABC.

Shipton says although he is encouraged that more people have become receptive to the film’s subject matter over time, the risks involved in making it are not easy to repeat.

“If you’re an established filmmaker, do you go out and sell everything you own to make a documentary about a subject matter that you believe in and think other people need to know about?” he says.

“[Ithaka] was very personal for me, which is why I always had confidence it would happen, but if you’re a filmmaker, why would you do that?

“So you end up in a situation where there’ll be so many untold stories because there’s no uptake from the people who control the money.”

Shipton’s experience is symptomatic of what Documentary

Australia co-founder and CEO Mitzi Goldman believes to be an increasingly risk-averse mentality when it comes to commissioning documentaries.

Ithaka was one of nearly 350 films approved to receive support from the not-for-profit organisation in the three years from 2019-2021, having come under its key impact areas of environment, youth, Indigenous, human rights/social justice, health and wellbeing, women and girls, and the arts.

The reporting period coincided with a surge in demand for documentaries globally, led largely by increased investment from streaming services. A 2021 analysis from data solutions company Diesel Labs found that documentaries and docuseries accounted for 19 per cent of Netflix’s catalog, 16 per cent of Amazon’s and 34 per cent of Disney+’s.

Domestically, Stan, Amazon and Disney all unveiled unscripted slates in 2022, each of which had a healthy presence of celebrity and sport-related stories.

Of the four new titles to come under Stan’s Revealed documentary strand, there were portraits of AFL player and coach Danielle Laidley and entertainment icon Barry Otto, while Amazon’s new commissions ranged from a second season of cricket docuseries The Test to a new series exploring Sydney dance institution Brent Street and Screen

Australia-supported

programs about children’s entertainers

The Wiggles and footballer Hakeem al-Araibi.

Disney announced four new Australian docuseries in May, with women’s sports projects Fearless: The Inside Story of AFLW and Matildas: The World at Our Feet joining ocean culture explorations, Chasing Waves and Shipwreck Hunters.

Goldman, a previous head of documentary at AFTRS and executive director of documentary production company Looking Glass Pictures, compares the streamers commissioning patterns with what has happened previously with broadcasters becoming more rigid with what they commission.

“What happens is you get this prescription from the broadcasters or the platforms and then you get the documentary filmmakers that are very market-driven and are shaping what they put their resources and their interest into depending on what the market is going to buy. ,” she tells IF.

According to Goldman, the tendency of commissioners to favour a certain type of subject matter is already influencing the type of projects that are being submitted to Documentary Australia for support, with the organisation’s last round of quarterly funding drawing five sport film concepts.

“You have filmmakers all competing with each other to get the gig and once that cycle has ballooned, it then busts because then it becomes ‘Oh, we don’t need another sports or celebrity documentary’.

“It’s a bit of a shame because from where I sit, I see so many interesting stories that are quite unique and original that we haven’t seen very much of before.I think if there was a little bit more appetite to actually educate the audience and shape the tastes a little bit, there would be a much richer cultural conversation we could be having about the context of the society in which we live.”

It’s a trend Documentary Australia is hoping to counter through programs such as the newly announced Environmental Accelerator, which will support impact campaigns for up to 10 films across the next three years, using existing campaigns to amplify

Richard Assange faces the press pack in ‘Ithaka’.

and grow causes with which they are associated.

The initiative is being delivered with the support of Madman Entertainment, distributor of docos such as The Australian Dream, Mystify: Micahel Hutchence, and Gurrumul.

Speaking about the current landscape, Madman Entertainment co-founder and CEO Paul Wiegard says increased investment is creating a healthier ecosystem for documentary production companies, which may led to better resourced enterprises. However, he is not convinced major streaming platforms are ultimately aligned with all documentary filmmakers.

“Those wishing to speak truth to power will likely be compromised, those that need extended production timelines may not be accommodated and stories travelling beyond Australian shores an essential criteria,” he tells IF.

“Big streaming platforms require a big number of eyeballs, and not all projects will generate the requisite numbers. I’d like to think documentarians will continue to be creative, finding the balance of both making films on their own terms, alongside the commissioned projects.”

The impact of new platforms on the documentary sector was previously discussed by filmmaker Tom Zubrycki in his 2019 platform paper, The Changing Landscape of Australian Documentary, which refers to “the transition from a rapidly outdated broadcast model to a digital future made up of many platforms” as an historical moment for factual.

In introducing the paper, Zubrycki said that “despite

the digital era presenting new opportunities, most of us working in the sector are facing a grim and uncertain future”, but noted that the entry of Netflix and Amazon into the Australian market gave “hope of change on the way” if they were regulated to fund Australian content.

More than four years later and with content quotas still being determined by the government, the director says there has only been a been only “very marginal improvement” in documentary investment, adding that while there may be greater opportunities for independent producers, it could come at a cost of “a Faustian bargain with the powerful platforms”.

“The indications from the major streamers in sessions that I recently attended at [MIFF] 37° South is that, like their parent companies in the US, the stories they favour are definitely at the commercial end –i.e. they need to have broad appeal and ideally a built-in fan base,” he tells IF.

“Plus, it’s not only the subject matter, but it’s the actual formula of presentation that streamers prescribe – often based on algorithms they’ve developed to keep audiences from drifting to other programs or other platforms.”

On the flipside, the new players in the market offer their Australian collaborators high-end production values and reach, as seen in the case of Netflix’s first Australian original documentary Puff: Wonders of the Reef, a co-production between Wild Pacific Media and Port Douglasbased BioQuest Studios.

Released in December 2021, the film follows a baby puffer fish through the Great Barrier

Reef as he learns to survive and thrive through his first year of life, with director Nick Robinson and cinematographer Pete West developing super-macro camera techniques for the project, designed to immerse viewers in the world of the reef’s tiny inhabitants.

The creative team was recognised at the 2022 News & Documentary Emmy Awards, taking home the award for Outstanding Nature Documentary.

In an interview with IF following the win, director Robinson said he had wanted to tell the story for a while, but said it wasn’t the sort of film he could make on the budgets his company usually worked with, having cost in the realm of $3-5 million.

He credits Netflix, whom Wild Pacific Media pitched the idea to at a conference in 2020, with helping to achieve a reach “well beyond” any Australian project he has previously been involved with, describing the company’s entry to the documentary space as a “gamechanger”.

“We had been trying to break into the high-end blue-chip natural history space for a long time and to be able to do it with Puff: Wonders of the Reef is amazing,” he said.

“Hopefully, it leads to more.”

Streamers have allowed audiences access to high-end documentaries they would otherwise have to go film festivals or cinemas to see, according to Paramount ANZ head of popular factual Sarah Thornton.

In her role, Thornton has not only overseen the production of Network 10 documentaries, Claremont: A Killer Among Us, Lindy Chamberlain: The True Story and Todd Sampson’s Mirror Mirror, but also Paramount+ unscripted titles, including Couples Therapy and The Bridge.

She says the network does not take its documentary commissions lightly, noting the younger audience comes with an expectation of premium factual.

“When we commission a doc, we want whatever we bring in to tend to feel premium,” she says.

“We want people to have access to something that’s really been curated and cared for and in general it has worked for us.”

Having previously worked across multiple factual entertainment and documentary series for Sky, C4, Channel 5 and the BBC, she is

philosophical about how the sector has been impacted by streaming, suggesting that the “documentary landscape is constantly changing, regardless of who the influences are”.

“Documentary filmmakers are, by nature, curious and self-critical and always looking to do things better,” she says.

“What Netflix has done has allowed us to view feature docs, which have always existed, in the comfort of our own home and I think also highlighted the fact that there is a finance model that works.”

For Goldman, greater scrutiny of the financial model used by the broadcasters in relation to documentary programming may provide the key to “more fertile soil for experimentation in different forms and different voices” amid the algorithm-driven streaming companies.

“What I would like to see is greater scrutiny on how the documentary budget is divided between the one-off feature docs, the television hours, as compared to the factual entertainment reality TV formats that might have been created overseas but made in Australia by a local production company,” she says.

“Some of them are very good, don’t get me wrong, but what’s the division of that lot of funding between factual entertainment reality shows that can be quite expensive to make and are semiscripted, compared to what goes into a genuine documentary, which I would call not scripted in that way.

“I’d just like to see it shaken up a bit because it’s become very conservative and predictable.”

Documentary Australia co-founder and CEO Mitzi Goldman.

‘Puff: Wonders of the Reef’. (Photo: Netflix)

MORE TO BE DONE ON MENTAL HEALTH

Screen Well co-founder Ben Steel outlines the organisation’s plans to bring the screen sector in line with other creative industries when it comes to mental health and wellbeing.

If you told me six years ago that in 2022 I’d no longer be acting or making films, but instead I’d be passionately running a social enterprise (Screen Well) to help improve mental health outcomes for the Australian screen industry – I would not have believed you!

In 2016 I was deep into shooting what would end up being 63 interviews for my documentary The Show Must Go On, which explored the prevalence of mental ill health in Australia’s creative industries. I was in an incredibly dark, anxious, and often a suicidal place – riddled with self-hate and hopelessness. I felt like a massive failure, and that my screen career defined my whole life and identity. Ironically, through the daily routine/process of making the film, receiving precious insights and raw honesty from each interview, working on myself, and being supported from those close to me, including my counsellor and team, making the film literally

saved my life and presented a new purpose/mission.

What led me to establishing Screen Well was similar to the instinct I had when The Show Must Go On – just a spark of an idea in my mind. I had a deep feeling in my gut that my industry, our industry, and the people working in it, were severely distressed and struggling quite badly with mental health and wellbeing. Likewise, weeks into COVID hitting our shores, I had an overwhelming sense of the trauma and fear that our collective creative industry was going through. Colleagues from all corners were sharing their experiences, fears, and concerns with me, and seeking answers. Looking at what support and infrastructure was in place to help the creative industries in this time of need, I was crushed. I realised that the music and the live performance industries were leaps and bounds ahead of the film sector in supporting and helping people

navigate mental health challenges. And to be honest, they still are progressing further and further ahead of us to this day. Since this personal realisation, my focus every day has been squarely and solely on doing my best to help move my industry forward.

The first iteration of Screen Well was born in response to COVID shutting down our industry in 2020 through four webinars produced by Film Art Media that provided essential support, information and a sense of connectedness, while also kickstarting the mental health conversation in the screen sector.

We officially launched Screen Well as a social enterprise in March 2022, and have since trained 154 screen workers to be mental health first aiders, delivered 13 customised webinars and keynotes, spoken on eight screen industry panels, written seven screen industry articles, created three screen industry best practice guides, and

conducted two research projects. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a small team to improve wellbeing in our industry, but there’s more to be done. So what’s next?

Under the guidance of our advisory group members, Lisa Colley and Monica Davidson, we spent a substantial part of 2022 consulting with industry, auditing and analysing industry reports and research. We also worked with external consultant Liz Norris to form a three-year strategy to improve mental health outcomes/

WHAT WE DISCOVERED

The Australian screen industry is predominantly underpinned by a workforce made up of freelancers, sole traders and small businesses with limited time and resources at their disposal. Running a small business in the creative industries is hard, and there is a lack of formalised training and

Screen Well co-founders Margaret Tillson and Ben Steel.

programs to support mental health, psychological safety and wellbeing. Existing programs from alternate industries are not fit for purpose and are missing the lived experience of screen workers, and therefore are less engaging and less effective.

Additionally, the nature of creating filmed content can be a vulnerable, confronting, and demanding process. Over many decades, some of our industry cultures have evolved to produce an abundance of negative mental health outcomes. As Entertainment Assist and Victoria University’s 2016 landmark research put: “There is a powerful, negative culture within the industry including a toxic, bruising working environment; extreme competition; bullying; sexual assault; sexism and racism.”

Historically, the screen industry lacks frameworks and processes to translate the complexities of various layers of government legislation on psychological health and best practice standards into actionable workplace practices. This results in many small business owners not knowing what to do, even though they have a real will to create improved outcomes for the health and safety of our industry. All of this canlead to increased mental health issues, people leaving the sector, and even loss of life.

REASONS THE INDUSTRY NEEDS TO ACT NOW

• Since October 2022, under new NSW WHS legislation (but soon to follow in other states and territories), psychosocial risks must be managed like physical risks. There is now visibility, investment, and active enforcement by regulators across Australian jurisdictions of psychosocial risks. Organisations across the screen industry need to act on this policy change or risk severe penalties and possible legal action.

• Through the Australian Cinematographers Society’s A Wider Lens report, and Screen

Well’s Australian Screen Directors

Work/Life Balance Survey, and others; there is a growing evidence base that Australian screen industry workplaces have numerous psychosocial stressors that may be contributing to the alarming rates of suicide, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and substance use disorders. These have a real human cost but also contribute substantially to loss of productivity and worker retention issues. Our emerging and established talent are regularly leaving the industry from severe fatigue and/or because they are being treated poorly.

• The Australian screen industry is highly regarded globally for many reasons, but we are lagging behind other global centres (such as the UK) when it comes to improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for our screen workers. Additionally, the Australian screen industry is falling behind our brothers and sisters in other Australian creative industries when it comes to: investing in psychological

health and safety of our workforce and workplaces, promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, providing training, resources and support.

SCREEN WELL’S THREE-YEAR STRATEGY

Our three-year impact strategy is underpinned by a meaningful theory of change framework. We analysed the mental health challenges the screen industry faces and identified three focus areas that need improvement: work conditions, work cultures, and the wider sector.

We will create positive impact through initiatives that deliver across one or more of our four key objective pillars:

• Strengthen Awareness

• Increase Support Build Skills

• Change Behaviours

Over the three-year period, Screen Well will use ten different metrics, ranging from short-term to medium-term tools, to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of our

initiatives and our progress. This robust process will enable us to refine and adjust our initiatives to help achieve our desired outcomes. Our core activities will be:

• Consultation

• Research

• Procedure

• Training Advocacy

We are excited to announce our key initiatives for 2023 are:

• The inaugural Screen Well Awards

• Leadership and Culture Change

– research project

• Mental Health First Aid – training tranche 3

• Mental Health Essentials for the Screen Sector – eLearning modules

• Wellbeing Procedures for the Screen Sector – guide Screen Well is interested in hearing from sector stakeholders such as film agencies, broadcasters, streamers, post and production companies that want to know more about the strategy, and those that would like to pledge their support.

Please be advised that this article contains descriptions of mental disorders that some readers might find distressing. If you have been impacted by this material, please reach out for support. Support Act Wellbeing Helpline1800 959 500 | Lifeline 13 11 14

chris@chriscoote.com.au

Ben Steel (left) and Peter George at JMC Academy in Melbourne, doing a wellbeing chat for students.

SUPERCHARGING YOUR CREATIVITY

A positive relationship with your creativity is the bedrock for a successful screen industry career. Emmy and AACTA Award-winning producer turned screen sector executive coach Ellenor Cox outlines five strategies to supercharge yours.

These beautiful words of Henri Matisse ring true for every creative person, as every time we express our emotions through our films, writing or music, and present it to the world, we are in effect putting ourselves on the chopping block to be critiqued by everyone on the planet. It’s bold, it’s brave, and it requires a certain level of self-esteem and courage to be so vulnerable, and open to criticism and rejection. After all, how many other industries do you know where professional critics are gainfully employed?

It takes a lot of courage to freely express our creative ideas and to be comfortable with this vulnerability; to making public how we connect our art with our identity. As Ellis Paul Torrance so eloquently put it,

‘It takes courage to be creative. Just as soon as you have a new idea, you are in a minority of one.’

Courageous creative people are those who’ve learnt the art of not feeling burdened by conformity and who focus their energies instead on what they feel and express through their art. They’ve somehow learnt to grow a tough skin against the seemingly endless rejections, knockbacks or public criticisms of their work.

For many of us however, our creativity is often diluted by the pressure to conform to societal norms or our fear of being judged. However, the start of a new year is a wonderful time to review our relationship with our creativity; to stoke the fires of this essential life blood and to supercharge our creative pursuits.

Here are the top five skills and mindsets that consistently courageous creative people appear to have in common:

1. You can always choose how you react

When someone rejects or attacks your creativity, your first impulse might be to react with a flurry of emotional emails or DMs. It may make you feel better in that moment but it’s just a fleeting emotion. The harder stance, but the better reaction, is to choose to look for lessons from this experience. Decide to turn the other cheek by either ignoring the criticism or distancing yourself from these people in the future. Through our choices we can create a happy and harmonious environment around us, and over time, will become more proficient at ignoring the critics and naysayers.

2. Learn to become comfortable with feeling uncomfortable

Unfortunately there is no such thing as the luxury of feeling courage without also feeling fear alongside it. They are permanent if unwilling bedfellows. The trick to mastering this is focus on the small wins whenever we do experience this fear and to reward ourselves afterwards by reflecting on the fact that we were able to handle that discomfort. The more our competency grows at learning to live with discomfort then the more our confidence grows in our ability to handle more challenging emotions.

Ellenor Cox.

“Creativity takes courage.”

3. Don’t let your fears become bigger than your reality

The adage ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger’ has stood the test of time for good reason. Breakthroughs occur most often at the end of chaos, but we need to learn to overcome our fears in order to start something. How many projects have not even gotten off the ground because people have been paralysed by all the fears around the ‘What Ifs’. Naming these fears from the outset is a great tool to create momentum. List them all out and then take this to the extreme of what the worst case scenario would look like. Could you survive this no matter how uncomfortable you might find it? If the answer is yes, then take action! Taking action is the quickest and most effective way to reduce our fears around our creativity.

4.

Focus on your ‘bounce back’ strategies

Resilience is the art of picking yourself up again after rejection and disappointment and moving forward. Don’t shy away from the negative feelings that come up in these moments but instead put a time frame against them. For example, “I’m going to vent in my journal for 30 minutes and feel sorry for myself and then I’m going to do something constructive to make myself feel better”. Get current around what are the things that get you quickly back into a better frame of mind. Could it be a coffee with a friend, a long walk, a cuddle with your pet, a call to your Mum? Don’t take these simple things in life for granted as they are often powerful and easily accessible tools.

5. Connect with your inner purpose

Creative people who dare to be courageous often link their creativity to their identity. They feel compelled to pursue their chosen art form. There’s a lot to be said for this, as we all know that there’s safer and more stable career choices that could be made. Remind yourself that your choice to be a creative person is based on you believing that the sharing of your creative ideas is meaningful and valuable. When we hold this attitude then we remind ourselves that our creative pursuits are based on our personal growth and not our desire to show off our competencies. This reminds us of the very personal connection that we have with our creativity and provides the fuel for our courageous fires.

In the end, opinions will always differ and people will always have the right to voice their opinion or choices. No matter how good or how bad you are, you will be judged. What is in your power is how you react to these challenges.

Vicktor Frankl put it so well in his seminal book, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

So inculcate positivity, learn to let go, develop the resilience to bounce back with your full might after any challenging episode and embrace the courage to be a creative.

Ellenor has a range of free resources available to the screen sector at www.ellenorcox.com and provides bespoke coaching and consultancy on brand and strategy for the creative sector.

Cover for unique risks

Film Producers Indemnity (Cast Insurance) Market leading team

IF I HAD A GADGET

Canon expands production capabilities for the EOS C70

Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 18.1

Blackmagic Design has launched DaVinci Resolve 18.1, adding support for editing in vertical resolutions for platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, as well as automatic locking of individual timelines within bins for multi user collaboration. The update also adds DaVinci Neural Engine enabled AI dialogue leveler and AI voice isolation tools to the cut, edit and Fairlight pages as well as vector keyframing for Fairlight automation curve editing. Controls include real time scrolling waveform display, focus presets and three process options to achieve natural sounding results. With the new vector keyframing of Fairlight audio automation curves, editors now can graphically enter, edit, trim and nudge keyframes with standard tools.

Nikon Z 9 adds support for ATOMOS AirGlu sync technology

Nikon has released a firmware update for its flagship mirrorless camera Nikon Z 9 which adds support for ATOMOS

AirGlu BT. This gives the Z 9 the ability to synchronise timecode wirelessly over Bluetooth (BT) with a range of compatible devices and software applications. The ATOMOS AirGlu system was developed by Timecode Systems to provide sync for productions. The ability to lock cameras together and support dual system recording with separate audio devices, streamlines post workflows. AirGlu BT is the wireless technology for synchronising timecode over Bluetooth. It’s best suited for devices within closer proximity. AirGlu RF (Radio Frequency) offers a long-range option and is the wireless technology for synchronising timecode over wider distances.

Blackmagic Design Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+

Blackmagic Design has unveiled the Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+, featuring a completely redesigned light source that allows real time HDR film scanning in Ultra HD. The new high intensity LED grid array light source allows customers to get better quality images from scanned film at much higher film scanning speeds. The new model also retains the previous elements such as digital servos, gentle capstan drives, advanced colour science, 35mm and 16mm film support, and an elegant architectural design that can be wall mounted.

Canon Australia has announced a firmware update for the EOS C70, which offers strengthened capabilities for production workflows and greater functionality for filmmakers. The EOS C70 is a cinema camera that combines the image quality of Canon’s Cinema EOS cameras with the RF mount in the EOS R System. The new firmware update, version 1.0.5.1, has enhanced production flexibility, audio and focusing functionality and is designed for filmmakers on a range of productions. It gives camera operators the ability to monitor up to four audio channels in the on-screen meter display. EOS C70 now also allows users to use face and eye detection AF and tracking in both slow and fast shooting modes. Alongside the current XF-AVC Intra 410Mbps, the update introduces new 4K Intra recording options up to 60P/50P at 600Mbps.

ARRI RIA-1 Radio Interface Adapter expands Hi-5 ecosystem functionality

Originally announced as part of the evolving ecosystem around the ARRI Hi-5 hand unit, the RIA-1 Radio Interface Adapter is now available and ready to ship. Compact and solidly built, the RIA-1 is a versatile hub for countless different shooting setups. By supporting ARRI’s swappable radio modules, it facilitates wireless camera and lens control in any situation.

RED V-RAPTOR XL 8K VV

RED Digital Cinema has officially announced the availability of the V-RAPTOR XLTM 8K VV camera. The V-RAPTOR XL leverages RED’s current flagship V-RAPTOR 8K VV + 6K S35 multi-format sensor inside of a large-scale, unified XL camera body, designed to support highend television and motion picture productions. Filmmakers can shoot 8K large format or 6K S35, with the sensor boasting the highest recorded dynamic range and cleanest shadow performance of any RED camera. The V-RAPTOR sensor scan time is 2x faster than any previous RED camera and lets users capture up to 600 fps at 2K.

IF MAGAZINE TAKES A LOOK AT SOME OF THE LATEST EQUIPMENT BEING USED BY THE SCREEN INDUSTRY.

IN PRODUCTION

For full production listings see www.if.com.au and click “In Production”. If you have a new project you would like included, email: publicity@if.com.au

✪ FEATURES:

200% WOLF

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: When pink were-poodle Freddy Lupin goes on a mission to save a baby moon spirit, he finds himself caught up in the magic of a werewolf sorceress.

DIRECTOR: Alexs Stadermann

PRODUCERS: Alexia Gates-Foale, Carmen

Perez-Marsa Roca, Barbara Stephen

WRITER: Fin Edquist

CAST: Ilai Swindells, Samara Weaving, Jai

Courtney, Magda Szubanski, Akmal Saleh

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Flying Bark

Productions

DISTRIBUTOR: Studiocanal

ADDITION

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: This romantic comedy follows 30-something-year-old Grace who has a thing for numbers and the inventor Nikola Tesla. But when an average guy, Seamus, comes along, Grace falls for Seamus and her meticulously ordered life begins to unravel around her.

DIRECTOR: Marcelle Lunam

PRODUCERS: Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, Jodi Matterson

WRITER: Becca Johnstone

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Made Up Stories, Buon Giorno Productions

DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films

THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: Penny, a GP who returns from the big smoke to set up shop in her hometown of Appleton. Her focus soon becomes the town’s great event the Appleton Potato Race as she attempts to correct the disparity between the men’s and women’s prize.

DIRECTOR: Lynn Hegarty

PRODUCERS: Andrea Keir, Lisa Duff

WRITER: Melanie Tait

CAST: Claire van der Boom, Katie Wall,

Genevieve Lemon, Tiriel Mora, Robyn Nevin, Andy Ryan, Rohan Nichol, Cecelia Peters, Darren Gilshenan, John Batchelor, John Gaden

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: EQ Media Group, Congaline Productions

DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount+

A SAVAGE CHRISTMAS

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: Trans woman Davina Savage returns home for Christmas with her new

boyfriend after years of estrangement. While she expects her transition to be the focus, it’s instead overshadowed by family secrets and lies which threaten not only their lives but another Christmas lunch.

DIRECTOR: Madeleine Dyer

PRODUCERS: Daniel Mulvihill, Ben McNeill

WRITER: Madeleine Dyer, Max Jahufer, Daniel Mulvihill

CAST: Thea Raveneau, Max Jahufer, Rekha Ryan, Helen Thomson, Darren Gilshenan, David Roberts, Gary Sweet, Ryan Morgan, Rachel Griffiths

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Roaring

Entertainment

DISTRIBUTOR: Bonsai Films

BETTER MAN

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: An introspective look into the experiences that shaped Robbie Williams, both on and off stage.

DIRECTOR: Michael Gracey

PRODUCERS: Jules Daly, Michael Gracey, Craig McMahon

WRITER: Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey

CAST: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman, Damon Herriman, Kate Mulvany, Anthony Hayes

STATE: VIC

DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films

BEING BETTY FLOOD

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: Betty, a headstrong, smart 12-year-old girl torn between her overprotective mother and her desire to prove her magical and musical abilities.

DIRECTOR: Mark Gravas

PRODUCER: Gerry Travers, Cathy Ní Fhlaithearta

WRITERS: Harry Cripps, Cleon Prineas

CAST: Evanna Lynch, Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh, Charlotte Friels, Ed Byrne, Ardal O’Hanlon, Neil Delamere, Semisi Cheekham, Erin Choy, Sarah Aubrey

PRODUCTION COMPANY: POP Family

Entertainment, Studio 100 Film, Telegael

BRING HIM TO ME

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A getaway driver must battle his conscience and drive a young and unsuspecting passenger to an uncertain fate at the behest of a ruthless crime boss.

DIRECTOR: Luke Sparke

PRODUCERS: Carmel Imrie, Carly Sparke

WRITER: Tom Evans

CAST: Barry Pepper, Sam Neill, Rachel Griffiths, Liam McIntyre, Zac Garred, Jamie

Costa, Jennings Brower STATE: QLD

CHRISTMESS

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Fresh out of rehab, a desperate, once famous actor takes a job as a Santa Claus in a suburban strip mall where he unexpectedly encounters his long-estranged daughter and infant grandson. With the love and support of his sponsor, and a young, sharp tongued, gay musician in recovery, he sets about staying sober in order to win his daughter’s forgiveness for Christmas.

DIRECTOR: Heath Davis

PRODUCERS: Daniel Fenech, Cindy Pritchard, Matthew McCracken

WRITER: Heath Davis

CAST: Steve Le Marquand, Darren Gilshenan, Hannah Joy, Nicole Pastor

STATE: NSW

DISTRIBUTOR: Bonsai Films

DEVIL INSIDE

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: A young virologist helps the local park ranger research the Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease – a contagious cancer that has wiped out nearly 90 per cent of the population. But when her husband is bitten by a sickly stray dog, she suspects the virus has mutated across species and is causing violent outbursts in the hosts.

DIRECTOR: Jonathan auf der Heide

PRODUCERS: David Ngo, Erin Williams-Weir

WRITERS: Jonathan auf der Heide, Tom Holloway

CAST: Ryan Kwanten, Caitlin Stasey, Lou Taylor Pucci

STATE: TAS

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Projector Films

DOUBLE OR NOTHING

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Two cousins embark on a highenergy race against the clock to find $50k when the mob discover one of them has been skimming from their Gold Coast workshop.

DIRECTOR: Dru Brown

PRODUCERS: Dru Brown, Timothy Carr, Nicole Payten-Betts

WRITER: Dru Brown

CAST: Vince Colosimo, John Jarratt, Robert Rabiah, Steve Mouzakis, Rowan Howard, Andrew Ian Pope, Erin Connor

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Brown Python Films

GODZILLA AND KONG

STATUS: Post-production

DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard

PRODUCER: Eric McLeod

CAST: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Legendary

Entertainment

DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.

THE FALL GUY

STATUS: In production

DIRECTOR: David Leitch

PRODUCER: Guymon Casady, Ryan Gosling, David Leitch, Kelly McCormick

WRITER: Drew Pearce

CAST: Ryan Gosling, Teresa Palmer, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Winston Duke

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Universal Pictures

DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures

FEAR BELOW

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: A team of professional divers hired to locate a sunken car from a river in 1940s Australia. After being thwarted by a large deadly bull shark hunting in the waters, the divers soon discover they are working for ruthless criminals trying to recover their stolen gold bullion, with the bank robbers proving to be as deadly and treacherous as what lurks beneath the surface.

DIRECTOR: Matthew Holmes

PRODUCER: Blake Northfield, Michael Favelle

WRITERS: Matthew Holmes, Gregory Moss

CAST: Hermione Corfield, Jake Ryan, Josh McConville, Jacob Junior Nayinggul

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Bronte Pictures

DISTRIBUTOR: Studiocanal

FIVE BLIND DATES

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A Chinese-Australian tea shop owner searches for love, family, and cultural connection.

DIRECTOR: Shawn Seet

PRODUCER: Kylie du Fresne

WRITERS: Shuang Hu, Nathan Ramos-Park

CAST: Shuang Hu, Yoson An, Jon Prasida, Desmond Chiam, Ilai Swindells, Renee Lim, Tiffany Wong, Rob Collins, Tzi Ma

STATE: NSW, QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Goalpost Pictures, Amazon Studios

DISTRIBUTOR: Amazon Prime Video

FOE

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: An adaptation of Ian Reid’ s 2018 novel set in a future where corporate power and environmental decay are ravaging the planet. Hen and Junior, a young married

couple, live a solitary life on their isolated farm. One night, a knock on the door from a stranger named Terrance changes everything: Junior has been randomly selected to travel to a large, experimental space station orbiting Earth.

DIRECTOR: Garth Davis

PRODUCERS: Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Garth Davis, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning

WRITERS: Garth Davis, Ian Reid

CAST: Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, Aaron Pierre

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Amazon Studios, AC Studios, I Am That, See-Saw Films

FORCE OF NATURE

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: When five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat and only four come out on the other side, Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate in the hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.

DIRECTOR: Robert Connolly

PRODUCERS: Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson, Steve Hutensky, Eric Bana, Robert Connolly

WRITER: Robert Connolly

CAST: Eric Bana, Anna Torv, Deborra-lee Furness, Robin McLeavy, Sisi Stringer, Lucy Ansell, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor, Richard Roxburgh, Tony Briggs, Kenneth Radley

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Made Up Stories, Pick Up Truck Pictures, Arenamedia

DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films

THE FOX

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: A vain heir to a vineyard dynasty, who upon discovering his fiancé is cheating on him, decides he wants nothing more than to avoid embarrassment and get the issue resolved. In his desperation, he follows the advice of a rogue fox, who promises that his doomed relationship will be fixed if he pushes his loved one into a magic hole that has the power to transform flawed people into perfect partners. The woman who re-emerges seems to be everything he ever wanted, until her strange new quirks lead him to question his decision.

DIRECTOR: Dario Russo

PRODUCERS: Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings

WRITER: Dario Russo

CAST: Jai Courtney, Morfydd Clark

FROM ALL SIDES

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A middle-aged Indian-Australian woman’s former life as a professional dancer resurfaces, catapulting each member of her multi-racial family, including her bisexual

husband Pascal into parallel journeys of cultural and sexual awakening, while unearthing a minefield of race relations, class tension, and sexuality.

DIRECTOR: Bina Bhattacharya

PRODUCER: Bina Bhattacharya, Alexander McGhee, Daisy Montalvo

WRITER: Bina Bhattacharya

CAST: Monique Kalmar, Max Brown, Georgia Anderson, Josh Virgona

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Gemme de La Femme Pictures

FURIOSA

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before she teamed up with Mad Max in ‘Fury Road’.

DIRECTOR: George Miller

PRODUCER: Doug Mitchell

WRITER: George Miller, Nick Lathouris

CAST: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Yahya Abdul-Mateen

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Kennedy Miller

Mitchell Films

DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.

GIFT THAT GIVES

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: An author’s book leads him to be invited to a TV program, where he becomes an object of affection for the presenter. However, he’s interested in her best friend who owns the bookshop where he launched his book. Luckily for the presenter, fate brings her together with the author’s brother, Austin, as they discover hidden love letters, signed by aliases, sparking a search to find out who penned them.

DIRECTOR: Joy Hopwood

PRODUCER: Joy Hopwood

WRITER: Joy Hopwood

CAST: Takaya Honda, Lily Brown-Griffiths, HaiHa Le, Damien Sato, Lex Marinos, Susan Ling, Maria Tran, Andy Trieu, Genevieve Craig, Atharv Kolhatkar

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Joy House

Productions

HE AIN'T HEAVY

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: A desperate sister kidnaps her beloved brother to save him from addiction.

DIRECTOR: David Vincent Smith

PRODUCER: Jess Parker

WRITER: David Vincent Smith

CAST: Greta Scacchi, Leila George, Sam Corlett

STATE: WA

PRODUCTION COMPANY: No Label Films

DISTRIBUTOR: Bonsai Films

IN VITRO

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: In a regional Australia of the near future, on a remote cattle farm, a husband

and wife have been experimenting with biotechnology and developing new farming methods. The couple live a mostly isolated existence, but when a series of unsettling occurrences take place, they soon discover a disturbing presence on the farm that threatens to upend their lives.

DIRECTORS: Will Howarth, Tom McKeith

WRITER: Will Howarth, Tom McKeith, Talia Zucker

PRODUCERS: Lisa Shaunessy, Bec Janek, Will Howarth, Rachael Fung

CAST: Ashley Zukerman, Talia Zucker, Will Howarth

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Arcadia Films, Fictious

DISTRIBUTOR: Arcadia

KID SNOW

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: When a washed-up tent boxer gets one last shot to make a name for himself, he’s forced to choose between old dreams and new love.

DIRECTOR: Paul Goldman

PRODUCERS: Lizzette Atkins, Megan Wynn, Bruno Charlesworth

WRITERS: John Brumpton, Stephen Cleary

CAST: Billy Howle, Tom Bateman, Phoebe Tonkin, Tasma Walton, Mark Coles Smith, Shaka Cook, Hunter Page-Lochard, Robert Taylor, Nathan Phillips, Jack LaTorre

STATE: WA

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Unicorn Films, Immaculate Conception, Wynn Media

DISTRIBUTOR: Madman Entertainment

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

STATUS: In production

DIRECTOR: Wes Ball

PRODUCER: Patrick Aison, Joe Hartwick Jr, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Jason Reed

WRITERS: Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver

CAST: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Eka Darville, Kevin Durand

STATE: NSW

DISTRIBUTOR: Disney

LAND OF BAD

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Rookie field air support controller Kinney is embedded with a Delta Force team on a mission in the Philippines. When the team is trapped without weapons, the skills of Reaper, an Air Force drone pilot, become their only chance of survival.

DIRECTOR: Will Eubank

PRODUCERS: David Frigerio, Will Eubank, Adam Beasley, Michael Jefferson

WRITERS: David Frigerio, Will Eubank

CAST: Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth, Luke Hemsworth, Milo Ventimiglia, Ricky Whittle, Daniel MacPherson, Chika Ikogwe

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Unicorn Films, Immaculate Conception, Wynn Media

DISTRIBUTOR: Madman Entertainment

LITTLE BIRD

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Set in the 1930s and based on pilot Nancy Bird Walton, the film follows a poor but spirited young woman, who teams up with a burnt-out legend to become one of Australia’s most extraordinary flying teams.

DIRECTOR: Darren Ashton

PRODUCER: Joe Weatherstone, Catherine Nebauer

WRITERS: Harry Cripps, Hannah Reilly

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Northern Pictures

DISTRIBUTOR: Maslow Umbrella 387 Entertainment

LOVE BY THE GLASS

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Allee dreams of one day managing the boutique family winery owned by her grandparents. When the vineyard runs into financial trouble, Allee and her brother Nick decide to work on a secret new wine blend in the hope it will turn their family fortunes around. The plan hits an obstacle with the arrival of Ethan, a charismatic Wine Inc. representative on a mission to convince the vineyard owners to sell so he can secure a big promotion. Things get complicated as Allee and Ethan grow closer, yet want very different outcomes.

DIRECTOR: Colin Budds

PRODUCER: Steve Jaggi, Kelly Son Hing

CAST: Susie Abromeit, Tim Ross

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: The Steve Jaggi Company

DISTRIBUTOR: Athabasca Film

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: A bittersweet remembrance of Grace Puddle; a lonely hoarder of ornamental snails living in Canberra.

DIRECTOR: Adam Elliot

PRODUCERS: Liz Kearney, Adam Elliot

WRITER: Adam Elliot

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Arenamedia

THE MOOGAI

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: Sarah and Fergus, a hopeful young couple, give birth to their second baby. What should be a joyous time of their lives becomes sinister when Sarah starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her children.

DIRECTOR: Jon Bell

PRODUCER: Mitchell Stanley, Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings

WRITER: Jon Bell

CAST: Meyne Wyatt, Shari Sebbens, Tessa

Rose, Clarence Ryan, Toby Leonard Moore, Bella Heathcote

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Causeway Films

DISTRIBUTOR: Maslow Umbrella 387

Entertainment

THE NEW BOY

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: The mesmeric story of a nineyear-old Aboriginal orphan boy who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun. The New Boy’ s presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.

DIRECTOR: Warwick Thornton

PRODUCER: Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton, Georgie Pym, Kath Shelper, Lorenzo De Maio

WRITER: Warwick Thornton

CAST: Aswan Reid, Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair, Shane Brady, Tyrique Brady, Laiken Woolmington, Kailem Miller, Kyle Miller, Tyzailin Roderick, Tyler Spencer

STATE: SA

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Dirty Films, Scarlett Pictures

DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films

PHOTO BOOTH

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Photo Booth is the story of Jean Bouchet, a renowned performance artist past her prime childbearing years who desperately wants to be a mother, even if it means adopting the child born of her husband’s infidelity.

DIRECTORS: Spencer Harvey, Lloyd Harvey

PRODUCERS: Sarah Shaw, Anna McLeish, Cathy Konrad

WRITERS: Spencer Harvey, Lloyd Harvey

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Carver Films, Treeline Films

THE PORTABLE DOOR

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Paul Carpenter is an intern at a mysterious London firm with unconventional employers, including a CEO who wants to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices.

DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Walker

PRODUCERS: Todd Fellman, Blanca Lista

WRITER: Leon Ford

CAST: Christoph Waltz, Patrick Gibson, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, Chris Pang, Jessica De Gouw, Rachel House, Arka Das, Damon Herriman, Sophie Wilde

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Jim Henson Co., Story Bridge Films

DISTRIBUTOR: Madman Entertainment, Stan

THE ROOSTER

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A small-town cop’s oldest friend is found buried in a shallow grave, leading him to seeks answers from a volatile hermit who

was the last person to see him alive.

DIRECTOR: Mark Leonard Winter

PRODUCERS: Geraldine Hakewill, MahVeen Shahraki

WRITER: Mark Leonard Winter

CAST: Hugo Weaving, Phoenix Raei, Helen Thomson, Rhys Mitchell, Bert La Bonte, John Waters, Camilla Ah Kin, Robert Menzies, Deirdre Rubenstein

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Thousand Mile

Productions

DISTRIBUTOR: Bonsai Films

THE ROYAL HOTEL

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Follows two friends, who resort to a working holiday at the Royal Hotel, which is notorious for cycling through young female employees constantly. They end up subjected to mind games and manipulation, trapped in the middle of nowhere.

DIRECTOR: Kitty Green

PRODUCERS: Kath Shelper, Emile Sherman, Liz Watts, Iain Canning

WRITERS: Kitty Green, Oscar Redding

CAST: Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Hugo Weaving, Toby Wallace

STATE: SA

PRODUCTION COMPANY: See-Saw Films

DISTRIBUTOR: Transmission Films

A ROYAL IN PARADISE

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Olivia Perkins is a New York romance author struggling with writer’s block after a break up. Keen to help, her best friend convinces her to take a tropical holiday in hope of inspiration. On the other side of the world, Prince is reminded by the Queen of his upcoming duty to marry royalty. Needing some distance, Prince Alexander decides to attend a marine conservation fundraiser. On arriving at the tropical Haven Isles, the Prince and Olivia meet and form a friendship, but Alexander keeps his identity a secret. Experiencing all the island has to offer, Olivia and Alexander grow closer, until the Prince’s true identity is exposed by a royal spy.

DIRECTOR: Adrian Powers

PRODUCER: Steve Jaggi, Kelly Son Hing

WRITER: Adrian Powers, Caera Bradshaw,

CAST: Rhiannon Fish, Mitchell Bourke, Cara McCarthy, Andrea Moor

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Steve Jaggi

Productions

DISTRIBUTOR: Athabasca Film

RUNAWAY

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Carla, a young woman immersed in an unravelling relationship attempts to save her marriage by leading her husband, Clark, into a complex and dangerous world of sexual fantasy that entangles the lives of her older neighbours, Sylvia and Leon. Based on the

Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro’s short story of the same name.

DIRECTOR: Mirrah Foulkes

PRODUCER: Liz Watts, Emile Sherman, Iain

Canning

WRITER: Mirrah Foulkes

PRODUCTION COMPANY: See-Saw Films

DISTRIBUTOR: Transmission Films

SCARYGIRL

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: Based on characters from the vinyl toy range and Nathan Jurevicius’ wordless graphic novel, Scarygirl follows Arkie, a young girl with a talent for technology and a tentacle-like arm, who was raised in secret by her kind but cautious father, Blister, a rare Giant Octopus with the ability to regenerate life. When her father is kidnapped for his prized abilities and their idyllic world is threatened by a sudden loss of sunlight, Arkie sets out on a journey to the City of Light: a dazzling, modern city controlled by the mysterious Dr Maybee.

DIRECTORS: Ricard Cussó, Tania Vincent

PRODUCERS: Sophie Byrne, Nadine Bates, Kristen Souvlis, Ryan Greaves

WRITERS: Polly Watkins, Matthew Everitt, Craig Behenna, Les Turner, Cristin O’Carroll

CAST: Jillian Nguyen, Sam Neill, Anna Torv, Rob Collins, Tim Minchin, Deborah Mailman, Remy Hii, Liv Hewson, Mark Coles Smith, Dylan Alcott

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Passion Pictures, Like A Photo Creative

DISTRIBUTOR: Madman Entertainment

SLEEPING DOGS

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Adapted from E.O. Chirovici’s novel The Book of Mirrors, the story centres on Roy Freeman (Crowe), who is tasked with re-examining a brutal murder case after a death row inmate he arrested ten years prior proclaims his innocence.

DIRECTOR: Adam Cooper

PRODUCERS: Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Mark Fasano, Pouya Shabazia

WRITERS: Adam Cooper, Bill Collage

CAST: Russell Crowe

SONS OF SUMMER

STATUS: Post-production

DIRECTOR: Clive Fluery

PRODUCERS: Phil Avalon, Tim Maddocks

WRITERS: Phil Avalon, Greg Clayton

CAST: Temuera Morrison, Isabel Lucas, Joe Davidson, Pacha Light, Alex Fleri, Phil Avalon

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: InterTropic Films

STATES OF MIND

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: A disparate group of people travel to take part in what they think is a competition at a meditation retreat, only to find that their reasons for being there may actually be

more sinister.

DIRECTOR: Ché Baker

PRODUCER: Ché Baker, Sarah Mason

WRITER: Ché Baker

CAST: Kiran Shah, Clayton Jacobson, Vanessa Moltzen, Shalane Connors, Mayen Mehtah, Jack Martin, Barbara Hastings, Nick Byrne

STATE: NSW, ACT

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Full Point Films

SUKA

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Set in a Western Sydney location where crime gangs rule, the Yang clan’s thirst for power continues to threaten the lives of many. The Dawood family is the only line of defense, led by matriarch Wasiya, who stealthily forges alliances to quash the hold of the Yang family, overseen by patriarch, Jun, the murderer of her husband. Wasiya’s only daughter, Hui, was sent away as a child for protection and is unaware of this generational feud. When she returns to Australia as an adult, she stays with her best friend, Jay, who is secretly in love with her. Bo , heir to the Yang family, has also grown up and – with his older sister Fandi – now carries out their father’s dirty business dealings. Unaware of each other’s family ties, Hui and Bo meet by chance and fall for each other. The latter, obligated by family duty and his father’s insistence, is forced to assassinate a local trader who has betrayed the Yang clan, an incident Hui witnesses before being captured by Fandi. Bo is then torn between honor and love when he discovers that his beloved Hui is the daughter of his father’s worst enemy.

DIRECTOR: Heidi Lee Douglas

PRODUCER: Tsu Chan Chambers

WRITER: Lily Cheng, Tsu Chan Chambers

CAST: Jenny Wu, Paul He, Grace Huang, Ethan Browne, Tsu Shan Chambers

STATE: NSW

WENT UP THE HILL

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Jack travels to a remote region in New Zealand to attend the funeral of Elizabeth, the mother who abandoned him as a child. There he meets Jill, Elizabeth’s widow. Both are searching for answers. But Elizabeth’s spirit lingers and soon finds a way to possess both Jack and Jill’s bodies at night.

DIRECTOR: Samuel Van Grinsven

PRODUCER: Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Causeway Films

DISTRIBUTOR: Vendetta Films

WIZARDS!

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Two hapless pothead beach-bar operators run into trouble when they stumble across stolen loot that they really should have just left alone.

DIRECTOR: David Michod

PRODUCERS: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner,

Liz Watts

WRITERS: David Michod, Joel Edgerton

CAST: Pete Davidson, Franz Rogowski, Naomi Scott, Sean Harris, Orlando Bloom

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Plan B

Entertainment, See-Saw Films, A24

YOU, ME AND THE PENGUINS

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Tilly Monterey, a manager at the Animal Discovery Institute, realizes her dream to work in the field is threatened with closure and its colony of Little Blue Penguins is scheduled to be relocated 2,500km away.

DIRECTOR: Christine Luby

PRODUCERS: Steve Jaggi, Spencer McLaren, Ian Whitehead, Graham Ludlow

WRITER: Annelies Kavan

CAST: Tammin Sursok, Jason Wilder, Stuart Lumsden, Madeleine West, Nick Hardcastle

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: The Steve Jaggi Company

✪ SERIES

100% WOLF: THE BOOK OF HATH

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: In The Book of Hath, Freddy travels back through time to 825AD where he must help his ancestors defeat the Werelock Hath.

DIRECTOR: Jacquie Trowell

PRODUCERS: Barbara Stephen, Alexia

Gates-Foale

WRITERS: Tess Meyer, Fin Edquist

CAST: Ilai Swindells, Elizabeth Nabben, , Kelly Butler, Peter McAllum, Raechelle Banno, Victoria Zerbst, Will Cottle, Rachel House, Charlie Barkel, Lottie Guntank, Sam Alhaje, Cam Ralph, Tin Pang, Leah de Niese, Natesha Somasundaram, Michael Bourchier, Tess Meyer, Rupert Degas

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Flying Bark

Productions

NETWORK: ABC

ANYONE’S DAUGHTER

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: About the police investigation into the disappearance of young women.

DIRECTOR: Peter Andrikidis

PRODUCERS: Kerrie Mainwaring, Peter Andrikidis, and Jamie Hilton

THE ARTFUL DODGER

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: A well-known and much-loved story, with a twist. Across eight episodes, the scripted series explores the adult double life of Charles Dickens’ famous prince of thieves – Dodger – now a surgeon, but who can’t shake his predilection for crime. The inspiration for two of his most famous characters, Fagin and Jack Dawkins aka The Artful Dodger, were transported to Australia for their crimes.

DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Walker, Gracie Otto, Corrie Chen

PRODUCERS: David Taylor, David Maher, Jo Porter

WRITERS: Andrew Knight, James McNamara, Jeffrey Walker, Vivienne Walshe, Miranda Tapsell

CAST: Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis, Maia Mitchell, Damon Herriman, Miranda Tapsell, Tim Minchin, Susie Porter, Kym Gyngell, Damien Garvey, Jessica De Gouw, Andrea Demetriades, Luke Carroll, Huw Higginson, Lucy-Rose Leonard, Nicholas Burton, Jude Hyland, Finn Treacy, Albert Latailakepa

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Beach Road

Pictures, Curio Pictures

NETWORK: Disney+

AUNTY DONNA’S COFFEE CAFE

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A television show about three best friends running a cafe. It funny.

DIRECTOR: Max Miller

PRODUCERS: Nicole Minchin

WRITERS: Sam Lingham, Broden Kelly, Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly, Zachary Ruane

STATE: VIC

CAST: Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly, Zachary Ruane

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Haven’t You Done Well Productions

NETWORK: ABC

BAY OF FIRES

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Single mother of two Stella Heikkinen experiences a spectacular and life-threatening fall from grace.

CREATORS: Marta Dusseldorp, Andrew Knight, Max Dann

DIRECTORS: Natalie Bailey, Wayne Blair

PRODUCER: Marta Dusseldorp, Yvonne Collins

WRITERS: Marta Dusseldorp, Andrew Knight, Max Dann, Sarah Bassiuoni

CAST: Marta Dusseldorp, Kerry Fox, Toby

Franklin, Kim Ko, Rhys Muldoon, Imi Mbedla, Ava Caryofyllis, Ilai Swindells, Mackenzie Grant, Mitchem Everett

STATE: TAS

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Archipelago Productions, Fremantle

NETWORK: ABC

BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Eli Bell, a young boy growing up in Brisbane during the 1980s, is forced to navigate his lost father, mute brother, junkie mum, heroin dealer stepfather, and a notorious crim babysitter.

DIRECTORS: Bharat Nalluri, Jocelyn Moorhouse, Kim Mordaunt

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Troy Lum, Andrew Mason, Joel Edgerton, Sophie Gardiner, Kerry Roberts, Toby Bently

WRITER: John Collee

CAST: Felix Cameron, Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker, Phoebe Tonkin, Bryan Brown, Anthony LaPaglia, Sophie Wilde, Christopher James Baker, HaiHa Le, Deborah Mailman, Ben O’Toole, Zachary Wan, Millie Donaldson, Eloise Rothfield

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Brouhaha

Entertainment, Blue-Tongue Films, Chapter One, Anonymous Content

NETWORK: Netflix

C*A*U*G*H*T

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Four Australian soldiers are sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they realise that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them.

DIRECTOR: Kick Gurry

PRODUCER: Brendan Donoghue, John Schwarz, Michael Schwarz, Kick Gurry

WRITER: Kick Gurry

CAST: Sean Penn, Ben O’Toole, Lincoln Younes, Alexander England, Mel Jarnson, Fayssal Bazzi, Dorian Nkono, Rebecca Breeds, Bella Heathcote, Bryan Brown, Erik Thomson, Matthew Fox

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Fremantle

Australia

NETWORK: Stan

SYNOPSIS: The disappearance of three young women in Perth in the late 1990s launched a 25-year investigation by the police and one tenacious journalist.

DIRECTOR: Peter Andrikidis

PRODUCERS: Kerrie Mainwaring, Jamie Hilton, Peter Andrikidis

WRITERS: Michaeley O’Brien, Justin Monjo

CAST: Ryan Johnson, Catherine Văn-Davies, Aaron Glenane, Laura Gordon, Andrea Demetriades, Craig Hall, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Tasma Walton, Joel Jackson, Tom O’Sullivan, Dalip Sondhi

STATE: WA, NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Screentime

NETWORK: Seven

CLASS OF ‘07

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: When an apocalyptic tidal wave hits during the ten-year reunion of an all-girls high school, a group of women must find a way to survive on the island peak of their high school campus.

DIRECTOR: Kacie Anning

PRODUCER: Mimi Butler

WRITER: Kacie Anning

CAST: Emily Browning, Caitlin Stasey, Megan Smart, Claire Lovering, Sana’a Shaik, Sarah Krndija, Steph Tisdell, Bernie Van Tiel, Chi Nguyen, Emma Horn, Rose Flanagan, Debra Lawrance

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Matchbox Pictures

NETWORK: Amazon Prime Video

THE CLEARING

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Based on J.P. Pomare’s novel In the Clearing and inspired by the real-life Australian cult The Family and its founder Anne Hamilton-Byrne, one of the rare female cult leaders in history.

CREATOR: Matt Cameron

DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Walker, Gracie Otto

PRODUCER: Jude Troy

WRITERS: Matt Cameron, Elise McCredie, Osamah Sami

CAST: Teresa Palmer, Mirando Otto, Guy Pearce, Hazme Shammas, Mark Coles-Smith, Tom Budge, Erroll Sand, Lily La Torre, Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi, Kate Mulvany, Xavier Samuel, Claudia Karvan, Anna Lise Phillips, Harry Greenwood, Doris Younane, Miah Madden, Julia Savage, Gary Sweet, Alicia Gardiner, Matt Okine, Jeremy Blewitt

STATE: VIC

DEADLOCH

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: The Kates’ latest creation is a feminist noir comedy set against a bucolicbackdrop with a rising body count. The story is set in the once sleepy seaside hamlet of Deadloch and begins after a man’s dead body is found on the beach. Two female detectives are thrown together to solve the case, one fastidious, the other a more rough and ready type from out of town. Along with an over-eager junior they have to pool forces to solve the case while the town is putting on its annual crafts, culture and cooking festival.

DIRECTORS: Ben Chessell, Gracie Otto, Beck Cole

PRODUCER: Andy Walker

WRITERS: Kate McCartney, Kate McLennan

CAST: Kate Box, Madeleine Sami, Alicia Gardiner, Nina Oyama

STATE: TAS

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Guesswork

Television, OK Great Productions, Amazon Studios

NETWORK: Amazon

EROTIC STORIES

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Anthology series which explores desire from different perspectives and spotlights diverse experiences of sex and intimacy across age, sexuality, race, gender and disability.

PRODUCERS: Helen Bowden, Liam Heyen

WRITERS: Niki Aken, Tamara Asmar, Alistair Baldwin, Christine Bartlett, Glace Chase, Marieke Hardy, Sara Khan, Sarah Walker

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Lingo Pictures

NETWORK: SBS

FIVE BEDROOMS (SEASON 4)

STATUS: Post-production

CREATORS: Michael Lucas, Christine Bartlett

PRODUCERS: Michael Lucas, Christine Bartlett

WRITERS: Michael Lucas, Christine Bartlett

CAST: Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Johnny Carr

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Hoodlum

Entertainment NETWORK: Paramount+

GINGER & THE VEGESAURS (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Travel back through the mists of time to an era dominated by the juiciest and

crunchiest creatures ever to rule the planet –the mighty Vegesaurs.

CREATORS: Gary Eck, Nick O’Sullivan

DIRECTORS: David Webster, Cindy Scharka

PRODUCER: Celine Goetz, Amanda Spagnolo

WRITERS: Sylvie van Dijk, Bruce Griffiths, Sam Carroll, Caitlin Farrell

NETWORK: ABC

GOLD DIGGERS

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: In the 1850s, thousands of men from around the world flocked to the goldfields to hit the jackpot. It is within this environment that two sisters seek their own prosperity: newly-rich idiots. Gert, a heavy-drinking sociopath, and Marigold, her virginal, naïve sister, are willing to do anything —or anyone — to get their fortune; but first they must suffer the lads, lice, and lechery of the Australian goldfields.

CREATOR: Jack Yabsley

DIRECTOR: Helena Brooks

PRODUCER: Muffy Potter

WRITERS: Jack Yabsley, Erica Harrison, Shontell Ketchell, Alex Lee, Sara Khan, Wendy Mocke, Amy Stewart

PRODUCTION COMPANY: CBS Studios, The

Alliance

NETWORK: ABC

HEARTBREAK HIGH (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Pre-production

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Fremantle

Australia, Newbe

NETWORK: Netflix

HEAT

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Two families and long-time friends venture to a secluded home for a summer vacation. As secrets and lies unravel, it becomes a tinderbox – and not everyone will make it out alive. o families and long-time friends as they venture to a secluded home for a summer vacation.

CREATOR: Jason Herbison

DIRECTOR: Kate Kendall

PRODUCER: Natalie Mandel

WRITERS: Jason Herbison, Anthony Ellis, Margaret Wilson

CAST: Darren McMullen, Pia Miranda, Jane Allsop, Danny Dyer, Olympia Valance, Richie Morris, Matia Marks, Matteo Annetta, Hunter Hayden

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Fremantle

NETWORK: 10, Channel 5

HOUSE OF GODS

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Takes audiences behind the walls of an imam’s family and the Australian Arab/ Iraqi community he leads. The series explores the personal cost of influence and ambition as the Imam, Sheikh Mohammad, and his family grapple with newfound power, politics and privilege.

PRODUCER: Bree-Anne Sykes, Sheila Jayadev

WRITER: Osamah Sami, Blake Ayshford, Sarah Bassiouni, Shahin Shafaei

CAST: Osamah Sami, Shahin Shafaei

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Matchbox Pictures

NETWORK: ABC

HUMAN ERROR

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Holly O’Rourke and her homicide team as a seemingly open-and-shut murder investigation threatens to destroy her career, her family, and her faith in justice. As she scrambles to redeem her personal and professional reputation, Holly and her team uncover a criminal conspiracy that will change their lives forever.

PRODUCER: Dan Edwards, John Edwards, Greg Haddrick, Samantha Winston

WRITERS: Samantha Winston, Greg Haddrick, Gregor Jordan

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Roadshow Rough Diamond

NETWORK: Nine

IRONSIDE

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: A crime drama inspired by the true story of the AFP’s use of the encrypted ANOM app to track and trap criminals.

DIRECTOR: Gregor Jordan

PRODUCERS: Dan Edwards, John Edwards

WRITERS: Gregor Jordan, Nick McKenzie

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Roadshow Rough Diamond

NETWORK: Stan

KANGAROO BEACH (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Further beach-based fun adventures with the four cadets, Pounce, Frizzy, Neville and Gemma.

DIRECTORS: Steve Moltzen, David Webster, Cindy Scharka

PRODUCERS: Patrick Egerton, Celine Goetz

WRITER: Tim Bain

CAST: Harriet Hynes, Eliza Hynes, Jerra Wright-

Smith, Millie Egerton, Kitty Flanagan, Matthew Hardie, Rupert Degas, Miranda Tapsell

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Cheeky Little Media NETWORK: ABC

LAST DAYS OF THE SPACE AGE

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Set in Western Australia in 1979, a power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness, while the city hosts the iconic Miss Universe pageant and the US station, Skylab, crashes just beyond the city’s suburbs. Against this backdrop of international cultural and political shifts, three families in a tightknit coastal community find their marriages, friendships, and futures put to the test.

CREATOR: David Chidlow

DIRECTOR: Bharat Nalluri, Rachel Ward, Kriv Stenders

PRODUCER: Christine Pham

WRITER: David Chidlow, Alice Addison, Dot West, Jeremy Nguyen, Alan Nguyen

CAST: Radha Mitchell, Jesse Spencer, Deborah Mailman, Linh-Dan Pham, Iain Glen, George Mason, Vico Thai, Ines English, Jacek Koman, Mackenzie Mazur, Emily Grant, Thomas Weatherall, Aidan Chiem

STATE: WA, NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Princess Pictures

NETWORK: Disney+

LIMBO

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: When Charlie’s best friend dies at just 38, he is rudderless and alone… until the wise-cracking ghost of his dead friend begins haunting’ him.

CREATOR: Lucas Taylor

DIRECTOR: Trent O’Donnell

PRODUCERS: Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey, Jennifer Cummins

WRITERS: Lucas Taylor, Tamara Asmar

CAST: Ryan Corr, Bob Morley, Emma Harvie, Shabana Azeez, Russell Dykstra, Lena Cruz, Aaron Fa’aoso, Jane Harber, Philippa Northeast, Josh McConville, Kamillia Rihani, Georgina Naidu

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Bunya

Productions, Heiress Films

NETWORK: ABC

LITTLE

J

AND BIG CUZ (SEASON 4)

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: Whether it’s at school, in the backyard, or beyond the fence, Little J and Big Cuz find out about culture, community,

and country with the help of Nanna and their teacher Ms Chen

DIRECTOR: Tony Thorne

PRODUCER: Ned Lander

WRITERS: Dot West, Erica Glynn, Sam Paynter, Danielle MacLean, Adam Thompson

CAST: Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsell, Ursula Yovich, Aaron Fa’aoso

STATE: VIC, TAS

NETWORK: ABC, NITV

THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE

HART

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: After a family tragedy in which she loses both her abusive father and beloved mother in a mysterious fire, nine-year-old Alice is taken to live with her grandmother June on a flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

DIRECTOR: Glendyn Ivin

PRODUCER: Barbara Gibbs

WRITERS: Sarah Lambert, Kirsty Fisher, Kim Wilson

CAST: Sigourney Weaver, Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Frankie Adams, Alexander England, Charlie Vickers, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Alyla Browne

STATE: NSW, NT

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Made Up Stories, Endeavor Content, Amazon Studios

NETWORK: Amazon Prime Video

LOVE ME (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Post-production

DIRECTOR: Bonnie Moir

PRODUCER: Nicole O’Donohue

WRITERS: Tamara Asmar, Leon Ford, Adele Vuko, Celia Pacquola

CAST: Hugo Weaving, Bojana Novakovic, William Lodder, Heather Mitchell, Bob Morley, Celia Pacquola, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Mitzi Ruhlman

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia NETWORK: Binge

THE MESSENGER

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: An Ed Kennedy’s life is one of peaceful routine until playing cards inscribed with cryptic tasks start to arrive in the mail. Choosing to care, Ed makes his way through town helping and hurting.

DIRECTORS: Jennifer Leacey, Daniel Nettheim, Helena Brooks

PRODUCERS: Jason Stephens, Elisa Argenzio

WRITERS: Sarah Lambert, Kirsty Fisher, Kim Wilson, Magda Wozniak

CAST: William McKenna, Maggie Dence, Alexandra Jensen, Chris Alosio, Kartanya Maynard

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Lingo Pictures

NETWORK: ABC

METROPOLIS

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Based on Fritz Lang’s 1927 film.

SHOWRUNNER: Sam Esmail

DIRECTOR: Sam Esmail

WRITER: Sam Esmail

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: UCP, Esmail Corp

NETWORK: AppleTV+

MOTHER AND SON

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: When his widowed mum, Maggie, sets fire to the kitchen, recently-single Arthur Gbeme moves back in to the family home. As he tells it, he has “put his life on hold” to care for his mum, but the truth is, there isn’t much to put on hold. A former nurse, Maggie used to be a firebrand – a free-thinking renegade of the ‘60s. But since the death of her husband, Maggie has been... a little off.

CREATOR: Matt Okine

PRODUCER: Jude Troy, Richard Finlayson

WRITERS: Matt Okine, Sarah Walker, Tristram

Baumber, Geoffrey Atherden

CAST: Matt Okine, Denise Scott

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Wooden Horse

NETWORK: ABC

NAUTILUS

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Based on Jules Verne’ s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, telling the origin story of anti-hero Captain Nemo and his legendary submarine, The Nautilus. Nemo is an Indian Prince robbed of his birth right and family, a prisoner of the East India Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces which have taken everything from him. But once he sets sail with his ragtag crew on board the awe-inspiring Nautilus, he not only battles with his enemy, he also discovers a magical underwater world.

CREATORS: Xavier Marchand, Anand Tucker

DIRECTOR: Michael Matthews

PRODUCER: Cameron Welsh

WRITER: James Dormer

CAST: Shazad Latif, Thierry Fremont, Georgia Flood, Damien Garvey, Pacharo Mzembe, Ling Cooper Tang, Andrew Shaw, Ashan Kumar, Chum Ehelepola, Arlo Green, Tyrone Ngatai, Celine Menville, Kayden Price

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Moonriver TV, Seven Stories

NETWORK: Disney+

THE NEWSREADER (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: It’s 1987, and newsreaders Helen Norville and Dale Jennings are back on screen delivering the biggest stories of the day. Off screen they’re contending with rising public profiles, intensifying office politics, and a

ruthless new CEO.

CREATOR: Michael Lucas

DIRECTOR: Emma Freeman

PRODUCER: Joanna Werner, Michael Lucas

WRITERS: Michael Lucas, Kim Ho, Niki Aken, Adrian Russell Wills

CAST: Anna Torv, Sam Reid, Daniel Gillies, Philippa Northeast, William McInnes, Robert Taylor, Michelle Lim Davidson, Stephen Peacocke, Chai Hansen, Chum Ehelepola, Marg Downey

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Werner Film

Productions NETWORK: ABC

NCIS: SYDNEY

STATUS: Pre-production

PRODUCTION COMPANY: CBS Studios

NETWORK: Paramount+, Network 10

NORTH SHORE

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: British and Australian detectives team up to solve a complex murder mystery, and uncover a conspiracy with international political consequences.

CREATOR: Mike Bullen

DIRECTOR: Gregor Jordan

PRODUCER: Diane Haddon

WRITERS: Mike Bullen, Marcia Gardner

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: David Taylor, David Maher, Mike Bullen, Di Hadden

CAST: John Bradley, Joanna Froggatt, Kirsty Sturgess, Dan Spielman, Rob Carlton, Matt Passmore, Rhys Muldoon, Claire Lovering, Chris Alosio

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Beach Road

Pictures

NETWORK: Network 10

PAPER DOLLS

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Set in 2000, Paper Dolls follows the meteoric rise and fall of the fictional girlband INDIGO - a manufactured pop group born out of one of the first reality TV shows.

CREATOR: Ainslie Clouston

PRODUCER: Mark Fennessy

WRITER: Ainslie Clouston

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Helium

NETWORK: Network 10

THE PM’S DAUGHTER (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Cat has seemingly found her groove as the Prime Minister’s daughter, only to have her school and home life upended when she discovers an unexpected crush, begins a feverishly competitive internship, and outs a shocking parental secret – all leading to the unmasking of a brand new conspiracy. outs a shocking parental secret.

CREATORS: Tristram Baumber, Matthew Allred

DIRECTORS: Julie Kalceff, Lisa Matthews

PRODUCER: Tim Powell

WRITERS: Alexandra Cullen, Lou Sanz, Hannah Samuel, Gemma Bird Matheson, Craig Irvin, Nikki Tran

CAST: Cassandra Helmot, Claire Fearon, Natalie English, Jaga Yap, Anthony Brandon Wong, Gemma Bird Matheson, Renee Lim, Bailey Hayward

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Fremantle

Australia

NETWORK: ABC

PROSPER

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Set in the inner sanctum of a family bound together by unfathomable wealth and unchecked power as they build an evangelical megachurch hell-bent on global domination.

PRODUCERS: Jason Stephens, Helen Bowden

WRITERS: Matt Cameron, Liz Doran, Louise Fox, Belinda Chayko

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Lingo Pictures

NETWORK: Stan

RFDS (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: One year after Eliza left Broken Hill behind, much has changed, with lives at RFDS South East progressing at a rapid rate.

PRODUCERS: Imogen Banks, Sara Richardson

WRITERS: Ian Meadows, Claire Phillips

CAST: Emma Hamilton, Stephen Peacocke, Rob Collins, Justine Clarke, Ash Ricardo, Jack Scott, Sofia Nolan, Rodney Afif, Ash Hodgkinson, Thomas Weatherall

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Endemol Shine

Australia

NETWORK: Seven

NETWORK: 10, Channel 5

ROCK ISLAND MYSTERIES (SEASON 2)

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: The group continue their adventurous search for Taylor’s missing Uncle Charlie now that they know he is still alive somewhere within the increasingly mysterious Rock Island.

DIRECTORS: Jovita O’Shaughnessy, Evan Clarry

PRODUCERS: Timothy Powell, Jonah Klein

WRITERS: Alex Beane, Marisa Natura, Jessica Brookman, Trent Roberts, Matthew Bon, Chloe Wong, Rachel Laverty, Dave Cartel

CAST: Alexa Curtis, Noah Akhigbe, Izellah Connelly, Ryan Yeates, Inessa Tan

STATE: QLD

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Fremantle

Australia NETWORK: 10

SAFE HOME STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A woman’s life is turned upside

down when she begins working at a family violence legal centre.

CREATOR: Anna Barnes

DIRECTOR: Stevie Cruz-Martin

PRODUCER: Imogen Banks

WRITERS: Anna Barnes, Michelle Law, Jean Tong

CAST: Aisha Dee, Mabel Li, Virginia Gay, Thomas Cocquerel, Antonia Prebble, Hal Cumpston, Chenoa Deemal, David Roberts, Janet Andrewartha, Mark Mitchinson, Tegan Stimson, Katlyn Wong, Nicholas Burton, Yuchen Wang

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Kindling Pictures

NETWORK: SBS

SPACE NOVA (SEASON 2)

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: The Novas are on the brink of their greatest mission ever – travelling to the incredible Stardustian’s planet – before their ship is almost destroyed, throwing them off course and stranding their new friend Ziggy in parts unknown.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: SLR Productions

NETWORK: ABC

THE SPOOKY FILES

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: An adventure-filled look at the universal experience of childhood fears, featuring a blend of contemporary characters and retro delights from the 80s and 90s.

DIRECTORS: Guy Edmonds, Matt Zeremes

PRODUCER: Paul Watters

WRITERS: Guy Edmonds, Matt Zeremes

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Tony Ayres

Productions, Megaboom Pictures

NETWORK: ABC, BBC

THE STRANGE CHORES (SEASON 3)

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Two wannabe warrior-heroes and a spirited ghost girl master the skills they need to replace an ageing monster-slayer by doing his strange, supernatural chores.

DIRECTOR: Scott Vanden Bosch

PRODUCERS: Carmel McAloon

WRITERS: John McGeachin, Luke Tierney, Alex Beane, Magda Wozniak

CAST: Charlotte Nicdao, Michael Philippou, Nick Tate

STATE: QLD, VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Ludo Studio, Media World Pictures

NETWORK: ABC

STRIFE

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Evelyn Jones, a ‘modern imperfect woman’ goes from lounge room blogger to a force within women’s media. Her journey takes place against the background of a dynamic

and ever-changing publishing world at a time when digital media was still fresh on the scene.

SHOWRUNNER: Sarah Scheller

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson, Steve Hutensky, Sarah Scheller, Asher Keddie, Mia Freedman

WRITER: Sarah Scheller

CAST: Asher Keddie

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Made Up Stories

NETWORK: Binge

SUPER NOVA (SEASON 2)

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: The Novas are on the brink of their greatest mission ever – travelling to the incredible Stardustian’s planet – before their ship is almost destroyed, throwing them off course and stranding their new friend Ziggy in parts unknown.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: SLR Productions, Giggle Garage

NETWORK: ABC

SURVIVING SUMMER (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Pre-production

CAST: Sky Katz, Kai Lewins, João Gabriel Marinho, Savannah La Rain, Lilliana ‘Lil’ Bowrey

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Werner Films

Productions

NETWORK: Netflix

TEN POUND POMS

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A group of Brits leave dreary post-war Britain in 1956 to embark on a life-altering adventure on the other side of the world.

CREATOR: Danny Brocklehurst

DIRECTORS: Jamie Stone, Ana Kokkinos

WRITERS: Danny Brocklehurst, Ryan Griffen, Smita Bhide, Ava Pickett

CAST: Michelle Keegan, Faye Marsay, Warren Brown, Rob Collins, Leon Ford, Declan Coyle, David Field, Stephen Curry, Hattie Hook, Finn Treacy, Emma Hamiton

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Eleven

NETWORK: Stan, BBC

TOTAL CONTROL (SEASON 3)

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: In the corridors of power, adversaries Alex Irving and Rachel Anderson battle to control their political destinies.

PRODUCERS: Darren Dale, Erin Bretherton, Rachel Griffiths

WRITERS: Stuart Page, Pip Karmel, Julia Moriarty, Meyne Wyatt, Debra Oswald

CAST: Deborah Mailman, Rachel Griffiths

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Blackfella Films

NETWORK: ABC

TOTALLY

COMPLETELY

FINE STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS : 20-something Vivian Cunningham’s life is a mess. Last week she accidentally burnt down her brother’s vegan food truck with a bacon-flavoured vape and this week she’s inherited her grandfather’s coastal clifftop house, and is tasked with helping people who come too close to the edge. Strangely enough, they’re responding to her chaotic, nihilistic brand of psychology. Maybe, just maybe, in saving these people, she’ll slowly start to save herself?

CREATOR: Gretel Vella

DIRECTORS: Lucy Gaffy, Adrian Chiarella

PRODUCER: Alice Willison

WRITERS: Gretel Vella, Keir Wilkins, Emme

Hoy

CAST: Thomasin McKenzie, Devon Terrell, Brandon McClelland, Rowan Witt, Contessa Treffone, James Sweeny, Max Crean, Brigid

Zengeni

STATE: NSW

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Fremantle

Australia

NETWORK: Stan

TURN UP THE VOLUME

STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A group of young female and gender diverse teenagers start a band at a music camp held in Melbourne’s inner west. At first disillusioned and disconnected, the group join together to discover the strength to define themselves on their own terms, and find belonging in the embrace of community.

DIRECTORS: Tenika Smith, Jub Clerc, Harry Lloyd, Jessie Oldfield, Adam Murfet

PRODUCERS: Philippa Campey, Rachel Davis

WRITERS: Dannika Horvat, Penelope Chai, Matthew Bon, Ciarán Hanrahan, Chloe Wong, Betiel Beyin, Leigh Lule

CAST: Riya Mandrawa, Erza James, Elaine King, Mira Russo, Ayiana Ncube, Justine Clarke, Spencer McLaren, Keith Brockett, Debra Lawrance, Dennis Coard, Kaiya Jones, Ben Chen, Madison Lu, Tim Rogers

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Film Camp, Matchbox Pictures

NETWORK: ABC

UTOPIA (SEASON 5)

STATUS: Pre-production

SYNOPSIS: Set inside the offices of the “Nation Building Authority”, a federal government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, Utopia explores that moment when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide.

PRODUCERS: Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch

DIRECTOR: Rob Sitch

WRITERS: Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch

CAST: Rob Sitch

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Working Dog Productions NETWORK: ABC

WARNIE STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: Highlights from the life of the legendary spinner.

DIRECTOR: Geoff Bennett

PRODUCER: Paul Moloney

WRITER: Matt Ford

STATE: VIC

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Screentime NETWORK: Nine

WHILE THE MEN ARE AWAY

STATUS: In production

SYNOPSIS: While the men are off fighting in WWII, the people who have been excluded from power suddenly find themselves running the show. Two Women’s Land Army recruits from Sydney arrive in the country and undergo a heady course in race relations, rural politics, spirituality, sex, and personal growth - oh, and farming.

CREATORS: Alexandra Burke, Kim Wilson, Monica Zanetti

DIRECTORS: Elissa Down, Kim Wilson, Monica Zanetti

WRITERS: Kim Wilson, Monica Zanetti, Jada Alberts, Magda Wozniak, Enoch Mailangi, Sam Icklow

CAST: Gemma Ward, Benedict Hardie, Shaka Cook, Max McKenna

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Arcadia NETWORK: SBS

WOLF

LIKE ME (SEASON 2)

STATUS: Post-production

DIRECTOR: Abe Forsythe

PRODUCERS: Jane Cho

WRITER: Abe Forsythe

CAST: Isla Fisher, Josh Gad

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Made Up Stories, Endeavor Content NETWORK: Stan, Peacock

YEAR OF STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: A spin-off series set in and around the school in Bump. It follows the senior years of high school – exploring the liminal time between childhood and adulthood for the kids and the renegotiations with adults that it brings.

PRODUCERS: John Edwards, Dan Edwards

WRITERS: Jessica Tuckwell, Kelsey Munro, Enoch Mailangi, Emily Havea, Zoe Norton Lodge, Eddie Diamandi, Ayeesha Ash, Elanor Kirk

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Roadshow Rough Diamond

NETWORK: Stan

WHAT’S ON

If you have an event or an entry deadline coming up, email publicity@if.com.au with all relevant info

AUSTRALIA ON CELLULOID

WHEN: Now – July 24

WHERE: Randwick Ritz, Sydney

Presented by Ritz Cinemas, the National Film and Sound Archive and Umbrella Entertainment, Australia on Celluoid is a historical celebration of Australia's rich and unique film heritage, with special 35mm screenings of iconic and overlooked films from the NFSA's Kodak/Atlab and Deluxe/Kodak collections presented together for the first time. Screenings will occur every Saturday at 4pm, with select films accompanied by discussions with the filmmakers. Enore screenings happen every Monday at 6.30pm.

WWW.RITZCINEMAS.COM.AU

HOW I SEE IT: BLAK ART AND FILM

WHEN: Now – February 9

WHERE: ACMI, Melbourne

ACMI's How I See It: Blak Art and Film is a presentation showcasing works that explore new visions from eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives.Spanning moving image, installation, documentary, photography and video games, How I See It is designed to amplify artists and filmmakers’ perspectives on representation, the gaze, colonial archives, and knowledge systems. Curated by Kate ten Buuren (Taungurung), the exhibition unveils five new commissions by Amrita Hepi, Jazz Money, Joel Sherwood Spring, Jarra Karalinar Steel, and Peter Waples-Crowe, alongside works by Essie Coffey, Destiny Deacon, and Steven Rhall.

WWW.ACMI.NET.AU

FLICKERFEST 2023

WHEN: January 20 – 29

WHERE: Bondi Pavilion

Flickerfest will return to a revamped Bondi Pavilion for 2023, showcasing a mix of domestic and international talent. Now in its 32nd year, the ten-day event will screen 200 short films that have been handpicked from a pool of more than 3,000 entries across 29 dedicated festival programs. The in-competition shorts will vie for prizes including the Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film, the Yoram Gross Award for Best International Animation, the Panasonic Lumix for Best Australian Short Film, and the Flickerfest Award for Best Documentary, all of which are Academy qualifying.

WWW.FLICKERFEST.COM.AU

PENINSULA FILM FESTIVAL

WHEN: February 4

WHERE: Rosebud Village Green

After a two-year absence from its home turf,

the Peninsula Film Festival will return to the Rosebud Village Green on Saturday, February 4. Presented by Lexus of Brighton, the event includes special screenings, filmmaking workshops, and a Short Film Festival featuring 20 titles, as well as food trucks, local wine and beer vendors, and market stalls. Dan MacPherson, Lachy Hulme, Michala Banas, Chrissie Swan, Georgina Haig, and screenwriter Shaun Grant will support the industry’s up-andcoming talent, with opportunities for directors, producers, and actors to showcase their skills and passion with a top prize of $5,000. WWW.PENINSULAFILMFESTIVAL.COM.AU

QUEER SCREEN’S 30TH MARDI

GRAS FILM FESTIVAL

WHEN: February 15 – March 2

WHERE: Event Cinemas (George Street), Dendy Cinema (Newtown), Ritz Cinemas (Randwick)

Queer Screen’s 30th Mardi Gras Film Festival will screen at eight venues across Sydney including Event Cinemas (George Street), Dendy Cinema (Newtown), and Ritz Cinemas (Randwick), as well as other locations still to be announced. The late filmmaker Stephen Cummings, one of the founders of Queer Screen, will be honoured with a retrospective gala of his nine short films that have been digitised, restored, and remastered by the NFSA and Simon Hunt, Stephen’s estate executor. This will include the award-winning Resonance, Elevation, and Le Corps Image. Late drag queen Doris Fish will be revered with a special screening of Phillip R. Ford’s Vegas In Space QUEERSCREEN.ORG.AU

SCREENWORKS REGIONAL TO GLOBAL SCREEN FORUM

WHEN: March 30 – April 1

WHERE: Lennox Head Cultural Centre

This year’s event will include deep dives into The Drovers Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Blackfella Films and Inkey Media’s upcoming series First Weapons, and SBS Digital Original Latecomers.

There will also be sessions on cultural safety and cross-cultural collaboration WWW.AIDC.COM.AU

AIDC 2023

WHEN: March 5 – 11

WHERE: ACMI, Melbourne and online

The Australian International Documentary Conference will take place in-person at ACMI, Melbourne from March 5-8, followed by an online marketplace from March 9-11. This year’s theme is ‘Agents of Change’ and will feature a mix of keynotes, industry panels, and initiatives. Announced speakers include

US documentary filmmaker Sara Dosa (Fire of Love), Delhi-based filmmaker and writer Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes), Naked Television managing director Fatima Salaria, and Moroccan-American filmmaker Rita Baghdadi (Sirens).

WWW.AIDC.COM.AU

SCREEN FOREVER

WHEN: May 3 – 5

WHERE: Gold Coast Screen Producers Australia’s (SPA) annual conference. For 35 years, Screen Forever has championed the talent, passion and achievements of the Australian screen sector, providing a forum for discussion and debate on the issues and challenges that affect all screen businesses. The final evening will include the SPA Awards.

WWW.SCREENPRODUCERS.ORG.AU

2022 SPA AWARDS

WHEN: May 5

WHERE: Gold Coast

The Screen Producer Australia (SPA) Awards are back for 2022, with winners from each category to be announced at an in-person ceremony on the final night of Screen Forever 37, taking place on Gold Coast from May 3-5, 2023. The awards honour industry contributions and are the only awards voted solely by production businesses.

WWW.SCREENPRODUCERS.ORG.AU

✪ CALL FOR ENTRIES

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 24

Entries are now open for the 70th Sydney Film Festival in 2023, in cinemas from June 7—18. The 2023 Festival will have the largest prize pool for filmmakers and their films in the festival’s history, including doubling the prize for Best Australian Documentary from $10,000 to $20,000, thanks to support from Documentary Australia. Entries are open to features, documentaries and short films in all categories of the festival program.

FILMFREEWAY.COM/SYDNEYFILMFESTIVAL

FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL

AUSTRALIA’S MUSIC VIDEO BLIND DATE

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: March 11

Fantastic Film Festival Australia has announced the return of Music Video Blind Date. As part of the collaborative community initiative, a selection of Melbourne’s local musicians nominate an original track (or two) for collaboration. From there, local filmmakers

select a track to create an original film clip for, with the music videos to premiere at a special gala event at the 2023 Fantastic Film Festival Australia, in cinemas April - May 2023. This year’s participating musical acts include Ally Mac, BATTS, Big Farmer, Black Cab, Blake Scott, Cash Savage, Cousin Tony Brand New, Dark Water, Diploid, Drunk Mums, HEXDEBT, Huntly, Jarrow, June Jones, Papaphilla, Pseudo Mind Hive, Stiff Richards, and Würst Nürse. WWW.FANTASTICFILMFESTIVAL.COM.AU

REVELATION PERTH

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Apr 1

The Revelation Perth International Film Festival is seeking films of all forms, all durations, all subjects and all nationalities for inclusion in its 2023 program. Revelation ’23 will run from July 12 – 16 at Luna Cinemas Leederville and Luna on SX, Fremantle. FILMFREEWAY.COM/ REVELATIONFILMFESTIVAL

SXSW SYDNEY SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Apr 14

As a career-making opportunity for any filmmaker or screen creative who dreams of premiering their feature film, short, episodic, music video or XR project before an industry audience, the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival spotlights the Asia-Pacific region, while also remaining globally inclusive. Any submission must have been completed in 2021, 2022 or be on track for completion in early 2023.. SXSWSYDNEY.COM

✪ AUSSIE FEATURE FILM RELEASE DATES

TRUE SPIRIT (NETFLIX): Feb 3

WE ARE STILL HERE (DARK MATTER): Feb 16 OF AN AGE (ROADSHOW): Mar 23

THE RED SHOES THE NEXT STEP (SCREEN INC): Apr 6

SWEET AS (ROADSHOW): April 13

*Release dates are subject to change

✪ AUSSIE TV DRAMA AIR DATES

LAST KING OF THE CROSS (PARAMOUNT+): Feb 17

BAD BEHAVIOUR (STAN): Feb 17

WELLMANIA (NETFLIX): Mar 29

*TX dates are subject to change