IF Screen Forever 2025 by The Intermedia Group

SCREEN FOREVER

PRINCIPAL

This issue

Want to know what the buyers at Screen Forever are looking for?

Want to impress in your pitch – whether it’s at the bar, in the lift or at the market?

Get your highlighter ready, IF is your guide.

We are proud to be the exclusive media partner for Screen Forever. We’ve tried to put together an insider’s guide to the conference, stuffed with intel and interesting interviews. Our team will see you on the Gold Coast.

Jackie Keast, Editor

4 Opinion

Screen Forever CEO Matthew Deaner says it’s time for the government to priortise the screen industry.

6 Meet the Buyers

We’ve asked buyers both Australian and international what they want and how to perfect your pitch to them.

10 Rhombus Media eyes Aussie ties

Producer Kevin Krikst, part of the Canada Connect delegation, is making an Australian co-pro a company priority.

14 Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture

Wesley Enoch will deliver the annual speech.

16 Storytelling meets social advocacy

US screenwriter Lynn Renee Maxcy on how writers and producers best collaborate and writing climate narratives.

18 Take Two

Tom Hern and Nua Finau of Tavake on their working relationship.

20 Meet the Canadians

We asked the Canadian delegation what they’re looking for in Australian partners.

SCREEN FOREVER 2025 SPECIAL EDITION

TIME FOR GOVERNMENT TO PRIORITISE AUSTRALIA’S SCREEN INDUSTRY

Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner issues a call to action to the incoming government: Put local content rules on streaming platforms.

It’s that time of year again – the Screen Forever conference is upon us, and after recently announcing one of our biggest and boldest programs to date, featuring 150+ speakers across 40+ sessions, we can only assume we’re all equally excited about outcomes.

The gathering underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration within an industry built on small and large businesses. But as we all busily prepare to make the most of the opportunities at hand, it’s an opportune moment to reflect on the state of Australia’s screen industry and the significant challenges we face.

SPA’s highest priority continues to be ensuring Australian screen stories get a fair go through local content rules for streaming platforms. Australian screen stories are becoming increasingly difficult for our audiences to find, and the local production environment is getting tougher.

In addition, we must broaden our commissioning base and provide additional funding to critical institutions like our public broadcasters and national screen body. Screen projects are increasingly dependent on funding from Screen Australia to proceed, and too many are now stuck in limbo due to the limited availability of financial support.

The ABC and SBS have legislated roles in prioritising our national identity and serve audiences on a free-to-air basis. Additional funding for their screen content would provide an important boost to commissioning for our industry, which is overly reliant on streaming platforms that often

prioritise projects for global audiences. However, any additional funding has to be commissioned on fair terms that don’t shortchange producers.

It is also vital to ensure our framework of screen incentives is fit for purpose to attract investment, keep production local and maximise benefits for Australian creatives.

By attending the Screen Forever conference and SPA Awards this year, you are contributing to a shared vision and passion for securing our industry’s future. It is also an opportunity to share our successes and deepen our understanding of critical trends and industry developments with your peers and industry leaders.

The next three days will undoubtedly deliver countless opportunities to be inspired, connect, and do business. The 2025 program is curated around five fundamentals that will help guide your experience – Channels of Influence, Critical Change, Radical Storytelling, Discoverability and Audience, and From Mandates to Money.

The sessions – of which we’re extremely proud – will focus on ‘Changing the Narrative’, allowing delegates to engage with industry leaders and gain invaluable insights while exploring topics including industry reform, thought leadership, the economy of attention, and craft development.

We welcome our Canada Connect delegation with open arms. We hope having the biggest international delegation in the last decade will kick-start global partnerships and open doors to new financing opportunities, catapulting our stories onto the international stage.

Australia and Canada share many similarities in our screen industries – we are both relatively small, (mostly) Englishlanguage nations seeking to find our place in a global marketplace. We both have vibrant, creative sectors in markets dominated by global streaming giants. We are also both pursuing regulatory action to secure the future of local screen stories to reflect cultural identity and enhance local storytelling.

Our industry exists at a unique intersection between culture and commerce. Our task is to carve out a space where creativity and business intertwine in a balanced partnership. The challenges of recent years have only strengthened our resolve, inspiring us to continue working towards building a more resilient, sustainable, and bright future for the Australian screen sector.

Here’s to a future filled with innovation, resilience, and the continued celebration of Australian storytelling. I can’t wait to see where we go next.

SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.

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MEET THE BUYERS

Whether you’re heading to the market or doing a casual pitch over networking drinks, go in prepared. We’ve asked a range of buyers, both Australian and international, what they’re looking for.

DYNAMIC TELEVISION

CARRIE STEIN, president, global scripted television (US)

Why are you attending?

I love the Australian television industry and the series coming out of this country. Dynamic Television wants to be in business with local producers so I’m hoping to reconnect with so many producers working locally.

What are you looking for?

We tend to produce mainstream, entertaining content for a broad audience so we are looking for those kinds of accessible stories.

Recent successes?

We premiered Drops of God on Apple TV+ last year and have just completed production on our second season. We begin production soon on season 5 of Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour for Acorn TV, and our season 3 of Netflix series Ginny & Georgia is premiering shortly.

Tips for a standout pitch? Passion, something new to say and stating your clear concept from a character POV right off the bat!

AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S TELEVISION FOUNDATION

BERNADETTE O’MAHONEY, head of content

Why are you attending?

To catch up with colleagues, established and new, and to meet emerging producers and creators of future children’s content. As well as to continue to discuss the current state of children’s media with the industry.

What are you looking for?

Content that will stand out when children have so many choices of what to do with their viewing time. Original and existing IP that is highly entertaining and has a distinct Australian point of view, sense of humour or sensibility.

Recent successes?

Windcatcher for Stan, Crazy Fun Park and Kangaroo Beach on ABC. We are very excited by the up-and-coming pre-school series Knee High Spies and Shaun Tan’s Tales From Outer Suburbia.

Tips for a standout pitch?

Hone your elevator pitch. Can you sum your project up in just a line or two? Leave the listener interested and wanting to know more. Make the pitch clear and concise and stay on point. Don’t start with merchandise potential or other spin-offs. It is all about the story and characters and the world. What is its unique selling point? Why is it different to what is out there in a crowded market? Think about why kids with limited time would choose this over other titles on their smart TV screen.

LIONSGATE

NOEL

HEDGES, EVP, acquisitions (UK)

Why are you attending?

It’s my first time at Screen Forever, so I’m looking forward to meeting the wider TV creative and production community in Australia, hearing about the possibilities inherent in Australian TV and understanding the wider issues facing the local industry at the moment. As well as hopefully identifying one or two great projects to take home with me and hopefully work on!

What are you looking for?

I try not to be too prescriptive with my answers to this question! Obviously there are certain genres that are more useful internationally than others (e.g. crime) but overall I’m just looking for quality original ideas, impactful stories that have a resonance beyond Australia and also impressive talent and IP that will have immediate appeal.

Recent successes?

The Newsreader from Werner Film Productions and Fake from Kindling Pictures are two of our Australian titles that have really resonated internationally and ooze quality on every level.

Tips for a standout pitch?

Know your audience and what they need, be clear in concept and provide key details, keep it initially punchy and brief (but dynamic!) and let the pitchee response lead to further information being provided. Don’t think you have to tell all series plot details at the initial pitch meeting! And ideally, come to me with a script and good series overview to read afterwards.

BBC STUDIOS

KATE WOODS, head of commercial (UK)

Why are you attending?

This is a great opportunity to meet producers and build connections – I am always keen to hear from new voices and explore exciting ideas that could work for BBC Studios. The Australian production community is producing amazing television at the moment, with shows that resonate on a global level, but also have a great sensibility that aligns with UK audiences. What are you looking for?

MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT

MICHAEL MATRENZA, head of marketing

Why are you attending?

Primarily to connect with filmmakers and hear about their upcoming projects and communicate what we at Madman are focused on. Additionally, it is a great forum to gain insights from other industry practitioners on their experiences and new ideas and to foster relationships and collaboration with other folks from various corners of the screen industries, be it government partners, broadcasters or other content platforms.

What are you looking for?

We chase ‘remarkable films’ which are going to stand out from the crowd and create conversation/cultural relevance. Primarily films which can connect with an audience of scale and are cinematic. We operate across all channels but seek out content that will work theatrically first and foremost. A key thing we look at as much as if the story is strong, is the team behind the project – we seek out bold and driven teams with a meaningful and authentic connection to the content they are bringing to screen.

We are always looking for new ways into much loved genres – returnable contemporary crime and elevated thrillers remain key for us globally, using different or fresh precincts and ideas to hook audiences in. We want to see a unique tone or intriguing characters that will start conversations and change perspectives, whilst always feeling entertaining and propulsive. A British sentiment is also helpful, whether through casting or location, but the stories should have wider global appeal. Recent successes?

We are delighted by the success of the recent launch of Return to Paradise (a BBC Studios Australia and Red Planet co-production for the ABC), giving the much-loved mystery franchise a unique Australian twist for the whole world to enjoy.

Another big recent hit is A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder (a co-pro with ZDF Neo, in association with Netflix and pre-sold to Stan in Australia) – the IP and star talent made this one a standout success for the BBC and globally and it is coming back for a second series. We’re also excited to be working closely with Werner Film Productions through our partnership. Tips for a standout pitch?

Start with the story, end with the facts. Draw me into the editorial and let me know what makes your idea stand out from others. Keep it clear and concise – a strong logline will help here. Follow the story with key facts (genre, episode length/number, budget, materials available) and end by agreeing next steps.

Recent successes?

In terms of ANZ content we’ve just had an incredible run in New Zealand cinemas for TINĀ, which at the time of writing had just become the sixth highest grossing local film of all time in New Zealand. We’ve also been very proud to represent some strong animated titles in partnership with Arenamedia in Magic Beach and the Academy Award-nominated Memoir of a Snail. On the international front we’ve had a couple of standouts that fared well during awards season: The Substance, arguably one of the most talked about films of the past 12 months, and Flow, which is riding high off the back of an underdog (or cat?) win for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.

Tips for a standout pitch?

Communicate not only what your project is about, but its unique strengths and connections to audience. Who are the audience that will pay for a ticket to your film? What specifically about the film will they connect with? Additionally, why are you the team to bring this story to life; what can your team bring to this that makes it authentic and powerful? On a more granular level – be clear about the projects’ scale and ambitions regarding things like budget and casting, and have a clear idea of the journey you want for the film that aligns with that scale.

ABC

TODD ABBOTT, commissioning editor, comedy

Top tips for a standout pitch?

Why are you attending?

We’re always looking for the next great idea in scripted comedy.

What are you looking for?

Smart, funny, standout voices to bring new perspectives to our slate and to carry on the ABC’s tradition of helping Australians to make sense of the world by laughing at themselves.

Recent successes?

Fisk, Austin, Optics, Utopia.

Know what you’re pitching and, most importantly, LOVE what you’re pitching. We’re not interested in things that have been reverse engineered by a focus group; we want shows that funny people are passionate about making. Know whose voice is going to drive the project (see above). Comedy by committee almost never works. Know the TV landscape you’re pitching in to, especially what’s already on the ABC’s slate. Make us laugh.

WILDBRAIN TELEVISION

VERONICA MANZEROLLE, director of programming and acquisitions (CANADA)

Why are you attending?

Australia is rich with innovative content creators and original ideas, especially in the kids’ and family space. Screen Forever is a fantastic opportunity to connect with new and existing partners and meet with the region’s inspiring talent.

What are you looking for?

WildBrain Television is looking for live-action and animated comedies that resonate with the whole family. Joining shows like Badjelly, The Goldbergs, Ruby and the Well and Crime Scene Kitchen, these should be feel-good shows in a half-hour format and can include both scripted and unscripted content for live action.

For kids 6–12, we’ve shifted our focus to animated shows that are laugh-out-loud funny, as well as action/adventure series. Companion shows include Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Jade Armor, The Deep and Lana Longbeard.

In the preschool and bridge space, we’re looking for non-dialogue comedies, as well as shows that are slice-of-life, inspirational and imaginative, to join shows like Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City, Grizzy and the Lemmings, Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood and Beep & Mort.

Recent successes?

WildBrain Television’s Family Jr. has seen great success with animated preschool series Beep & Mort, which explores the endearing and heartwarming

What are you looking for?

ITV

friendship between Beep, a robot from the stars, and Mort, a cuddly resident of Mollyvale. The series highlights the high production quality and unique storytelling that comes out of Australia –something parents will appreciate and kids will love.

Tips for a standout pitch?

It’s important to know your audience. We’d encourage anyone who is looking to pitch WildBrain Television to have a clear understanding of what we’re looking for. Pitches that are on-brand with our content needs, and ideas that are clearly and concisely demonstrated tend to stand out the most.

SASHA BRESLAU, head of content acquisitions (UK)

Why are you attending?

Australian content works well in the UK and we’re keen to explore more opportunities to work with Australian content creators on scripted drama, so Screen Forever sounds like an excellent, effective way to meet new producers and partners.

My main remit is finished tape acquisitions, but I also oversee a small number of scripted pre-buys if they fit the criteria below. Our drama commissioning team look after all UK commissions and co-pros for which ITV is involved in the project development and is the editorial lead. We’re looking for English language co-pro/ pre-buy projects that are attention-grabbing, talent-led scripted (premium/streaming friendly) content of the kind we wouldn’t traditionally commission ourselves (so not domestic/relationship/procedural drama).

We are open to serialised, premium crime thrillers, grounded supernatural/sci-fi dramas, and younger/male-skewing comedy series. In all cases, we would come on at a point when there is an international primary commissioning platform/broadcaster who has greenlit the show (i.e. a UK secondary partner is then sought) and with at least one key on-screen talent attached.

Recent successes?

The Twelve, North Shore, Vanishing Act, Critical Incident.

Tips for a standout pitch?

Always helpful to explain how your pitch fits our brief!

SKY TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND

THOMAS ROBINS, head of Sky Originals (NZ)

Why are you attending?

Every time I attend Screen Forever I am so welcomed by Australian producers, creatives and networks. It’s a highlight of my year to reconnect with our fabulous creative cousins across the Tasman. We all know how tough it is out there right now, so any opportunity I can get to collaborate and help build exciting international projects I’ll grab it. I would love to find that NZ/Australian show we can jointly take to screens across both our countries and globally.

What are you looking for?

Always the difficult question! Often, I find something I didn’t realise I was looking for. Think bold, brave and original. Take a risk. Everyone was talking about Baby Reindeer a while back, now it’s Adolescence. Like all commissioners, I want a show everyone will talk about. I’ll look at almost anything but the number one thing I am searching for is an idea that’s an authentic story stretching across both our countries. If Sky Originals is collaborating with an Australian network or platform, I (we!) need a story that resonates with us both and one that is ideally conceived between fabulous creatives from both our countries.

Recent successes?

Our family show Secrets at Red Rocks has been warmly embraced by audiences and critics. Our Miriam Margolyes NZ travel show was a fave too. I am excited about some big international thrillers and crime shows coming, as well as some beautiful, big-hearted factual series.

Tips for a standout pitch?

Show me THIS is the show Sky Originals should have and it’s absolutely the one you want to make. Like I said, take a risk. Have an outstanding team attached and an idea that NZ and Australian audiences will want to talk about.

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RHOMBUS EYES AUSSIE TIES

Rhombus Media has made an Australian co-production a priority, with producer Kevin Krikst part of Screen Forever’s Canada Connect delegation. He talks to Sean Slatter about how the company approaches partnerships.

Canadian production company Rhombus Media has enjoyed a healthy output during its 46-year history, producing more than 200 titles, including recent features Seven Veils and Blackberry, as well as last year’s HBO series The Sympathizer. However, there is still one bridge it is yet to cross, according to producer Kevin Krikst.

“Our bread and butter is international treaty co-productions – we’ve worked a lot in that space – but have not had the opportunity to do something with Australia yet,” he tells IF.

“We came quite close with something maybe 15 years ago, and it looked like it was going to go for a moment, but then it fell apart, and it’s always felt like a missed opportunity.”

Krikst, who first joined Rhombus as an executive assistant to founder Niv Fichman in 2007, hopes to have more success when he attends Screen Forever this year as part of Screen Producers Australia’s Canada Connect delegation.

The producer will also spend time in Sydney, saying there are already a few Australian companies Rhombus has its eye on and working with the country is now a “priority”.

“I’d love for this experience to dovetail into some great Canadian-Australian collaboration,” he says.

There are many similarities between the two countries’ industries. Like Australia, Canada has content quotas or local news requirements as a condition of broadcast

licenses; a government that provides financial support to public broadcasters, and a highly concentrated media landscape. Each sector is also underpinned by a government-backed agency.

Also among the parallels are the challenges producers face on a local level to get stories made amid global headwinds. Whereas Australia is yet to progress with content obligations for streaming services, despite a July 1 promise, Canada has amended its Broadcasting Act via the Online Streaming Act, which received Royal Assent in 2023. From August, nonCanadian digital media services with more than $CAD25 million in annual broadcasting revenues need to pay 5 per cent of those revenues to funds supporting Canadian content.

However, the Trump administration’s sweeping changes to international trade may yet throw a spanner in the works, with Canada and Australia among 14 territories whose audiovisual services were singled out in the US Trade Representative’s National Trade Estimate Report on foreign trade barriers.

Krikst is hopeful the changes will go through, noting that except for Netflix, whose Canadian originals include Schitt’s Creek and Trailer Park Boys, other streamers were still figuring out how to operate in the local market.

“If the streamers can come in and get meaningfully involved in Canadian film and television, that would bring the market back to life up here, because there aren’t a whole lot of television

broadcasters up here, which makes getting things going that much more challenging.”

Krikst observes co-commissions are becoming increasingly important as studios become less inclined to fully finance series.

“Those days are over,” he says.

“Budgets are coming down substantially, and in many cases, co-commissions are becoming essential.

“That’s an opportunity for independent producers, and working in Canada, we are naturally outside of the studio system.

“In both film and TV, we are used to being scrappy and finding the financing to put it together over time in order to get something greenlit.”

HBO paid fully for Rhombus’s thriller miniseries The Sympathizer, an adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.

The cross-cultural espionage drama, released last year, starred Aussie Hoa Xuande as a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War, with the story following his resulting exile in the United States.

The cast included Fred Nguyen Khan and Duy Nguyen, alongside Robert

Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr in HBO’s ‘The Sympathizer’.

Rhombus Media producer Kevin Krikst.

Downey Jr., who played multiple roles, and Sandra Oh.

After optioning the rights to the book in 2017, Rhombus began to develop the concept as a feature film before meeting with the South Korean director Park Chan-Wook, who read the book and became convinced it worked better as a TV series.

Together with co-showrunner and Canadian screenwriter Don McKellar, Chan-Wook created the pilot, which Rhombus took out to market in partnership with A24 and Downey Jr attached. With HBO on board, production took place from November 2022 to May 2023, with Bangkok doubling as Vietnam after censorship issues prevented them from filming there.

Krikst, who co-executive produced the series, says that although it remains the most significant project Rhombus has been involved with to date in terms of scale, it is not a gamechanger.

“It’s opened a lot of doors for us and we made some incredible relationships off of it, but now the world is different coming out of that. We’re having to lean on our skills as independent

producers to put stuff together,” he says. Rhombus has up to “12 and sometimes more” projects across TV and feature film in development at any one time.

Presently, they include a documentary about one of Canada’s only two Michelin star chefs, Masaki Saito; three different films that could go into production this year; and a couple of series that the company is in the process of packaging.

Krikst says that his team likes to develop everything they get involved in right from the outset, but notes it is not always the case, citing 2021 BBC arctic thriller The North Water, which was developed by the UK arm of See-Saw.

“We mostly like to get involved from the beginning but always do look to see how we can break outside of the Canadian structure,” he says.

“We always find that international treaty co-productions allow things to feel more global, allow us to cast more widely, and raise more money because it feels like it’s for a global audience.

“We have a big interest in Korea and have been working a lot with Korean filmmakers and creators, which has dovetailed out of all the work we did on

The Sympathizer and working so closely with Park.”

Similarly to Australia, Krikst says the question of what constitutes Canadian content is routinely discussed in the local industry.

“On the TV side, we’re often hearing a lot of the broadcasters here want to tell Canadian stories by Canadian creators, but when you have to go to the market and raise a lot of money from there, that can sometimes be an impediment,” he says.

“On the film side, especially if we are doing a treaty co-production, there’s a creative grade you have to look at and figure out the best way to play co-production chess with it in order for it to feel as much Canadian as it does Australian, for instance.

“The best way to do that is to have a writer on one side and a director on the other, and really, no matter how everything shifts, having that split among the two countries always roots it very organically as a co-production. In a perfect world, that’s what we always love to do because it gives you a lot of flexibility.”

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ARTS, WITH PURPOSE

Playwright and director Wesley Enoch will deliver this year’s Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture. He talks to Jackie Keast.

Wesley Enoch – one of Australia’s preeminent playwrights and theatre directors – has been fascinated to find himself working more in screen than in stage since leaving his role as artistic director of Sydney Festival four years ago.

The proud Quandamooka man has been in writers rooms on mostly First Nations projects, with two features and three television series on the boil.

These sit alongside a current body of work that includes two plays, a novel and an artist camp with the Elders on Stradbroke Island, where he lives.

“Not to say that theatre is dead to me, but there’s something about screen which is a lot more accessible and shareable that I really enjoy,” he says.

Enoch’s shift into film and TV comes as he muses over “growing cultural canvas”. That is to say: “How do you influence the storytelling of a nation?”

He will discuss the role of the arts in shaping Australia when he delivers this year’s Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture at Screen Forever.

When government support for the arts was formalised in the ‘70s, Enoch observes it was based in cultural expression, and seeing Australia reflected back at us. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, the commercial impact of work became a bigger part of the conversation, and he says that state funding is now often discussed in economic terms.

The deputy chair of Creative Australia, Enoch feels there must be more scope for the arts to connect the nation, even as audiences become “algorithmically tribal”. If we went to see a play together, he feels we would probably have different opinions about what we liked and disliked, and whether it was good or bad. It’s in that “very soft disagreement” that

“we build up the muscle of what debate and discussion in a society could be”.

“I’m interested in this notion of how we, as a nation, use state funds for a grand cultural project, which sounds very Soviet when you say it like that. But what is the purpose of funding? Why are we doing it?

“The arts doesn’t have to have a big ‘capital P’ politics to be useful, but does actually have to have a purpose. It needs to know why it exists. And if it’s only economics, then judge it purely by its economic impact… Let’s be honest, half the stuff that we make in Australia, is not going to have the economic impact that we would want it to have and therefore it has to also work on this other level.”

Enoch has long lamented that artists in Australia are not more outspoken and active in the national discourse. Amid conversations about artistic freedom, he also believes in artistic responsibility.

“In First Nations storytelling, if you’re not connected to a community, you’re actually not fulfilling your job; you’re not fulfilling what your cultural responsibilities are. And I want all artists to feel that they are responsible to communities, to a bigger thing than just their own expression.

“If you can bring people into a bigger debate, then that’s what we’re here to do.”

In particular, he asks whether in the “fake news” era, “where our truth tellers are engaged in entertainment, do our entertainers have to be involved in more truth?”. He questions whether the market can be trusted to lead us to honesty, when fear and division are such powerful political tools, and points to the result of the 2023 referendum. “It’s very easy to tap the shell and racism comes out… and once it’s out, it’s out.”

Enoch argues the arts and sport have been the most influential in shifting the political narrative of First Nations people

in Australia. Narrative work, he says, “is a hearts and minds conversation”.

“If you understand the stories of a people, you can no longer oppress them; if you understand what the connection is. Theatre or storytelling in many different forms are a great way of understanding First Nations perspectives and people,” he says.

“I look back at films that go further back, Jedda, Walkabout, often made by non-Indigenous people, where the Aboriginal person is either incredibly romanticised or a victim. And when you see self-authored, Aboriginal-controlled storytelling, you get so much more diversity of opinion and a broad way of looking at the world. If anything, the referendum that we had in ’23 showed the diversity of who we are, where we come from and what we’ve done. A lot of white Australia got scared of that and went, ‘Oh, we just want you to speak with one voice and tell us clearly what you want’. Well, that’s not going to happen, is it?”

Enoch describes himself as an “incredibly aggressive young man who felt disempowered and used violence as a language”. From around 14 years old, storytelling became “therapy”; an alternative means of expression and a tool to shape the world around him.

“A lot of the work that I do is trying to find out: ‘What is it that I want to talk about in the world, and why do I want to do it?’. And I just want to invite nonIndigenous Australia to think a little bit more like that.

“I feel a little sorry for my nonIndigenous counterparts who don’t have a reason why they work. They wake up in the morning and they think, ‘What can I do that’s new in terms of genre?’, ‘What story can I sell?’, and I go, ‘Oh, there’s something else that we need to do. What is it that gives you purpose and power?’”

Wesley Enoch.

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STORYTELLING MEETS SOCIAL ADVOCACY

US screenwriter and social justice advocate Lynn Renee Maxcy, known for her work on The Handmaid’s Tale, will speak at Screen Forever about how writers and producers best work together and writing climate narratives. She chats to Jackie Keast.

Lynn Renee Maxcy’s work on the first three seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale didn’t just propel her career to new heights and win her two Writer’s Guild of America Awards – penning the stories of those fleeing Gilead also inspired her to get involved with social advocacy.

“I started researching the refugee and the climate crisis to tell better stories on The Handmaid’s Tale; to make my storytelling more scientifically accurate and more reflective of the world as it exists,” Maxcy tells IF.

“But then what I found was... I had all this information. [I thought]: ‘Well, I can’t unknow this. I have to do something.’”

So Maxcy started volunteering with Miry’s List, a Los Angelesbased non-profit that provides practical and individualised support to new arrival refugee families. Some eight years later, she is now chair of the board.

This year, she also joined the advisory board of Good Energy, a non-profit consultancy that supports those working in film and television to tell accurate and engaging stories about the climate crisis.

While some might see social advocacy and screenwriting as separate pursuits, Maxcy says they feed into each other in a symbiotic way. For instance, learning about people’s work in combating climate change has fed new ideas into her storytelling, which has, in turn, fed into more advocacy work.

“My hope is that the stories that I tell and bring to the world give people a different or a new understanding of the crises we face, but in a way that hopefully encourages people to want to do something,” she says.

Maxcy is one of the international guest speakers at this year’s Screen Forever – her first ever trip to Australia – where she will discuss telling compelling and entertaining climate narratives.

The writer’s specialities are sci-fi and speculative fiction, which she believes are powerful genres to tell stories about the issues of the current day, climate change being just one.

“There’s a little bit of a distance to it. And people let their guard down a little bit, because it’s happening 500 years in the future, or it’s happening to aliens.”

One project she has been developing in recent years is Mars 2080 for Imagine Entertainment and IMAX, alongside writer and director Eliza McNitt. The feature, based on a concept by Stephen Petranek, follows a mother and daughter displaced from Earth by climate change, who make the difficult journey to Mars, where a new civilisation is being formed.

To write the script, Maxcy spent hours on Zoom calls

with scientists, astronauts and the like.

“It comes back to being able to take real world, scientificallybased experiences, and the sociological experience of being displaced from your home due to climate change, and bring that into what is hopefully a very entertaining, beautiful, fun, probably very expensive story,” she says.

“Word to the wise, anything that is set on Mars is just expensive. There’s no way around that, believe me, I’ve tried. (laughs)”

However, Maxcy says stories about the climate crisis don’t always need to be so expansive in scope. Addressing climate change in a project also doesn’t mean it has to be the central focus of the plot.

“It could just be something as simple as: Characters are aware that climate change exists in their world. Or what does it look like if all your characters only use reusable straws, or have solar panels?” she says.

Climate change can conjure the dystopian, but Maxcy is a fan of “protopian storytelling”. “It’s in the middle between dystopia and utopia. Protopia is: We’re making the world a little bit better, one step at a time, in measurable, manageable ways,” she says.

“It’s helpful to remember that a lot of the stories that we’re telling, especially if they’re set today or within the next few years, these are things that people are dealing with in their own lives; it’s reflecting their own stories back to them. Here in LA, we just had insane wildfires that were a climate reaction.”

Maxcy also advocates for writers to learn more about sustainable sets, as often there are cost savings for producers. It can help get a project with a climate message across the line.

“Show business is a business; showing the powers that be that this storytelling is possible and affordable is also yet another way to bring it to the public.”

While Maxcy always knew she wanted to be a writer – she studied creative writing, then moved to LA with no job, no apartment, ready to chase her dream – her foot in the door was in the production office.

Lynn Renee Maxcy.

Her first TV writing credit came on Covert Affairs, but it was her work as an assistant to Bruce Miller on SyFy’s Alphas that eventually led to her to The Handmaid’s Tale; Miller is the showrunner. She’d read Margaret Atwood’s book, on which the show is based, in college and jumped at the chance to write for the series.

“I was on the first three seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale, which was just an incredible experience – to see what it looked like to put a whole show together from the beginning. What does it look like to start to write from the very beginning? What does it look like to be casting your series regulars?

“When my contract was done, at the end of three years, I took a big risk. I had sold a couple other projects in television, and I was also looking at some feature work. I knew that it was time for me to kind of spread my wings and fly, as it were.

“In the last several years, I’ve been developing TV and film, and I wrote the book for a stage musical. I’ve been all over the place, but still living in that sci-fi, speculative fiction world. A lot of my work now focuses on the near future and

the ways that technology will affect the ways that we live our lives and connect with each other.”

This work has included interactive feature The Complex, produced by Australian Jade Alexander. The pair met by chance at a mutual friend’s birthday party, a serendipitous meeting that for Maxcy exemplifies how writers always need to keep their eyes and ears open when it comes to finding creative partnerships.

How producers and writers best work together to get projects greenlit is another topic Maxcy will discuss at Screen Forever. She urges writers to see producers as “collaborative partners” rather than “the people that are coming in to give you notes and interrupt you.”

Strong partnerships mean finding people you “creatively vibe” with. “It matters that you are speaking the same creative language and that you are as excited about the project together. Sometimes you are going to find producers, especially at the beginning of your career, who are newer producers, who maybe don’t have a bunch of credits, but if you love working together, you can go on and

create your big-name careers together.”

Building creative community was also what prompted Maxcy to become governor of the writers’ peer group of the Television Academy, a role she held from January 2023 to December 2024. In many ways, she sees the position as parallel to her work with Miry’s List and Good Energy.

“I saw space for caring for my community in a different way. That doesn’t just have to be the community that you live in; I have a nationwide, worldwide community of writers.

“It was a very interesting time to be a part of the Television Academy as a governor during the writers’ strike. They’re separate organisations, the TV Academy and the WGA, but lots of overlap; that Venn diagram is pretty close to a circle,” she says.

“It gave me a chance to connect with more people and hopefully leave the industry in a better place, as so many massive changes are happening, whether it’s AI, the contraction of the business, or who knows what’s coming in the future. I don’t, but I want to be a part of addressing it head on.”

Tom Hern and Nua Finau formed Tavake in 2021, with their debut drama The Panthers – the story of how the Polynesian Panther Party was founded in ‘70s NZ – the first Kiwi series to screen in Toronto. Tavake’s most recent series is Madam, starring Rachel Griffiths, which recently won the Golden Nymph at Monte Carlo TV Festival. They speak to Lily Welsh.

GOOD VIBES

TOM HERN

I was developing a series about the Polynesian Panthers and a mutual friend said that I should get in touch with Nua. I don’t remember, but he reckons he was trying to hit me up via my DMs and I didn’t respond to him.

I had been developing The Panthers for several years but it really launched into another gear when Nua and I first met up. We met up at a hotel in Wellington – that sounds very romantic – and we had a jam on the script. Immediately, some of the ideas that we were coming up with collaboratively were elevating what I was doing. I was vibing on them.

Within weeks we were in a room together trying to work out storylines, just the two of us.

When our collaboration is functioning at its best, we are performing everything, bouncing off each other, on our feet devising and getting excited.

Nua had a lot of culture to bring to that show that I could not tap into and a lived experience that was extremely valuable. I had more producing experience in the true showrunner model, helping run the production as well as the creative side. Trying to build a sustainable screen business is such a radical challenge, especially with the current state of international TV.

But I think that there is a great foundational trust and respect and the way that his kids and wife, and my family are one big family – that’s pretty special.

On our last big project, Nua led the multiparty financial business close and had an excellent, easy, relaxed way of relating to people that you wouldn’t usually

associate with such a high intensity, high stakes transaction. Even though he was nervous about moving into that space, he turned out to be excellent in it.

Nua has impeccable integrity and his comedic timing, when he drops a banger, is formidable. I always know when he’s stressed because he stops joking. There have been long periods of time when he’s unfunny but when he’s at his best, he’s freaking hilarious.

As a creative he’s way more special than he gives himself credit for. The sky is the limit for Nua – he’s started to hit his straps on the creative end and producing side, and I’m excited to be jamming next to him.

NUA FINAU

We’re both failed child actors. Our careers went parallel to each other but never crossed; we even presented the same kids TV show at different seasons. Our paths then connected about five years ago.

I was a big fan of [Hern’s feature film] Dark Horse, so when I heard that that Tom was developing The Panthers, I put it out to the universe and the good Lord that our paths would cross. Then he slid into my DMs through a mutual friend.

From our first writing session, we hit it off creatively; we had a good synergy. We knew making The Panthers that we had a vibe and it couldn’t end there.

It was crazy because it doesn’t often just click. I’m more comedy leaning and Tom’s more drama arthouse swag. Where our circles cross in that middle part is where the magic happens for us.

I’ve been lucky to have an experienced person like Tom [as a partner]. We both come from acting but we’ve had to force

ourselves to be 360° producers where we straddle both creative and the business affairs. For example, our series Madam was one where Tom was much more creative and working with the directors and the writers, and I was in the business side, purely out of necessity.

If we were from a bigger market, even from Australia, if you have a hit show or a hit film, more opportunities naturally come.

We’ve accomplished some awesome achievements over our time but every time we’ve had to be nimble, hustle, and be smart about how we package ourselves to in order to create momentum and focus.

Tom is just a cool cat. It can be so stressful, and you put a lot of effort and energy into getting work made or created. There’s lot of stress on your family. To be able to find a business/creative partner worth jamming with is worth going through all of that. Although his choice of sports teams that he supports is probably the only downside of the partnership.

His belief in me has opened the door to other opportunities. I’ve been able to benefit from his investment and teachings, now I’m going “Holy heck, I’m doing the same now with this next crop of producers and writers that are coming through, especially Polynesian creatives.”

We’re mates first and we just so happen to work together. That’s what everyone wants, they say find the job you love and you never work a day in your life, and I think that’s what we’ve got.

Finau and Hern will appear on Screen Forever panels ‘Cultural Safety for International Co-Productions’ and ‘Playing the Long Game as an Indie Producer ’.

Tom Hern and Nau Finau.

Jane Corden, managing director of Entertainment Partners powered by Moneypenny, spotlights the opportunities inherent in international co-production.

THE RISE OF INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION

AUSTRALIA’S SCREEN INDUSTRY has inspired a robust series of international coproduction agreements since the nation signed its first co-production Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with France in 1986. To date, Australia has 12 official treaties and two MOUs, the most recent being a co-production treaty established with India in November 2023.

The Australia-Canada treaty has been the most productive, yielding 72 co-productions since 1990, with budgets reaching $625 million. The Australia-UK treaty follows as the next most active partnership, producing 51 co-productions, reaching budgets of $563 million.

The motivation behind these treaties varies, but to a mutually beneficial end: governments benefit from building cultural and trade relationships, while for filmmakers and producers, the treaty represents an opportunity to increase funding, distribution and creative avenues.

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES

In a Screen Australia interview following the her appointment as Producer Offset and Co-Production Unit advisor in March, Michele McDonald said: “Co-productions are becoming more important than ever for the future success of the sector.”

In November 2024, an Australian delegation attended the Goa Film Bazaar, which hosted an Australia-India matchmaking initiative. As the official country of focus at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), it provided financial support to producers with co-production experience, further demonstrating the value of international collaboration. While Lion, a celebrated Australian film featured at IFFI, was produced before the Australia-India treaty, its success helped pave the way for the 2023 agreement.

Canada Connect, a similar curated coproduction program, will precede Screen Forever. It will bring together 30 producers from Canada and Australia with the goal of fostering global partnerships and providing opportunities to access additional funding streams for their projects.

BENEFITS AND REQUIREMENTS

Treaty co-productions offer significant advantages

to both participating parties by qualifying as local productions in both countries. This dual qualification enables access to government financial support from both nations. It also means the production will meet local content quotas.

Such a creative and technical collaboration has the potential to extend market reach, while building international partnerships. However, producers must weigh these benefits against increased complexity, sharing of ownership and increased costs brought on by additional producers, legal, audit and travel expenses. For these reasons, co-productions are generally best suited for experienced filmmakers.

LAUNCHING A SUCCESSFUL CO-PRODUCTION

For any successful co-production venture, the narrative and creative elements should align for each of the partner countries, and both producers must share a unified vision for the project.

While there will typically be a lead producer who brings the original works to the table, they may not be the majority partner, particularly if principal photography occurs predominantly in the partner country.

Screen Australia ’s online eligibility tool is a great way to understand how your coproduction may come together. With the help of this tool, producers can:

• Evaluate key creative contributions from each country to establish percentage splits.

• Calculate financing and spend requirements that must align with creative splits.

• Ensure compliance with minimum contribution thresholds, typically 30 per cent for minor co-producers.

FINANCIAL AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Once the producing partnership is established, and the value of the co-production has been determined, both producers must coordinate timely applications to their competent authority to obtain provisional certification, while optimising the financing and distribution opportunities that come with the certification.

On completion of the film, a final certificate will be issued. It is very important that the final applications happen in parallel; the producer may consider making this a condition outlined in the co-production agreement.

Between greenlight and delivery, consolidated accounting and cost reporting become critical. Maintaining accurate percentage spend splits and monitoring all incentives and spend across the entire production will help to ensure you are able to easily meet the audit requirements for qualification on delivery. To navigate this complexity effectively, it is recommended that the lead producer engage a financial controller who will oversee and review consolidated cost reports throughout production.

Adding to this, rules around qualifying spend for the Producer Offset and the partner country incentives may not follow the co-production spend definitions. This gap means the producers must carefully consider the contracting of key creatives and cast. It is important to note that the MEAA agreements for cast have a co-production loading which will increase the minimum fee rates for local talent.

Furthermore, the partner countries in each treaty have different qualifying conditions and key creative point systems to Australia. To minimise financial risk, closely monitor multicurrency cash flows, exchange rate fluctuation and the tax implications for overseas personnel.

PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS

Co-productions offer a unique opportunity to access additional funding, expand market reach, and build lasting international partnerships. However, they require careful financial planning, legal oversight, and strong creative alignment.

The increasing importance of co-production reflects the evolving nature of our industry, and Australia’s growing network of co-production agreements strengthens its position as a leader in international filmmaking, celebrating the cultural diversity that proudly resides in Australia, one which global audiences continue to embrace.

O CANADA: THE TRUE NORTH MEETS DOWN UNDER

IF chats with producers who will be on the ground at Screen Forever as part of the Canada Connect delegation to find out what they want in Australian partners.

FAE PICTURES

SHANT JOSHI, president and executive producer

Why are you attending?

Primarily, my interest in attending Screen Forever is to continue my ongoing work in setting up a Canadian-Australian co-production series currently entitled Flipped.

SINKING SHIP ENTERTAINMENT

CARLA DE JONG, head of co-production and international partnerships

Why are you attending?

GREY MATTER PRODUCTIONS

ARSHAD KHAN, executive director

Why are you attending?

Flipped is a comedy series about a 20-something Filipino-Australian man and his mother who discover that the other is queer and decide to reinvent themselves by living in Banff on a working holiday. The series is based on an original play by Filipino-Australian creator Elaine Laforteza and is partially inspired by my experience of reinventing myself when I came out of the closet while studying abroad in Melbourne in 2015. I met Elaine as a part of the Canadian delegation to SXSW Sydney in 2023, and we have been developing this comedy series since with the support of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the Canada Media Fund (CMF).

What are you looking for out of Australia?

I am also interested in engaging with Screen Producers Australia’s push for streaming quotas, given my work on CMPA’s Regulatory Committee and Canadian content working group. I am a big fan of Australian comedy series like Please Like Me, Fisk, and Colin From Accounts, and am keen to develop more projects that harmonise Canuck and Aussie humour. Additionally, given the growth of Indigenous and Asian creators from Australia, and our mandate to decolonise Hollywood at Fae Pictures, I am always looking for new stories and storytellers to collaborate with.

To meet great co-producers who share a similar vision when it comes to creating and producing content, to discover new projects that will resonate both locally and globally, and to gain a better understanding of the marketplace in Australia and how financing works across different genres.

Recent successes?

We are in production on an Australian/ Canadian co-production of a 39 x 7 animated series called Flower and Flour for ABC, TVO and SRC and our co-producers Cheeky Little Media; in co-development on an animated series with the high successful children’s brand, The Wiggles, and in co-development on an animated feature film with Australian production company based in NSW. We are also in the final stages of financing on an Australian/Canadian live-action comedy series with Australian production company Gristmill, called Lightening Primary.

LARK PRODUCTIONS

BETH ILEY, VP International series development

I think Australian cinema is delightful and daring and I want to visit this new territory and find possibilities of collaboration. Ever since I was a child growing up in Pakistan I loved Australian television shows and movies. Yes, we had those on Pakistan television in the 1980s. Then we migrated to Canada and there was a lot less Australian influence in media here.

What are you looking for out of Australia?

I want to meet producing partners, financiers who may be interested in genre cinema, comedy, storytelling about climate change and queerness.

Why are you attending?

To secure co-production partners and become familiar with the Australian market.

What are you looking for out of Australia?

Co-production partners and relationships with local commissioners.

Tips for a standout pitch?

Resonance today, and a personal connection.

OYA MEDIA GROUP

SILVANA ROSE MILLER, development executive

Tell us about your company.

In 2018, celebrated veteran filmmakers Alison Duke of Goldelox Productions and Ngardy Conteh George of Mattru Media joined forces to create OYA Media Group. OYA brings an authentic perspective to media platforms, from film and TV to virtual reality through socially relevant, life-changing stories that amplify Black experiences. What are you looking for out of Australia?

We are looking for a docu-series co-production partner between Canada and Australia for a global urban planning, architectural and design series that will feature many different cities.

BOAT ROCKER

ERIK PACK, SVP global co-production

Tell us about your company.

Boat Rocker is an independent, integrated global entertainment company that creates, produces and distributes premium content and brands for all platforms. Our mission is simple: tell stories and build iconic entertainment brands that audiences love. Since being founded in 2003, Boat Rocker has thrived on working with industryleading creators to help propel groundbreaking content for audiences around the world.

What are you looking for out of Australia?

We are looking for half-hour or onehour series for broadcast and linear television or streaming platforms. We are looking to act as co-producer and/or global distribution partner.

SHAFTESBURY

CHRISTINA FON, VP strategic partnerships and scripted content

Why are you attending?

Shaftesbury is attending to take meetings with Australian broadcasting partners as well as the creatives that are pitching specifically in that market.

What are you looking for out of Australia?

As a company that prides itself on successful international co-productions, Shaftesbury’s goal is to expand upon that in Australia. One key goal is to find that perfect project that could potentially link our two countries, one that reflects both sensibilities or finds the balance in between.

Tips for a standout pitch?

Come to the table with an experienced writer and a succinct pitch, one-pager and/or deck and a script, if available. Pitch a series that is returnable. Pitch a concept for a series that reflects the sensibilities of both territories, Canada and Australia. Pitch a project that describes the world in which it is set. Make us “feel” something about the story rather than “think” about the facts of the story.

MONKEYS & PARROTS

JANE LOUGHMAN, founder

Why are you attending?

I have two projects that I really believe in and that are perfect for co-production between Canada and Australia. I am excited to present them to potential producers, distributors, and financiers at the conference.

Recent successes?

DEVONSHIRE PRODUCTIONS INC

PAULA DEVONSHIRE, producer

Why are you attending?

BLACK BIRDS ENTERTAINMENT

SARAH TIMMINS, president and executive producer

I have just signed a distribution deal with MGM to release my recent feature The Swearing Jar in Australia and New Zealand, starring the wonderful Aussie actor Adelaide Clemens opposite Suits star Patrick J. Adams, and Hollywood legend Kathleen Turner.

I have also recently attached a Canadian distributor and development funding for one of my Australian-focused projects. During Screen Forever, I am looking forward to meeting with my Australian partners (writer, director, and co-producers) in person to discuss that feature and to introduce it to domestic distributors and broadcasters for their consideration.

REALLIFE PICTURES INC

KULBINDER SARAN CALDWELL, CEO/founder

I am interested in connecting with likeminded producers in Australia. I am a fan of Australian cinema and talent. I do not want to be producing with the US during this current climate and am excited to meet new partners who are sympatico with Canadian values and culture.

What are you looking for out of Australia?

I am Indigenous Canadian and feel there are so many stories that we can share with our culture and lived experience.

Recent successes?

I have recently produced Steal Away, a Canadian-Belgian co-production directed by Clement Virgo. I also recently completed post on TIFF Top 10 Indigenous director Gail Maurice’s new feature Blood Lines.

RHOMBUS MEDIA

KEVIN KRIKST, producer

Why are you attending?

Having attended last year, I found it a great place to meet Australian production companies, broadcasters and financiers. Looking to develop more relationships. What are you looking for out of Australia?

Ideally production partners for true co-production series in scripted series and features.

Recent successes?

I recently was an executive producer on Transplant, a medical drama series for CTV/NBC, with season 4 airing in the US this summer. I’m currently developing a misadventure romantic comedy series that would be a co-production between Canada and Australia.

Tell us about your company. REALLIFE Pictures Inc. represents diverse, neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ screenwriters and directors. We support both diverse and emerging talent whose stories are not represented in the current TV and film landscape. Our integrated agency goes beyond others by partnering with its writers in professional development. We are a community, helping each other with a goal to change the screen industry’s point-of-view to authentically represent diverse audiences on television and feature films.

What are you looking for out of Australia?

We are seeking partnerships with Australian companies/ producers who are looking to elevate one-hour procedurals with a fresh new point of view that includes diversity and authentic storytelling. We have two one-hour dramas/ procedurals that we would like to seek co-pro opportunities for to get them greenlit. One is fully developed with a showrunner/director attached, with the project out for casting attachments and the other one is in the very early stages.

Tell us about your company. Rhombus Media is a Toronto-based production company with over 45 years of experience, having produced around 200 films and TV projects. Notable films include Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, The Red Violin, Enemy, Possessor, and Hobo With A Shotgun. More recently, BlackBerry premiered in competition at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival and won 14 Canadian Screen Awards. Rhombus’ latest films, Seven Veils, directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Amanda Seyfried, premiered at both TIFF 2023 and as a Special Gala at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, and Johnny Ma’s The Mother and the Bear premiered at TIFF 2024.

For TV, Rhombus produced HBO’s The Sympathizer, a co-production with A24 and Team Downey, from Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, and BBC/AMC’s The North Water, starring Colin Farrell, from Andrew Haigh.

What are you looking for out of Australia?

I’m looking to connect with Australian producers and production companies with a similar mandate to our own, centred around creating compelling, filmmaker-driven stories that resonate globally. In our experience, the perfect co-productions are led by strong and established writers and directors on both side of the treaty, allowing us to maximise the benefits of a co-production in each country.

The Screen NSW IP in Motion Fund strives to:

• enhance careers: adapting work for the screen and expanding reach to a wider audience

• foster collaboration: working with talented creatives from the literary and digital sectors to bring ideas to life in innovative ways

• strengthen industry sustainability: ensuring the long-term growth of NSW’s dynamic screen and digital games industries

• increase diversity: committing to increasing the involvement of under-represented communities on and off screen screen.

• increase diversity: committing to increasing the involvement of under-represented communities on and off screen screen.nsw.gov.au

The Last Anniversary, courtesy of Binge and Made Up Stories. Photo: Mark Rogers.

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