Writer | Director | Comedian

Alistair Baldwin is a TV writer, director, comedian and playwright. 

His writing credits include Erotic Stories, The Weekly, Hard Quiz and Get Krack!n, and he was a director on the AACTA-winning web series Latecomers. 

His debut play Telethon Kid premiered at Malthouse Theatre and was nominated for the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting. He is Melbourne Theatre Company’s Playwriting Fellow for 2025.

Head of Stan Originals

Amanda Duthie is the Head of Stan Originals, overseeing the development and commissioning of Stan’s scripted series, feature films, entertainment formats and documentaries.  

Under Amanda’s leadership, Stan Originals has delivered an unrivalled volume of locally produced drama, including series such as Bump, Black Snow, Thou Shalt Not Steal, Invisible Boys, Critical Incident, Population 11, Caught, Ten Pound Poms, Lord of the Flies and Wolf Like Me; alongside features including The Surfer, Nitram, Windcatcher, Fing!, One More Shot, Saccharine and The Entertainment is Down.

Amanda also oversees the Stan Original Documentaries. Highlights include Joh: The Last King of Queensland, Death Cap, Renee Gracie: Fireproof, Otto by Otto, Danielle Laidley: Two Tribes, How to Poison a Planet.

Prior to Stan, Amanda held senior creative leadership roles, including Head of Arts & Entertainment at ABC TV, Creative Director and CEO of the Adelaide Film Festival and its Investment Fund, and Acting Head of Scripted at SBS. 

Creator | Executive Producer 

Amanda’s is co-creator and producer of Bad Behaviour, which premiered internationally at the Berlinale Series’ inaugural competition, ahead of its launch on Stan. 

She co-created and executive-produced ABCME’s Turn Up the Volume.

Since joining Matchbox, Amanda has produced the award-winning series’ Barracuda and Seven Types of Ambiguity, and co-created and produced three seasons of the International Kids Emmy-nominated Mustangs FC, all nominated for and won Logies, AACTAs, AWGIEs and ADG Awards. 

Amanda executive produced the award-winning drama Homecoming Queens, script edited the award-winning First Day, co-created and produced the first three series of The Secret Life of Us, and co-created the ABC series The Time of Our Lives. Other credits include the Foxtel drama Slide, and script editing The Slap. 

Amanda was an EP at ABCTV Drama in 2007 and Acting Head of Drama in 2009, and has won the Cecil Holmes Award by the ADG for services to directors.

Managing Director
Streaming & Broadcast, Nine

Amanda Laing is one of Australia’s most respected media executives, with a career spanning broadcast, streaming, content strategy and commercial partnerships. As Managing Director, Streaming & Broadcast at Nine, Amanda leads the strategic integration of Stan, 9Now, Broadcast Television and Radio. She is responsible for shaping Nine’s Total TV strategy, and is a key voice in how technology, innovation and storytelling intersect to drive long-term value.

Amanda is also at the forefront of Nine Group’s Originals strategy, backing bold local voices and forging global creative partnerships that showcase Australian stories on the world stage. Amanda’s leadership is defined by a belief in shared learning, creative risk-taking and the power of culturally specific stories to connect globally. 

Prior to Nine, Amanda held senior executive roles at Foxtel and News Corp Australia, and has extensive experience in studio partnerships, rights negotiations and cross-market content strategy.

Filmmaker | Visual Artist

A filmmaker and visual artist, Amiel is one of the most acclaimed Australian directors of his generation. His debut narrative feature Hail premiered at Venice and his second feature Ruin also won Special Jury Prize.   

Amiel’s documentaries have premiered at Sundance (Chasing Buddha), Cannes (Cicada), Venice, (Carson), The N.Y. Museum of Natural History (Islands), and won multiple Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards for Best Feature Documentary (Bastardy, Man on Earth).

Amiel’s moving image work has been commissioned by The Whitney Museum (The Silent Eye), won the National Portrait Gallery “Digital Portraiture Prize” (Charles) and shown at MUMA, ACCA, NGV, GOMA, ACMI, MCA, and MONA.
Amiel won the Byron Kennedy AACTA Award for innovation in 2015 and has since produced/Executive Produced five award-winning debut feature films by emerging filmmakers. 

Amiel’s production company, Flood Projects, is now focusing on larger, cast driven projects, including two television series and four narrative feature films in development.

Actor | Executive Producer

Asher Keddie is one of Australia’s most critically acclaimed actors, and a producer.

She stars in the BINGE comedic drama series Strife, which she executive produced with Made Up Stories, her third collaboration with them, following roles in The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Amazon) and Nine Perfect Strangers (HBO).

Asher also stars in the new Paramount+ drama Fake, inspired by journalist Stephanie Wood’s book, and co-produced with Imogen Banks, creator and producer of Offspring. Her role in that series earned Asher three TV Week Logie Awards, including Gold in 2013.

Previously, Asher won a 2007 ASTRA Award for her performance in Love My Way (Foxtel). Other television credits include Stateless (ABC/Netflix), The Cry (BBC One), The Hunting (SBS) and the lead role of Ita Buttrose in ABC’s Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, for which she won an AACTA Award.

Creator | Writer | Director

Belinda Chayko is a showrunner, writer and director of film and television. 

She was showrunner of the award-winning anthology Fires, covering the catastrophic bushfires of 2020. She was also showrunner of Safe Harbour, winner of an International Emmy, among other awards.  

Belinda co-wrote Stateless and was co-creator/co-writer of Secret City. She co-wrote the AWGIE award-winning series Barracuda and has written episodes of the global hit The Survivors, Fighting Season and many others. 

A former journalist, Belinda has directed two feature films - Lou (which she also wrote) and City Loop. In 2024, she received the Mona Brand Award in recognition of an exceptional body of work, telling ‘gripping stories that explore morally complex ideas and characters. 

Chief Executive Officer, VicScreen

As CEO of VicScreen, Caroline spearheads Victoria’s creative and economic screen development agency, championing the growth of the screen industry and elevating Victoria as a global screen destination. 

With over 20 years of industry experience, she has held leadership roles across government and private sectors, including as GM Post Production, Deluxe Australia and Chief Executive of Ausfilm. 

She applies her extensive experience in strategic development and marketing to inspire high performing teams to reach their full potential.

Writer

Catherine Smyth-McMullen is an award-winning screenwriter, with a focus on genre. 

She has won the John Hinde Award for Science Fiction from the Australian Writers’ Guild, the Ustinov Award for Television Writing from the International Emmys, received two AWGIE nominations, and featured on the Black List. 

Her feature The Other Lamb premiered at TIFF, screening in competition at BFI London, San Sebastian, and Fantastic Fest. She’s sold pilots to Netflix, NBC, Warner Bros, AMC, and eOne, and written for shows including The Sandman (Netflix), and Two Sentence Horror Stories (CW).  

She is currently adapting her own award-winning body-horror story Nest; co-creator of Twisted, based on Paul Jennings’ iconic stories; and a series adaptation with legendary producer Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator, Aliens). 

Director | Executive Producer

Cherie Nowlan is Executive Producer and Director of the critically acclaimed 2025 Netflix series, The Survivors, which reached #2 globally, Top 10 in 85 countries, #1 in five countries, and Top Five in USA, UK, Canada, and Australia.  

Credits include Netflix's hits You, Clickbait, and Outerbanks; Amazon's Sneaky Pete and The Wilds; and Hulu's Reprisal and Helstrom. She directed two US pilots, including Mistresses for ABC, and series Suits, Animal Kingdom, Seal Team, How To Get Away With Murder, Grey's Anatomy, The Good Doctor, Law & Order Organized Crime, Chicago Med, Riverdale, Young Rock, Claws, and Speechless. Australian credits include Marking Time, for which she won an AACTA Award for Best Director. 

Her feature film, Clubland, starring Brenda Blethyn, premiered at Sundance and was nominated for 11 AACTA awards, including Best Director and Best Actress. Cherie’s first feature, Thank God He Met Lizzie, starring Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh, was nominated for five AFI Awards.

Director

Corrie Chen is a Taiwanese-Australian filmmaker known for her storytelling across drama and comedy.

The sole director of the Stan original series Bad Behaviour, one of the only seven titles selected for the 2023 Berlinale Series, and director and executive producer of the first SBS Digital Original Homecoming Queens, which won Best Australian Comedy and Best Directing at Melbourne Web Fest. 

Corrie won ADG Award for Best Direction in a Mini-Series for her work on SBS’s historical drama New Gold Mountain, and most recently she has directed episodes of Disney+’s The Artful Dodger and CW/Stan's Good Cop Bad Cop. Other credits include Wentworth, Five Bedrooms, Sisters Seachange, and Mustangs FC.

She was the inaugural recipient of the Screen Presence Trailblazer Award, celebrating Asian-Australian creatives. She has also been honoured with the Greg Tepper Award from VicScreen and named one of the Asian-Australian Leadership Summit’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians.

Writer | Director

Danny Philippou and twin brother Michael built a massive global online following with their YouTube channel RackaRacka, which established them as purveyors of comic horror and action. 

Their debut feature Talk to Me had its world premiere at Sundance and its European premiere at Berlinale, then SXSW, and was immediately snapped up by powerhouse indie A24. The film has since gone on to earn a staggering US$93.3 million worldwide, being A24’s highest grossing horror film and second highest grossing feature in the company’s history, with 20 Critics Choice Awards nominations and 11 AACTA nominations. 

Most recently, their new film Bring Her Back was released in the U.S. by A24 starring Oscar nominated actress Sally Hawkins and is to be released worldwide this summer by Sony. The film has garnered 89% positive reviews including a B+ Cinemascore, and is already being talked about as the best horror film of the year. 

Writer | Director

David Michôd has made six feature films as writer/director: Animal Kingdom (starring Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver); The Rover (starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson); War Machine (starring Brad Pitt); The King (starring Timothée Chalamet and Joel Edgerton); Wizards! (starring Pete Davidson and Franz Rogowski): and the upcoming Christy (starring Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster).

Director of Scripted Development, Matchbox Pictures

Debbie provides creative leadership to the development of scripted content across a broad range of genres and markets. She has also been executive producer on series including The Family Law, Mustangs FC, Safe Harbour, The Heights, Hungry Ghosts, Irreverent, Class of ’07, Bad Behaviour, and House of Gods. 

Prior to this, Debbie was Head of Comedy at the ABC, where she commissioned shows such as A Moody Christmas, Please Like Me, Laid, It’s A Date, Upper Middle Bogan and Lowdown. 

She started her career in television at SBS where she was a producer for experimental late night shorts program Eat Carpet and later a Commissioning Editor of drama and comedy at SBS Independent. Her commissions included John Safran’s Music Jamboree, Wilfred, Bogan Pride, The Circuit and John Safran vs. God.    

Director l APAC Policy, Studio & Production Affairs I Global Affairs

Debra covers studio affairs, production and content policy for Netflix in the APAC region. 

Previously, she was CEO of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, a director of Australia’s broadcasting regulator, then the Australian Broadcasting Authority (& Tribunal) and as the immediate past CEO of Ausfilm, attracting major production and post production work to Australia. She was also an advisor to a previous federal Communications & Arts Minister, Michael Lee. 

Debra is Vice President of the Communications and Media Law Association Board; a Director of the International Institute of Communications, Australia; Deputy Chair of the Alcohol Beverage Advertising Code adjudication panel; a Director of Northcott, a professional member of the Australian Film Institute, and a marriage celebrant. 

In 2022 Debra was appointed as a Member of the Australian Film, Television & Radio School’s Council and a member of the previous NSW Film & Television Industry Advisory Committee

Chief Executive Officer
Screen Australia  

As Chief Executive Officer of Screen Australia, Deirdre Brennan leads the federal agency’s strategic vision to drive the critical and commercial success of the Australian screen industry. 

A respected global media leader, Deirdre Brennan has extensive experience in the domestic and international screen sector, future-proofing content strategies, maximising partnerships and transforming teams and culture. 

Prior to joining Screen Australia in 2024, Deirdre was the Chief Operating Officer of WildBrain, a global independent media entertainment company spanning content production, IP development, distribution and brand licensing. 

Previously, Deirdre worked at BBC Worldwide Australia as General Manager/Director of Content. Her former roles include Head of Children’s Television at ABC TV and General Manager of Universal Kids at NBCUniversal (US).

Writer | Director | Cinematographer

Dylan River is a writer, director, cinematographer and artist from Mpartnwe (Alice Springs), Australia. He comes from a long line of Kaytetye storytellers.

His first dramatic short film Nulla Nulla was selected for the Berlin & Toronto film festivals and won the 2015 AACTA Award for Best Short Film.

Dylan wrote and directed Robbie Hood (SBS), a series retelling a famous folk tale set in his hometown of Alice Springs, which premiered at Cannes and won the 2019 AACTA award for best online series.

Dylans work on documentary series The Beach (SBS/NITV) won the 2021 AACTA award for best cinematography.

In 2022, Dylan directed the series Mystery Road: Origin, ABC’s highest rating drama to date, which won seven AACTA awards including Best Direction and Best Series, 

In 2024 Dylan completed the Stan Original series Thou Shalt Not Steal, a dark comedy/ road series which he created, wrote and directed.

Creator | Writer | Executive Producer

Elise was the co-creator, writer, and showrunner of Stateless (ABC/Netflix), executive produced with Cate Blanchett and Tony Ayres. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2020 and won a record 13 AACTAs, including best screenplay and best limited series. Stateless garnered Elise 6 AWG nominations (winning twice), 4 AACTAs nominations (winning twice), and a NSW Premier’s Literary Awards nomination.

She wrote the Emmy-winning Nowhere Boys, was writer and co-creator of Sunshine and Jack Irish, co-showrunner and creator on Disney’s first Australian series The Clearing, and EP on Appetite. 

Elise’s first feature Strange Fits of Passion was selected for the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for 3 AFI awards and an AWGIE. Her second feature, Ride Like a Girl, was nominated for an AWGIE and an AACTA for best film. 

Elise is currently developing projects with Merman, Maven, Channel 4, Matchbox, ABC, TAP, Easy Tiger, Wooden Horse, Channel 4, and SBS.

Senior Screen Executive

Graeme Mason is a Senior Screen Executive with 30 years of local and international experience working for studios, networks, indies and government. He worked in factual TV programming in Australia before moving to the UK, where he worked across production, sales, acquisitions, marketing and distribution for companies such as PolyGram.

From 1998 to 2002, Graeme was President of Worldwide Acquisitions for Universal Studios. He then joined Channel 4 Television in the UK as Head of Media Projects and later became Managing Director of Rights. Graeme subsequently ran National Agencies in two countries – first as CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission and then CEO of Screen Australia. He has had strong engagement in all aspects of media and entertainment, working across creative, cultural and commercial aspects of content creation and content businesses.

Creator | Writer

Hannah is a screenwriter and creator of the hit Netflix series Heartbreak High. 

Spending over a month after its release in the Global Top Ten Series on Netflix for both Season 1 and Season 2, Heartbreak High won an International Emmy Award, an AACTA Audience Choice Award for Best Television Series, and an AACTA Best Drama Series Award, and Hannah earned the AACTA Award for Best Screenplay and garnered an AWGIE Award nomination.

Likewise, for her finale episodes on both season 1 and 2, Hannah was nominated for NSW Premier’s Literary Awards for Best Screenplay. 

Her writing on the ABC Television Drama The Heights also earned Hannah both an AWGIE and a Screen Producers Award nomination.

Hannah was recognised with the 2024 Mona Brand Award for Women Stage and Screen Writers. As a writer and story producer, she also worked on the iconic Australian series Home and Away. 

Actor | Writer | Producer

Harriet Dyer is an actor, writer and producer, co-creator of the comedy series Colin From Accounts (Binge/CBS), which earned her a Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actress.

The show received a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Comedy Program, an AACTA Award for Best Narrative Comedy Series, and Harriet received an AWGIE Award for her writing on the episode “The Flash”. Most recently, the series has been nominated for Best International Program at the BAFTAs, and Harriet received a Silver Logie nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy.

Other credits include NBC’s American Auto, and The Inbetween, the ABC/BBC series Wakefield, Stan’s The Other Guy, and No Activity, and The Letdown, Kiki & Kitty, Black Comedy, Rake and Janet King for ABC. Feature film credits include Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, Killing Ground, Down Under and Ruben Guthrie.

Harriet is in production on the upcoming CBS comedy series DMV alongside Tim Meadows.

Producer

Helen is a producer of shows including: After the Party, a 9-time winner at the New Zealand TV Awards, nominated for a 2025 Edinburgh TV Award and a BAFTA, and screening on Channel 4 in the UK; Prosper for Stan and Roku; two seasons of The Secrets She Keeps starring Laura Carmichael and Jessica de Gouw for BBC1 and Paramount+; and two seasons of Upright starring Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock for Sky UK and Foxtel; The Slap (also BAFTA nominated) and The Devil’s Playground, each won the AACTA and Logie for Best TV drama in the same year.

Helen was a founder and Managing Director of Matchbox Pictures, which sold to NBCUniversal in early 2014. In 2015 she formed Lingo Pictures with Jason Stephens, and in late 2022 Helen and Jason sold a majority stake in Lingo to ITV Studios (UK).

Lingo is currently delivering the highly anticipated thriller, Watching You starring Aisha Dee, to Stan.

Creator | Writer | Producer

Jacquelin Perske has worked extensively across film and television as a writer, producer and showrunner. Most recently, she adapted the bestselling novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz for Sky and the BBC psychological thriller The Cry.

Jaquelin wrote and script produced the AWGIE-winning mini-series Deadline Gallipoli  and Seven Types of Ambiguity. She was the co-creator, producer and writer of Spirited and the acclaimed series Love My Way , which was recognised with an AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Screenplay in a Television Series and a Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Miniseries or Telemovie.  Other credits include writing for Star Wars: Underworld and Will. 

Jacquelin also wrote the critically acclaimed 2005 feature Little Fish, starring Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and Martin Henderson.

Producer | Executive Producer

Joanna Werner is a Producer and Executive Producer based in Melbourne, Founder and Company Director of Werner Film Productions, one of Australia’s leading drama production businesses. 

Joanna has Produced three seasons of The Newsreader (ABC and Lionsgate), two seasons of the Netflix hit series Surviving Summer, the comedy horror drama Crazy Fun Park (ABC & ACTF) and the Netflix Original Clickbait. 

Previous credits include Riot, Secret City, tween drama Ready for This, three seasons of Dance Academy and its feature film follow-up Dance Academy: The Movie, and hit series H2O: Just Add Water. 

Joanna is Producer and Executive Producer on Goolagong (ABC and BBC Studios), Executive Producer on Knee High Spies (ABC and ACTF) and Executive Producer on the Apple Original The Dispatcher (for 60Forty Films). 

Joanna served on the Board of Screen Australia for six years and also Chaired Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Taskforce from 2020 to 2023.

TV Presenter | Media Personality

Josh Szeps is one of Australia's most influential and innovative interviewers, and founding host-producer of the revolutionary US streaming news network, HuffPost Live, where he hosted thousands of hours of live TV with the biggest names in politics, news and entertainment. He won a Webby Award while the organisation won a Pulitzer. 

Josh also appeared regularly with Al Roker as a contributor on NBC Today. On his return to Australia, he co-anchored the national morning television show, Weekend Breakfast, and became a fixture of ABC Radio Sydney. Afternoons with Josh Szeps launched in 2021, a three-hour daily talkback radio show. 

In 2024, Josh left the legacy media to wrestle freely with ideas in a spicier way. Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps took off as a podcast, Substack publication, live touring enterprise and YouTube channel. With ten million downloads, it is among the most listened-to Australian interview shows in the world.

Producer | CEO Wooden Horse

Jude is a producing partner and Joint CEO of Wooden Horse, which she co-founded in 2019 after a 17-year career in acquisitions and distribution at Entertainment One and Hopscotch Films, where she was a partner.  

Jude produced the multi award winning psychological thriller The Clearing for Disney+ & Hulu, Mother and Son Season 1 & 2 for ABC, and The Other Guy Series 1 & 2 for Stan and Hulu in association with Aquarius Films. 

She is an Executive Producer on Stuff the British Stole Season 1 & 2 (ABC & CBC), The Cape (Stan), Rose Gold (ABC), and the AACTA Award winning feature documentary All This Mayhem. Working with world-class creatives both here and overseas, Wooden Horse is focused on bold, provocative storytelling for global audiences.

Director

Justin’s feature films include Snowtown (2011), which screened in Toronto and International Critics’ Week in Cannes, receiving Special Distinction of the President; Macbeth (2015), which premiered In Competition at Cannes; Assasin’s Creed (2016) produced by New Regency for 20th Century Fox; The True History of the Kelly Gang (2019); Nitram (2021), which had its World Premiere at Cannes; Ellis Park (2014), a feature documentary premiering at MIFF; and The Order, which premiered at Venice Film Festival in 2024.

Justin recently directed television series The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which premiered at the 2025 Berlinale Film Festival.

Comedians | Writers | Creators

Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan (The Kates, for short), are Australian comedians, writers, and showrunners.

Having conquered the cutthroat world of satirical online cooking shows with The Katering Show (one of Australian TV's all-time most viewed digital series) in 2015, they subsequently took a Sassy Swipe™ at morning lifestyle television in Get Krack!n (ABC/Seeso).

The Kates’ series Deadloch – winner of multiple AACTAs plus Logies and Emmy nominations – was a global smash. The critically acclaimed feminist noir comedy is streaming on Prime Video, with a second season currently in post-production.

Writer

One of Australia’s most accomplished TV writers, Kelly has written more than seventy-five hours of television, and script produced, script edited, story-lined, and story edited more than six-hundred and fifty.

She is also a highly sought developer for feature films, with credits including The Merger and The Black Balloon.

With multiple awards and nominations including AWGIES and AFI’s, in 2014 she was awarded the Foxtel Fellowship in Recognition of an Outstanding and Significant Body of Work. 

Kelly Co-Created the SBS 2 x 6-part mini-series The Circuit – winner of 2 Chicago Film Festival HUGO Awards for Best Mini-Series, and the Human Rights Reconciliation Award. 

Other credits include The Code, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Mr. and Mrs. Murder, City Homicide, and Prisoner. Most recently she has run three seasons of Acorn’s popular drama series Under the Vines.

Executive Producer
Founder Guesswork Television, Token Group

Kevin Whyte is the founder of Guesswork Television and Token Group, a touring, television and artist management company which has been working with the biggest names in Australian comedy and entertainment since 1993.

Kevin is an Executive Producer on The Weekly, Hard Quiz, and Queerstralia, and scripted series including Please Like Me, Rosehaven, Get Krack!n, Frayed, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay and Deadloch.

Guesswork has produced countless stand-up specials, including all three of Hannah Gadsby’s highly acclaimed Netflix specials. Kevin is also Managing Director for Roving Enterprises, working on shows such as Rove Live and, until recently, The Project.

Token will present live shows across Australia and in Edinburgh, NY, London and LA this year.

Chair of the ABC

Kim Williams has held executive leadership positions, including Chief Executive at News Corp Australia, FOXTEL, Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment, Music Viva Australia, and served as senior executive at the ABC. 

He was appointed as Member of the Order of Australia for his services to arts, film and television; awarded a Doctorate of Letters by Macquarie University, the Richard Pratt Business Arts Leadership Award, and the Australian Writers Guild’s Dorothy Crawford Award. 

Served as Chair of the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership, the Copyright Agency and the Richard Gill School; Co-chair of the State Library of NSW Foundation; board member of Myer Family Investments, Executive Channel International, Wine Australia, the University of Western Sydney Foundation, the Myer Foundation; a Trustee of Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company; and as a Commissioner of the Australian Football League.

He was appointed Chair of the ABC by the Honourable Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia.

SVP & Managing Director Disney ANZ

Kylie Watson-Wheeler is Senior Vice President & Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company ANZ and Head of Sports Network ESPN for Asia-Pacific. 

Kylie is responsible for The Walt Disney Company ANZ across Film, TV, live events, digital, distribution and streaming services. She manages a portfolio of content and products across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, ABC Studios (US), 20th Century Fox and National Geographic, and has regional responsibility for ESPN for Asia Pacific. 

With 20+ years of entertainment industry experience, she has led multiple areas of the business across The Walt Disney Company including content, marketing, sales, consumer products, theatrical distribution and local production. She has held responsibility for the Publishing business across the region including India, South East Asia and Korea. 

Before Disney, Kylie was the Global Head of Marketing for Hallmark Inc., and previously held roles at Coca-Cola Amatil and Penguin Books. 

Producer | Executive Producer

Liz Watts is a multi-award-winning film and television producer and executive producer.

Most recently, Liz executive produced Sam Strauss’ six-part series for Netflix, Apple Cider Vinegar and was EP on the recent Fierce Baby remake of Laid in the US for Peacock. 

Other Executive Producer TV credits include Preppers (ABC), Fires (ABC), Operation Buffalo (ABC), Stateless (ABC/Netflix), The Kettering Incident (Foxtel), and the six-season US series adaptation of Animal Kingdom (TNT). She also produced the ABC comedy series, Kiki and Kitty and 2 seasons of Laid (ABC).

Liz is currently producing Tenzing with Jennifer Peedom directing for Apple + and whilst at See-Saw, Liz has produced Wizards, David Michôd’s feature for A24, and Kitty Green’s feature The Royal Hotel. Her other film producing credits include: The King, starring Timothée Chalamet; Mary Magdalene, starring Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix; The Rover; Lore, Dead Europe and Animal Kingdom.

Artist | Filmmaker

Lynette Wallworth has worked for over 20 years in immersive technologies. Her works have shown at the World Economic Forum, Davos, the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian, the Royal Observatory Greenwich; Auckland Triennial; Adelaide Biennial; Brighton Festival, and the Vienna Festival, and film festivals including Sundance, Venice, London, Glasgow, Sydney, and Adelaide.

Works include interactive installation Evolution of Fearlessness; DOMIE Award-winning full-dome feature Coral, AACTA Award-winning documentary Tender, and virtual reality narrative Collisions and Awavena, earning an International Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches in Documentary. 

She has been awarded a UNESCO City of Film Award, the Byron Kennedy Award for Innovation and Excellence, named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the year’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers, has been a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Virtual and Augmented Reality and the only Australian on Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees. 

Writer | Producer | Radio Host

Marieke Hardy is a screenwriter, producer, curator, radio host, podcaster and playwright. 

In 2011, she won an AWGIE and AACTA for Laid, which she co-created, wrote, and produced with Kirsty Fisher. The show ran for two seasons and was recently adapted for Peacock in the US, starring Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet.  She has written for numerous other Australian TV series, including Packed to the Rafters, Heartbreak High, Please Like Me, Seven Types of Ambiguity, and Sunny Nights.

Marieke was a regular co-host on ABC’s ’The Book Club’ for eleven years and the recipient of the prestigious Sidney Myer Fellowship in 2015. Her adaptation of Dario Fo’s No Pay No Way! opened at the Sydney Opera House in 2019, and had a smash season in 2022 at Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester UK. 

Her podcast, Marieke Hardy Is Going To Die debuted in February 2024.

Actor | Writer | Comedian

Mary Coustas is one of Australia’s most loved actor, writer, comedian and keynote speakers. 

In 1987 she joined the ground-breaking stage show Wogs out of Work where her iconic Logie Award-winning comic creation “Effie” was born. Effie bursted into Australian homes in the TV sitcom hit Acropolis Now which ran for five seasons. 

Mary starred in Wildside, Grass Roots and Secret Life of Us, and has written two successful books: Effie’s Guide to Being Up Yourself and her deeply personal memoir, All I Know, which revealed her decade-long odyssey to become a mother, resulting in huge media coverage. 

In 2022 Mary starred in her critically acclaimed one-woman show This Is Personal which premiered at The Sydney Opera House and toured in 2023 and 2025. 

Mary is currently starring in the Binge series Strife 2 and the STAN series Sunny Nights, as well as touring her hilarious hit Effie show, UpYourselfness. 

Creator | Writer | Producer

Michael Lucas is a writer, producer and script editor, who has worked across genres, from the period drama The Newsreader, to the relationship dramedy Offspring, prison thriller Wentworth, and comedy Rosehaven. He has won three AWGIE for ‘Best Television Screenplay’ from six nominations.

Michael’s first feature, Not Suitable For Children, drew five AACTA nominations and won the AWGIE for ‘Best Screenplay’. 

He was core writer and script producer of Network Ten’s series Offspring, and created and produced TV series, such as the political drama Party Tricks and the AWGIE and AACTA-nominated Five Bedrooms, which ran for four seasons on Paramount Plus.

Most recently, he created, wrote, and produced three seasons of ABC’s The Newsreader, starring Anna Torv and Sam Reid, which has been awarded ‘Most Outstanding Drama’ at the AACTAs and the Logies, sold to over 80 territories worldwide, and been nominated for an International Emmy for Best Drama.

Creator | Writer

Mithila Gupta is a creator and showrunner who has been writing popular Aussie television for over a decade. 

Her romance series Four Years Later, shot between India and Australia, was produced with Easy Tiger and SBS. It has since been acquired by CBC, Lionsgate India, nominated for Best Mini-Series at the AACTA and SPA awards, and won Bronze in the Drama category at the New York Film and Television awards. 

Her audio series Desi Down Under was released by Audible India globally in 2022. Mithila has also written on Bump, Five Bedrooms, Doctor Doctor, The Heights, Winners and Losers and The Unlisted, which won the International Youth Prize in 2020. She also worked on sci-fi Cleverman and started her career on iconic Neighbours where she introduced an Indian family to the previously all white cast.

Creator | Writer | Director

Nicholas’ debut feature film, Boys In The Trees, premiere at the Venice International Film Festival before screening at festivals around the world including Toronto, Busan, Sitges, and winning Best Feature at the Austin Film Festival. 

His television work includes BAFTA and Emmy award-winning Nowhere Boys, The Unlisted, Itch, In Our Blood, Swift Street, and Grace Beside Me, which earned him an Australian Director's Guild Awards. He won a Logie and an Australian Director’ Guild Award for his first original series, Crazy Fun Park (ABC), and his latest series, Invisible Boys (Stan), premiered at #1 to critical and commercial praise.

Nicholas has attended the Berlinale Talent Campus, Binger FilmLab Directors Coaching Programme, trained with Song of the Goat theatre company, was awarded an Asialink Arts Fellowship to work in robotics labs in Beijing, and became a Churchill Fellow to study showrunning practices in the USA and UK.

Head of Scripted, Blackfella Films

Penny Smallacombe is the Head of Scripted for Blackfella Films and a member of the Maramanindji people from the Northern Territory. 

Prior to her role at Blackfella she worked for Netflix as the ANZ Grow Creative Manager. In 2021 she worked with Bunya Productions and produced the mini-series True Colours for SBS/NITV. 

Previously, Penny was the Head of the First Nations Department at Screen Australia, overseeing a large slate of highly successful film and television projects including Total Control, Spear, She Who Must Be Loved, Sweet Country, We Don’t Need a Map, Grace Beside Me, Mystery Road, Sweet As, We Are Still Here and Little J and Big Cuz. She has also worked as a Senior Programmer for NITV and was a producer with the Indigenous Programs Unit at the ABC.

Creator | Executive Producer

Peter Mattessi is the co-creator and Executive Producer of Return To Paradise, an entirely Australian spin-off of the global hit Death In Paradise and the ABC’s number one local drama in 2024. Currently in post-production on its second season, Return To Paradise has been nominated for four Logie Awards, including Best Drama. 

Prior to that, Peter was Co-Executive Producer for Season 2 of Every Cloud Productions’ Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries for Acorn and Seven. In the UK he was on the EastEnders core writing team for over ten years, and in Australia worked on The Heights for the ABC and BBC One from the very early stages of development, as well as many years with Neighbours. 

He has won five Awgies and one Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award, and has original television and stage projects in development in Australia, the UK, and the US.

Writer | Director

Rachel Perkins, a woman of the Arrernte and Kalkadoon nations, is at the forefront of the Australian filmmaking industry. She founded Australia's premier Indigenous production company, Blackfella Films in 1992.

Rachel has directed the feature films Radiance, One Night the Moon, the musical Bran Nue Dae and Jasper Jones as well as the telemovie Mabo. Rachel also directed three episodes and a telemovie of the landmark television drama series Redfern Now. She recently directed all six episodes of the critically acclaimed first series of Mystery Road and Total Control, which were both awarded best Australian TV Drama series in their year of production.

Rachel also wrote, directed and co-produced the seven-hour documentary series for SBS First Australians (2009). She is currently working on a second landmark series on frontier conflict, titled First Wars.

Producer | Founding partner, Goalpost Pictures

Rosemary Blight is a founding partner of Goalpost Pictures and is one of Australia’s most experienced producers. 

Rosemary credits include acclaimed Drama Series Black Snow, Seasons 1 and 2, created by Lucas Taylor, starring Travis Fimmel, for STAN Australia, SundanceNow US & BBC; Benjamin Millepied’s debut feature Carmen with Melissa Barrera & Paul Mescal; Wayne Blairs feature film Top End Wedding; and the grounded sci fi series Cleverman made for ABC & AMC, which was nominated for a prestigious Peabody Award.

The romantic comedy series Top End Bub, produced for Amazon Prime & ZDF Studios and created by Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler, which is due for release in late 2025.

Writer | Executive Producer 

Shaun Grant is a critically acclaimed, multi‑award‑winning screenwriter. He co‑created the critically acclaimed The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Amazon), starring Jacob Elordi and directed by Justin Kurzel.   

His feature film, Nitram, premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, winning the prize for Best Actor and 8 AACTA Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, and an AWGIE for Best Original Screenplay. Shaun also went on to win the NSW Premier’s Literary Award.  

In 2020, Shaun won the AWGIE Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Penguin Bloom. Prior to this, True History of the Kelly Gang, premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win multiple awards.  His work on the films, Jasper Jones and Berlin Syndrome, gave him two AACTA nominations and an AWGIE win for Best Adapted Screenplay.  

Shaun won an AWGIE and received an AACTA nomination for the series, Deadline Gallipoli, and earned a collegiate Writer’s Guild of America nomination for Best Drama for writing the finale of Mindhunter (Netflix).

Creator | Writer | Director

Tig Terera is a Zimbabwean-born, Australian-raised writer and director committed to bold, impactful storytelling that amplify underrepresented voices. 

He began his career with self-funded short films, earning him a Special Mention at the Berlinale 2022 and a premiere at Sydney Film Festival. 

In 2024, he was selected for the Writers Club at Canneseries and premiered his debut TV series, Swift Street, at Canneseries, which he created, wrote several episodes and directed the first four episodes. 

Tig has also directed episodes of the upcoming season of Heartbreak High. His work is deeply rooted in youth culture and social impact, crafting stories that resonate with authenticity and heart.  

Creator | Writer | Director

Vanessa Gazy is a writer, director and series creator. Working internationally and across genres, her work often explores themes of identity, family and sexuality.  

Vanessa is the creator of Echoes starring Michelle Monaghan and Matt Bomer, which held the #1 spot globally on Netflix for at least two consecutive weeks during its debut. She also created Eden for Stan, which was developed with Brian Elsley (Skins), and sold internationally to Spectrum Originals (USA), Canal+, and Netflix UK.

Nominated for both Australian Directors Guild and Australian Writers Guild awards, Vanessa’s short films have screened at over 30 festivals around the world, including at the BFI London Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Palm Springs, Warsaw, and Melbourne International Film Festival.

She is currently developing a slate of original film and TV projects with major streamers, studios and production companies including Apple, A24, Lucky Chap, and 20th Century.

Creator | Writer | Executive

Warren Clarke is a Scripted Executive, Writer and Showrunner. 

Warren began his career at Matchbox Pictures where he worked across a slate of projects including the critically acclaimed and ACTAA nominated ABC Series The Heights, for which he was the Co-Creator and Showrunner. 

From Matchbox Pictures Warren took up the role of Head of Development at Fremantle Media Australia during which time he served as Executive Producer on several projects including Netflix's Wellmania, Rock Island Mysteries for Nickelodeon and The PMs Daughter for the ABC. 

Most recently Warren was the Head of Scripted at BBC Studios Australia & New Zealand where he oversaw the Australia scripted slate including Executive Producing the highly successful Return to Paradise for the ABC and BBC1, a spin-off of the UK series Death in Paradise.