Richard has over 25 years of experience in the television industry, with creative and strategic leadership positions across a wide range of genres including factual, ob doc, natural history, true crime, history, arts, social experiment, science, impact and entertainment. In January 2024 he joined Screen Australia, as Head of Documentary. Richard is responsible for driving the strategic direction for the agency’s documentary funding programs as well as implementing broader content department priorities.

John is an acclaimed writer, director and producer across film and theatre and the Creative Director of Brown Cabs. In film, he has written and directed: Still We Rise (2023 AIDC Best Documentary / Factual Single, 2023 ADG Award for Best Direction); Off Country (2022 ADG Award for Best Direction, MIFF); Kutcha’s Koorioke (NITV); Katele (2023 Flickerfest – Best Australian Short Film, Melbourne International Film Festival – Best Australian Short Film), Water (Adelaide FF, MIFF), Out of Range (MIFF). He produced Spear (TIFF) and the chapter Sand for The Turning (MIFF, Berlinale) and The Warriors (ABC). His theatre writing credits include The Return (2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Drama), Heart is a Wasteland and Black Ties. John received an ACMI (Australian Centre for Moving Image) Commission to create multi-channel installation Canopy.  John is also a Board Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre.

With a passion for documentary and factual storytelling spanning two decades, Natasha Gadd is the CEO/Creative Director of the Australian International Documentary Conference. Prior to this role, she was AIDC’s Partnerships and Industry Development Manager, where she oversaw the industry development program which has since unlocked over 2 million in project and professional development funding for AIDC delegates from 2019 to 2023. In 2005, she co-founded Daybreak Films, a Melbourne based production company committed to creating independent and engaging screen content. Natasha’s debut feature documentary, Words From the City was nominated for five AFI Awards and her follow up feature, Murundak: Songs of Freedom, received the Grand Prix – FIFO, Best Documentary – Valladolid International Film Festival, and the United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Award. She has also made a number of short documentaries for SBS, ABC and Foxtel, including Anatomy: Muscle, for which she received an Australian Directors Guild Best Director award. Natasha has held leadership positions across a number of leading Australian screen organisations including Cinema Programs and Public Programs Manager at the Australian Center for the Moving Image, Festival Director of the REAL: Life on Film festival and board member of the National Film and Sound Archive.

Lauren is an avid non-fiction fan and film industry professional with extensive experience across programming, international sales and distribution both within Australia and overseas. Beginning her career in film festival programming, Lauren most notably held the role of Program Director at the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival. She then moved to Copenhagen, Denmark to work with International Sales Agent LevelK as their Sales & Acquisitions Manager, handling both world sales for their slate and specialising in documentary acquisitions. During her time in the Nordics, Lauren was a tutor for the prestigious international documentary program Dok.incubator, selected as part of the ‘Rising Stars of Nordic Sales and Distributors’ for the Helsinki International Film Festival and was a member of the Danish Film Academy. Upon her return to Australia, Lauren worked in distribution for Umbrella Entertainment, handling both the monthly digital releases and world sales of classic Australian cinema. Lauren was the former Conference Programmer of AIDC in 2022 before embarking on her current role as Industry Manager, continuing her work supporting the development of dynamic Australian non-fiction stories and bringing them to global audiences.

Jesse and Amanda have been filmmaking partners for twenty-five years. Recent work includes Girls State, Apple Original Films (Sundance 2024), The Mission, National Geographic (Telluride 2023), Mayor Pete, and Boys State, for Apple and A24 (2020 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize). Their film The Overnighters (2014 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize) was released by Drafthouse Films. Other work includes The Family and Payday for Netflix, The Bandit (SXSW), Speedo (PBS), and Con Man for HBO.

Bettina Dalton is an Emmy and Sundance-nominated Producer and one of the founding Principals and Directors of WildBear Entertainment. She is passionate about stories that resonate globally and that shift the dial on social and environmental issues. Many of her projects are borne from discovery and reimagining of little-known film archives. While Bettina’s first passion is stories of humanity’s place in the natural world, she has produced and directed diverse genres of award-winning content for most international television broadcasters, including ZDF, Arte, NDR, BBC, PBS, National Geographic, and Discovery and Australian broadcasters ABC and Nine Network. Her recent projects include social impact feature documentary Rachel’s Farm, officially selected to premiere in Australia at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival, and the multi award-winning feature documentary Playing With Sharks which premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2021. Her most recent Feature Documentary Every Little Thing has been selected into the Sundance 2024 US documentary competition, SXSW, CPHDOX, HOTDOCS and Sydney Film Festival. Bettina is currently in development on two feature narratives that highlight similar issues and personal stories.

Bethan Arwel-Lewis is Commissioning Editor of Factual for SBS Australia, and is responsible for commissioning original factual content for the broadcaster. Having worked in the TV industry for 20 years, Bethan has been responsible for multiple award-winning documentary series and factual formats, both in Australia and in the United Kingdom. She has worked extensively with major international networks making a wide variety of programs including large fixed-camera productions, authored documentaries, formatted and factual entertainment shows. Bethan has a strong track record for making distinctive and thought-provoking documentaries. This has been recognised with her recent accolades, having won an AACTA award for ‘Best Factual Program’ for the past three years running – in 2020 for the documentary series Murder in the Outback for Seven/Channel 4 UK, in 2021 for ABC series Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, and in 2022 for Miriam Margolyes: Australia Unmasked for the ABC.

Dr. Chadden Hunter is a Queensland filmmaker who has spent much of the last 20 years working alongside Sir David Attenborough on the world’s most seminal and loved nature documentaries.  After undergraduate studies at UQ he completed a PhD on gelada baboons in Ethiopia then went on to work with the BBC, National Geographic and Discovery Channel, filming everything from tribal ceremonies in Africa to snow leopards in Pakistan. His television series, including Planet Earth 1 and 2, Wild Arabia, Frozen Planet and Seven Worlds One Planet have won over 20 Emmy and BAFTA awards.  Now a full-time Executive Producer with Wildbear Entertainment in Brisbane, his latest film The Platypus Guardian recently aired on the ABC, Amazon and Apple TV.

Randall Wood has 30 years’ experience writing, directing, and shooting compelling documentaries. Randall is founder of Storyland Productions, a Queensland-based production company dedicated to making media for the heart and mind. Randall Wood’s films have screened across the globe on networks including PBS, ABC, BBC, National Geographic, ZDF, ARTE, PTS, SBS and in cinemas. Storyland’s latest release is award-winning film Flyways, a global feature about migratory birds for cinema and television release. Outstanding Excellence, Nature Without Borders International Film Festival Finalist for WCSFP Best Natural History Program / Content – Long Format, Best Music in a Documentary Screen Music Awards, 2023.

Maya is a Japanese Australian director and co-founder of the Unquiet Collective. Her short documentary The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone (2022) a Netflix Original, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for a Peabody Award. She directed the acclaimed feature In My Blood It Runs (2019), made in collaboration with those onscreen, which premiered at Hot Docs and screened at over forty festivals and on Netflix, PBS POV (USA), Arte (France) and ABC TV (Australia). In My Blood It Runs won numerous awards including Best Feature Doc at the ADG Awards, was backed by the Sundance Institute Labs and was a New York Times  ‘Critics Pick’. The participants led a multi-year impact campaign focusing on juvenile justice and education reform and the then ten-year-old participant, Dujuan, became the youngest person ever to address the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva. Her first feature Gayby Baby (2015) premiered at Hot Docs and sparked a national debate when it was banned in NSW schools by the state Premier. Her new feature doc Testimony (in development) follows a landmark climate case being brought two Torres Strait Islanders against the federal government of Australia. She works amidst the lands, seas and skies of Gadigal Wangal Country in Sydney.

David Cook is a First Nations writer, director, producer, and actor from Brisbane. Over the past five years, Cook has built a versatile career in the film industry, gaining experience in acting, crew roles, writing, directing, and producing. Cook’s debut feature film, Heart of the Man, which he wrote, produced, and directed, has recently completed post-production and secured distribution in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to feature films, Cook has garnered recognition and numerous accolades for his short documentary Skate or Cry. His feature documentary, Frontline Rangers, is currently in development with support from Screen Queensland. In 2024, Cook attended the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) in Melbourne, where he won two pitching prizes as part of The FACTory – New Talent Showcase. These accolades led to invitations to showcase his feature documentary pitch for Frontline Rangers at Sunny Side of the Doc in France and Doc Edge in New Zealand. Through his company, New Dream Productions, David Cook continues to develop various exciting projects. He remains dedicated to expanding his creative growth and making meaningful contributions to the wider screen industry.