Erika Dilday, producer, journalist and media executive, is the Executive Director of American Documentary Inc. and the Executive Producer of its award-winning documentary series POV on PBS and America ReFramed on WORLD. As a producer, her latest film projects include Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are) with Rachel Boynton and Meanwhile with Catherine Gund. Previously, she was the CEO of Futuro Media Group, a multimedia organisation that gives a critical voice to the diversity of the American experience through award-winning journalistic content for and about BIPOC. Prior to Futuro Media, she was the executive director of Maysles Documentary Center where she oversaw community cinema, filmmaking programs and produced the acclaimed documentary, In Transit. Erika has also held strategic planning and financial management roles at The New York Times, National Geographic Television and CBS. She is a graduate of Harvard College, the Columbia School of Journalism and Columbia Business School. In 2020 she was a Knight Nieman fellow at Harvard University where she authored a piece for the Nieman Reports on authentic journalism in communities of colour. Erika is a 2016 recipient of the Columbia Journalism School Alumni Award and a 2017 National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Fellow.

Aloke Devichand is Head of Documentaries at Mindhouse, the BAFTA-winning production company founded in London by filmmaker Louis Theroux. He has executive produced numerous projects including the Netflix series Can I Tell You a Secret?, the feature documentary The Final: Attack on Wembley and the upcoming feature Hanging by a Wire. Prior to Mindhouse, Aloke was a commissioner in the Original Documentaries team at Netflix and built from nascency its slate across Asia. He oversaw projects including Oscar-winning The Elephant Whisperers, International Emmy-winning Hope Frozen and hit series The Hunt for Veerappan. Previously Aloke worked as a global commissioner for the Witness strand on Al Jazeera English and was part of the launch team at Webby-winning digital platform AJ+.

Charlie Parsons is Senior Vice President of Global Development for the National Geographic Channel, responsible for developing new projects, discovering new talent, and serving as the network’s main point of contact for the global production community and agents around the world. His focus is on strategically engaging with the top unscripted creatives across all genres to commission premium specials, series and franchises that drive a deeper connection to our world, elevate the brand, attract a broad global audience, and garner major awards consideration. His primary responsibility is developing gripping National Geographic content for Disney+, Hulu and select projects for National Geographic’s YouTube channel. He leads a talented development team with offices in London, New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

Rita Baghdadi is an Emmy-winning Moroccan-American filmmaker known for the intimacy of her bold, character-driven documentaries. Sirens premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest, and was praised by critics as “utterly charming,” “smartly crafted” and “narrative perfection.” The film was released theatrically across the U.S. by Oscilloscope and is now streaming on VOD. Recently, she directed Finding the Light (Disney+ 2024), part of the Peabody-winning Photographer series, nominated for two Cinema Eye Honors and an Independent Spirit Award. Rita co-founded Lady and Bird Films. She is a Concordia fellow, Sundance fellow, Film Independent fellow, Chicken & Egg Awardee, DOC NYC ‘40 Under 40’, and a proud member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia. Currently, she is directing several new projects including Stallions and a two-part series for Paramount+.

Kylie Washington is the Executive Vice President & Creative Director of Global Entertainment ANZ at BBC Studios, where she launched and leads the production business across both scripted and unscripted content. She drives the creation of original IP, adapts international formats for local audiences, and builds creative partnerships between BBC Studios’ global teams and Australian broadcasters and platforms. With a strong background in entertainment and factual storytelling, Kylie brings deep experience developing and delivering high-profile international formats and original productions, shaping the creative vision and growth of BBC Studios’ slate in the region.

Farhad is the Co-Founder and Head of Strategy at Changer, where he leads the development and execution of the company’s global programs in collaboration with partners like YouTube. He has worked with some of the world’s most successful creators, helping them accelerate channel growth, diversify revenue streams and unlock the full potential of their audiences.

Emma Roberts is an XR artist based on Wathaurong country in regional Australia. Formerly a producer at Atlas V and Albyon, where she led R&D for Meta, her work as an independent includes durational installation Gondwana (Sundance, SXSW, CPH:DOX 2022) and mixed reality experience Turbulence: Jamais Vu (Winner: IDFA DocLab award for Best Immersive 2024). In 2022 she was named one of Screen Producers Australia’s Ones to Watch. Passionate about education and skill-sharing in XR, she has mentored on labs such as CPH:LAB, Adelaide Festival’s Expand Lab, and the Australian International Documentary Festival’s Doc.Lab.Interact program.