Speakers 2023

Keisha Knight (USA) Director, IDA Funds
International Documentary Association

Keisha Knight is the Director of IDA Funds.

Ash Hoyle (USA) Programmer
Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is the ultimate gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives.

Christian Cools (France) Commissioning Editor
ARTE G.E.I.E.

As a Commissioning Editor at ARTE since 1998, Christian manages the slot 'ARTE Discovery', dedicated to discovery and natural history documentaries.  He works with natural history and wildlife.

Emile Guertin (Malaysia) Senior Producer
Al Jazeera English

Based in Al Jazeera’s Malaysia bureau, Emile commissions and oversees 25 min docs in the Asia-Pacific region for the ‘Witness’ documentary strand.

Kelrick Martin (Australia) Head of Indigenous
ABC

ABC Indigenous supports First Nations creatives in the industry, proving Indigenous filmmakers and storytellers can lead the way in making exciting Australian television.

Julie Hanna (Australia) Commissioning Editor
ABC

ABC Factual consistently commissions, innovative, high-quality, award-winning content dedicated to telling diverse Australian voices, places and stories.

Kalita Corrigan (Australia) Commissioning Editor, Factual
ABC

Kalita is a commissioning editor for ABC screen - documentary and factual - and is passionate about history, true crime, culture and the arts.

Jo Chichester (Australia) Commissioning Editor, Factual
ABC

Jo Chichester has worked on a range of internal programs in Arts & Entertainment and commissioned dozens of documentaries.

Rachel Robinson (Australia) Executive Producer
ABC

Rachel is an Executive Producer in the ABC’s Factual development team.

Joseph Maxwell (Australia) Head of Unscripted
SBS

Joseph oversees commissioning for all unscripted content at SBS Australia.

Bernadine Lim (Australia) Senior Commissioning Editor, Factual
SBS

Bernadine has over 20 years’ experience developing, directing and producing across various documentary formats in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

Bethan Arwel-Lewis (Australia) Commissioning Editor, Factual
SBS

Bethan Arwel-Lewis is Commissioning Editor of Factual for SBS Australia, and is responsible for commissioning original factual content for the broadcaster.

Marissa McDowell (Australia) Head of Commissions
NITV

Marissa is currently employed by SBS as the Head of Commissions for NITV.

Paul Wiegard (Australia) Co-Founder & CEO
Madman Entertainment

Madman is Australia's leading independent theatrical, home entertainment distribution and rights management company.

Josie Mason Campbell (Australia) Head of Programming
Eureka, A Fremantle Company

Josie is currently the Head of Programming at Eureka-a Fremantle Company and is tasked with growing their factual and documentary slate.

Lexi Landsman (Australia) Head of Development | Unscripted
Fremantle Australia

Lexi is an author and creative unscripted producer, who has worked in development, production and post across a range of award-winning factual and reality shows in Australia and abroad for over 15 years.

Jean-Jacques Peretti (France) Programming & Training Coordinator
Sunny Side of the Doc

Jean-Jacques Peretti is in charge of the editorial line at Sunny Side of the Doc.

Mitzi Goldman (Australia) Founder and CEO
Documentary Australia

Mitzi is a Co-Founder and CEO of Documentary Australia, a not-for-profit organisation enabling social impact documentaries to be funded and screened to inspire social change.

Arran Birchenough (New Zealand) Director of Sales, APAC
Getty Images

Arran is Director of Sales (Production and Broadcast) for Getty Images APAC.

Sara Dosa (USA) Filmmaker
Independent

Sara Dosa is the award-winning director, writer and producer of the Academy Award-nominated Fire of Love.

Shaunak Sen (India) Filmmaker
Independent

Shaunak Sen is the director of All That Breathes, an Oscar-nominated feature doc that also had historic wins at Cannes and Sundance Film Festival.

Daniel Roher (Canada) Filmmaker
Independent

Daniel Roher is a director, editor, visual artist, and the director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Navalny.

David Farrier (Aotearoa / NZ) Filmmaker
Independent

David Farrier is a kiwi journalist and documentary maker currently based in the US.

Dean Gibson (Australia) Director
Bacon Factory Films

Dean Gibson is an Aboriginal filmmaker with over 20 years’ experience in creating, writing, directing, editing and producing content.

Dena Curtis (Australia) Filmmaker
Inkey Media

First Nations filmmaker, Dena Curtis is a producer, writer and director.

Elyse Steinberg (USA) Co-founder
Edgeline Films

Elyse Steinberg is the co-creator, director and producer of Couples Therapy.

Emma Sullivan (Australia) Filmmaker
Independent

Emma Sullivan is a critically acclaimed Australian writer and director.

Lynette Wallworth (Australia) Artist / Filmmaker
Independent

Lynette Wallworth has won two Emmy awards for her innovative VR and XR works.

Fatima Salaria (United Kingdom) Managing Director
Naked Television

Fatima Salaria is Managing Director of UK Production Company Naked Television.

Marie Foulston (UK) Curator
Independent

Marie Foulston is an award winning curator and creative director.

John-Paul Marin (Australia) Co-founder and director
Distil Immersive

John-Paul is the co-founder and director of Distil Immersive, an award-winning digital production studio.

Aman Mann (India) Producer
Independent

Aman Mann is a filmmaker and media researcher based in New Delhi.

Patrick Abboud (Australia) Writer/Director/Presenter & Founder
Only Human Productions

Patrick (Pat) Abboud is a Walkley winning broadcast journalist, filmmaker, writer, director, presenter.

James Dickinson CEO
Screenrights

James Dickinson has worked at Screenrights for over 20 years, and was previously Head of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and General Manager before being appointed Chief Executive in 2019.

Anu Hasbold (Australia) Development Producer
Sweetshop & Green

ONLINE GUEST

Anu is currently Development at Sweetshop & Green.

Zoë Coombs Marr (Australia) Writer & Comedian
Independent

Zoë Coombs Marr is a performer, writer, artist and comedian.

Karl Quinn (Australia) Senior Writer, Culture
The Age

Karl Quinn is a senior culture writer at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Jennifer Tiexiera (USA) Co-founder
Lady & Bird Films

Jennifer Tiexiera is an award-winning documentary director, producer and editor.

Margaret Ratliff (USA) CO-PRODUCER
INDEPENDENT

Margie Ratliff is a co-producer and key participant of Subject, where she examines her participation in the 2018 Netflix true-crime documentary, The Staircase.

Sean Flynn (USA) Program Director and Co-Founder
Points North Institute

Sean Flynn has spent the past decade leading Points North Institute's program development and expansion from a small-town film festival into a year-round media arts institute with global reach.

Loretta Sarah Todd (Canada) Creative Director
IM4 Media Lab

Loretta Sarah Todd is a visionary leader in Indigenous media, an artist with entrepreneurial energy and cultural knowledge.

Joel Sherwood Spring (Australia) Artist
Future Method Studio

Joel Sherwood Spring is a Wiradjuri anti-disciplinary artist.

Emma Roberts (Australia) Artist / Producer

ONLINE GUEST

Emma Roberts' work includes some of the largest location-based VR installations in Australia.

Laura Nagy (Australia) Development Producer
Sony Pictures Television, Curio Pictures

Laura Nagy is a writer, director, and story producer of film and audio.

Beth Atkinson-Quinton (Australia) Co-founder
Broadwave

Beth Atkinson-Quinton is an award-winning audio producer, broadcaster and co-founder of podcast network Broadwave.

Sasha Close (Australia) Head of Programming
Gold Coast Film Festival and Brisbane International Film Festival

Sasha has worked extensively in the Australian cinema and screen industry, starting in distribution before moving into exhibition and programming.

Kaylene Butler (Australia) Writer/Director/Producer
Independent

Kaylene specialises in character-driven stories, and focusing on Indigenous culture awareness.

Kylie Watson-Wheeler (Australia) Senior Vice President & Managing Director
The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand

Kylie Watson-Wheeler is the Senior Vice President & Managing Director for The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand.

Larissa Behrendt (Australia) Filmmaker
Lavarch Productions

Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO is a Eualayai/Gamillaroi woman and Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Ebony Havnen (Australia) First Nations Development and Investment Manager
Screen Australia

Ebony Havnen is a First Nations development and investment manager working alongside Angela Bates, Joseph Cardona and Murray Clapham.

Caroline Swift (Australia) Head of Entertainment
Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia

Caroline Swift aka Spence has been toiling away in the TV industry for thirty years, starting as a production assistant straight out of high school.

Amy Rose (UK) Co-Founder
Anagram

Amy Rose is a highly acclaimed director and maker, known for creating sensory stories that experiment with new technologies.

Julian O'Shea (Australia) CEO
Unbound

Mary McGillivray (Australia) Content creator
Independent

Mary McGillivray is an Australian art historian and content creator making visual culture analysis accessible for the next generation.

Amie Mills (New Zealand) Head of Funding
NZ On Air

Amie is the Head of Funding at NZ On Air, an independent government funding agency delivering public media to local audiences.

Michael Running Wolf (Canada) Founder
Indigenous in AI

Michael Running Wolf is the founder of Indigenous in AI.

Colette Webber (UK) Documentary Distribution Executive
TVF International

Colette Webber is responsible for working with broadcasters and producers to licence, acquire and facilitate co-productions for the market’s most innovative, creative and commercial documentaries.

Natsu Kawakami (Japan) Producer
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Natsu Kawakami is a producer at NHK's World Documentary.

Heidi Tao Yang (Canada) Director, Funds & Labs
Hot Docs

Heidi Tao Yang is the Director, Funds & Labs at Hot Docs, overseeing a multi-million dollar portfolio which provides grants for international and Canadian documentary films.

Naina Sen (Australia) Filmmaker
Independent

Born and brought up in New Delhi, India, Naina Sen is a Walkley and AACTA-nominated filmmaker and video artist.

Cian Mungatj McCue (Australia) Owner/Creative Director
Moogie Down Productions

Cian Mungatj McCue is a producer, graphic designer and artist.

Claudix Vanesix (Peru) Founder
AMiXR

Decolonial feminist and trans non binary cyborg.

Steve Crombie (Australia) CEO
Totem

Steve is the Founder/CEO of Totem, a digital-first media company.

Tom Forrest (Australia) Journalist / Content creator
Independent

Tom Forrest is a 23 year-old Yorta Yorta man raised in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Tony Ayres (Australia) Executive Producer & Show Runner
Tony Ayres Productions

Tony Ayres is an award-winning Australian showrunner, writer and director, and one of the founding members of Matchbox Pictures.

Brendan Hutchens (Australia) Producer, Director, Owner
VAM Media

Brendan is the head of established Western Australian-based independent production company VAM Media.

Meredith Watson Jeffrey (Australia) Editor
Independent

Meredith Watson Jeffrey is an award-winning Editor with 30 years' experience cutting both scripted and non-scripted projects.

Anouska 'Nush' Freedman (Australia) Cinematographer
Terra Australis

From the Terra Australis and Shipwreck Hunters Australia team, Nush is a highly accomplished cinematographer, presenter, producer, and water woman.

Catherine Dwyer (Australia) Filmmaker
Independent

Catherine Dwyer is the writer and director of the acclaimed documentary, Brazen Hussies

Tasha James (Australia) Manager, Indigenous Collections & Community Access
ABC

Tasha is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Archives Indigenous Collections and Community Access Manager.

Tait Brady (Australia) Founder/Director
The Acme Film Company

Tait has worked within the Australian film industry for more than 35 years.

Rhoda Roberts AO (Australia) Arts Executive

Rhoda Roberts AO is a significant force on the Australian arts scene.

Michael Hudson (Australia) Writer/Producer/Director
Third Impact Films

Writer/director/producer Michael Hudson is a proud Bangarang and Yorta Yorta man from northeast Victoria.

Sabine Fayoux Cantillo (USA) Associate Director of Program
Chicken & Egg Pictures

Sabine oversees the design and implementation of several programs in support of women and nonbinary documentary filmmakers.

Georgia Woodward (Australia) General Manager
Southern Pictures

Georgia Woodward is the general manager of Southern Pictures, a multi award winningproduction company specialising in high impact factual entertainment including MiriamMargolyes Australia Unmasked (BBC/ ABC), Magda’s Big National Health Check (ABC) andThe Embassy (Nine Network).

Mark Brogan (Australia) Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Manager
Netflix

Mark leads the environmental, health and safety function for the APAC region at Netflix.

Monica O'Brien (Australia) Producer/Writer/Director
Ambience Entertainment

Monica is an experienced creator and showrunner across many genres, including factual entertainment, drama and children’s entertainment.

Laurie Critchley (Australia) CEO/ Executive Producer
Southern Pictures

Laurie Critchley is a leading media executive, working to deliver premium factual material for Australian and International audiences.

Riima Daher (Australia) Executive Producer
ITV Studios Australia

Riima is a Logie Award winning Executive Producer with more than seventeen years spent in the development and production of factual, reality and entertainment television.

Tony Jackson (Australia) Head of Television
Chemical Media

Tony Jackson has spent more than 30 years making television and documentaries, earning his first stripes at the BBC before becoming head of television at Lonely Planet and then executive producer at Chemical Media.

John Silvester (Australia) Journalist
The Age

John Silvester is a Walkley award winning Australian journalist, a well-respected crime reporter and a professional and highly regarded public speaker.

Sashka Koloff (Australia) Managing Editor, Standards and Compliance
ABC

Multi award winning journalist, screen producer, story-teller. Now, Managing Editor of editorial standards with the ABC’s Entertainment & Specialist Division.

Blayke Hoffman (Australia) Development Producer / Line Producer
Stranger than Fiction

Blayke Hoffman is a Writer / Producer who has worked in Australia, North America and Europe.

Ben Lawrence (Australia) Filmmaker
Independent

Ben Lawrence is a director, screenwriter and producer.

Ivan O'Mahoney (Australia) Co Founder/Managing Director
In Films

A former lawyer and UN peacekeeper in Bosnia, Ivan holds master degrees in international law (Leyden) and journalism (Columbia).

Brooke Collard (Australia) Producer/Writer
Goguljar Yok

Brooke Collard (she/they) is a First Nations Ballardong Noongar woman.

Anna Grieve (Australia) Co-founder
Tamarind Tree Pictures

Anna produces documentaries with a particular focus on history.

Kate Rourke (UK) Head of Creative Insights
Getty Images

Kate joined the photography industry over 15 years ago and today works as Head of Asia Pacific of Creative Insights, who set the global content strategy for Getty Images, through analysing trends in visual communication.

Rachel Currie (New Zealand) Founder
Storymaker

Rachel Currie has been creating unique high-end factual programming for over two decades.

Jenni Wilks (Australia) Supervising Producer
NORTHERN PICTURES

Jenni Wilks was Supervising Producer of the successful ABC/ Netflix series Love on the Spectrum.

Anne-Maree Sparkman (Australia) Executive Producer
Independent

Anne-Maree has spent more than 35 years in television production, and was a ground-breaking reporter for Wide World of Sport and Sports Sunday.

Dr Naomi Koh Belic (Australia) Communications specialist
Independent

Dr Naomi Koh Belic 許佳丽 (she/her) is a second-generation Australian and a first-generation university graduate that is passionate about making science accessible.

Alexandre Marionneau (France) Commissioning Editor - Head of International Co-production
ARTE France

ARTE France Society and Culture department considers all types of documentary forms and areas including history, investigation, society, culture, geopolitics, environment, economy, politics and creative documentaries.

Lucie Kon (UNITED KINGDOM) Commissioning Editor
BBC Storyville

Storyville is the BBC’s flagship documentary strand, showcasing feature documentaries from across the world.

Erika Dilday (USA) Executive Producer
American Documentary/POV

American Documentary strives to make essential documentaries accessible as a catalyst for public discourse.

Madeleine Hetherton-Miau (Australia) Producer/ Director
Media Stockade

Madeleine Hetherton-Miau is a multi-awarded director and producer.

Monique Keller (Australia) HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
Dreamchaser

Monique Keller is the head of development for Dreamchaser.

Sue Maslin (Australia) Producer and Company Director
Film Art Media

Sue Maslin AO is one of Australia's most successful screen producers.

Lauren Valmadre (Australia) Industry Manager
AIDC

Lauren is the Industry Manager at AIDC.

Santilla Chingaipe (Australia) Journalist & Filmmaker
Independent

Santilla Chingaipe is a journalist, filmmaker and author.

Philippa Campey (Australia) Company Director and Producer
Film Camp

Sascha Ettinger Epstein (Australia) Filmmaker
Independent

Sascha Ettinger Epstein is a documentary director/shooter known for raw, observational character-driven Australian stories.

Tiriki Onus (Australia) Head of the Wilin Centre
University of Melbourne

Tiriki Onus is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung artist, academic and Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne and co-director of the university’s Research Unit in Indigenous Arts and Culture.

Angela Bates (Australia) Head of First Nations Department
Screen Australia

Angela Bates is Screen Australia’s Head of First Nations Department.

Bettina Dalton (Australia) Executive Producer
Wildbear

Marc Fennell (Australia) Journalist and Documentary Maker
Independent

Marc Fennell is a Walkley-winning journalist and documentary maker.

Amanda Duthie (Australia) Head of Stan Originals
Stan

Amanda Duthie is the Head of Stan Originals, covering scripted, entertainment and factual projects including the Revealed investigative Documentary slate.

Nick McKenzie (Australia) Journalist
Sydney Morning Herald

Nick McKenzie is an acclaimed Australian investigative journalist, working primarily for Melbourne newspaper The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Stephen Oliver (AUS) Manager of Documentary
ABC

ABC Factual & Culture consistently produces high quality, award winning, Factual and Arts programs that feature Australian voices, places and stories.

Celia Tait (Australia) Managing Director
Artemis Media

Celia has worked as a writer, producer, director and Executive Producer and won national and international awards for her work.

Alex Kelly (Australia) Impact Producer & Co-Founder
The Unquiet Collective

Alex Kelly (she/her) is a filmmaker and impact producer based on Dja Dja Wurrung Country

Deborah Spinocchia (Australia) Head of Unscripted
BBC Studios ANZ

Deb Spinocchia is the head of unscripted at BBC Studios, she joined the company in 2022 as the head of development and content from Screentime Australia where she was Executive Producer of SAS Australia and The School That Tried to End Racism which received a 2021 AACTA nomination for best documentary or factual series

Paul Williams (Australia) Documentary Executive
Screenwest

Paul Williams is the Documentary Executive at Screenwest, the screen industry agency for Western Australia, where he oversees development and production of a slate of great diversity.

Kate Pappas (Australia) Executive Producer
WildBear Entertainment

Kate Pappas is an executive producer at WildBear Entertainment, co-chair of AIDC and treasurer on the Management Committee for Sustainable Screens Australia.

Danielle McCarthy (Australia) Industry Development Manager
Screen Tasmania

Danielle joined Screen Tasmania as the Industry Development Manager in early 2022, where she is responsible for initiatives and industry development working with a wide range of stakeholders and practitioners.

Alex West (Australia) Head of Documentary
Screen Australia

Alex West has written, produced and directed over 40 factual and documentary series and specials for TV networks, including BBC, C4, Five, ABC, SBS, National Geographic, Discovery and Seven.

Jeni McMahon (Australia) Production and Development Investment Lead - Documentary
Screen Australia

As the lead investment manager in the documentary unit at Screen Australia, Jeni has a deep understanding of how the industry works from both a creative and financial perspective.

Daniella Ortega (Australia) Investment & Development Manager
Screen Australia

Daniella Ortega has recently joined the documentary team at Screen Australia as a Development and Investment Manager.

Cieron Cody (Australia) Investment & Development Manager - Documentary
Screen Australia

Cieron is a development/production executive with experience overseeing slates across feature film, documentary, broadcast drama, children’s content, innovation, games and VR.

Sally Chesher (Australia) Investment & Development Manager - Documentary
Screen Australia

Sally has a long track record of story development and producing across many genres and platforms.

Anna Kaplan (Australia) Co-Founder and Head of Production & Impact
Regen Studios

Anna Kaplan is head of production and impact at Regen Studios

Chris Kamen (Australia) Producer / Lawyer / Business Affairs
Media Stockade / CJZ / Independent

Chris Kamen is a producer and lawyer, and has a broad skillset spanning film and TV production, distribution, marketing, impact, business affairs and legals. 

Dom Bartolo (Australia) Designer, Director & Co-Founder
21-19

Dom is an international designer, director and co-founder of 21-19, a design and communications agency, based in Melbourne, Australia.

Emma Madison (Australia) Head of Commercial & Industry Services
Screenrights

Stuart Talman (Australia) Director of Sales
XE Money Transfer

Stuart Talman has over 15 years financial markets experience across trading, broking, sales and leadership roles.

Sarah Thornton (Australia) Head of Popular Factual, Network 10
Paramount ANZ

Paramount ANZ is a leading media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide.

Samantha Dinning (Australia) Head of Content Investment
VicScreen

Sam is Head of Content Investment at VicScreen

Samuel Nuggin-Paynter (Australia) Producer
No Coincidence Media

Samuel is an Indigenous Screenwriter and emerging Producer from Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

Taryne Laffar (Australia) Company Director
PiNK PEPPER

Writer and Producer Taryne (PiNKY) Laffar descends from the Bardi and Jabbir Jabbir nations

Douglas Watkin (Australia) Film Director
Independent

Violeta Ayala (Australia) Co-Founder
UnitedNotions Film

Violeta Ayala is a filmmaker, technologist, writer, and artist.

Laurrie Mansfield (Australia) First Nations Producer
AIDC

Laurrie Mansfield is a developer, facilitator and producer for the screen arts

Grainne Brunsdon (Australia) Director of Content
Screen Australia

Grainne Brunsdon is Screen Australia’s Director of Content.

Alice Burgin (Australia) Head of Documentary
Sweetshop & Green

Alice Burgin is the Head of Documentary at Sweetshop & Green.

Andrew Farrell (Australia) Head of Factual
CJZ

Andrew Farrell is an AACTA & Logie award winning producer who is head of factual at Sydney based production company CJZ.

Sacha Gregson (Australia) Head of Content Investment & Policy, Entertainment & Specialist.
ABC

Sacha has worked in the production industry for over 20 years.

Maha Ismail (Australia) Head of Member Services
Screenrights

Maha Ismail is Screenrights' Head of Member Services.

Richard Huddleston (Australia) Head of Documentary
Screen Australia

Richard has over 25 years of experience in the television industry, with creative and strategic leadership positions across a wide range of genres.

Beck Cole (AUS ) Writer & Director
Independent

Jennifer Peedom (Australia) Co-founder / Filmmaker
Stranger Than Fiction Films

Jen Peedom is a BAFTA nominated director, known for her gripping, intimate portraits of people in extreme circumstances.

Rebecca Barry (Australia) Co-founder/Director/Producer
Media Stockade

Rebecca Barry is a storyteller, filmmaker and adventurer at heart.

Denise Eriksen (Australia) Co-Founder
Media Mentors

Denise Eriksen is co-founder of Media Mentors.

Kate Montague (Australia) CEO & Founder
Audiocraft

Kate Montague is the CEO and co-founder of Audiocraft – Australia’s leading podcast production company specialising in adventurous and sound rich audio storytelling.

Maya Newell (Australia) Documentary Filmmaker/ Impact Producer
The Unquiet Collective

Maya is a documentary film director and impact producer from the Unquiet Collective based on Gadigal Wangal Country.

Madeleine Parry (Australia) Director / Producer / Presenter

Madeleine is an award-winning writer, director, producer and presenter of television, film and virtual reality.

Malinda Wink (Australia) Executive Director
Minderoo Pictures

Malinda Wink is the Executive Director of Minderoo Pictures, the social impact film enterprise of Minderoo Foundation.