As a commissioning editor for ABC Documentary + Specialist, Kalita is passionate about finding ways to make Australian stories – history / true crime / arts – entertaining and informative, and is looking to commission new factual formats and feature documentaries. After graduating from Byron Bay High School, Kalita moved to London spending 10 years learning from the best in the business at Channel 4 and BBC. Recent commissions include Eat The Invaders, Headliners, Stuff The British Stole and This Is Going To Be Big.
Bernadine Lim Senior Commissioning Editor, Factual, SBS
Bernadine Lim is a seasoned media executive and creative producer who understands both the art and business of impactful factual storytelling. Bernadine is Senior Commissioning Editor of Factual at SBS Australia. Formerly, she was Head of Documentary at Screen Australia and Executive Producer of award-winning SBS Dateline. She has several awards including Gold and Silver from the New York Festivals and an Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts nomination for Best Direction in a Documentary.
Ian is an experienced producer, director, and manager of teams in the creative production of network broadcast, online, and streaming content. He joined Screen Queensland after a career in the UK, as well as working on projects for US and Australian broadcasters. His Australian credits include the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent and Four Corners, as well as work for SBS and Audible Australia. His international credits include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITN, Sky, Discovery, National Geographic, PBS and HGTV. At Screen Queensland, Ian has supported feature documentaries including WildBear’s upcoming Joh: The Last King of Queensland, Glass Engine’s Hinckley: I Shot The President and Wes Greene’s The Gold; as well as factual series Onion TV’s The Rise of the Dolphins: Season 2025, Seven’s Treasure Hunters Down Under and Aussie Truck Rehab.
Marissa McDowell Producer, Black and White Films (AUS)
Marissa McDowell is a Wiradjuri woman, born in Cowra, NSW, Australia. She has over 15 years’ experience working in the First Nations multi-media storytelling space, and is passionate about working with the film industry to share creatively ambitious and diverse First Nations stories that have global appeal. Throughout her career, she has worked with First Nations communities to share stories with a wider audience across commissioning, producing, photography and writing. At National Indigenous Television (NITV), she has overseen the commissioning of original First Nations content, including feature documentaries Skin in the Game, Keeping Hope and the award-winning Rebel with a Cause collection, as well as documentary series Our Law and First Inventors, and children’s series Eddies Lil’ Homies. As a producer, she has also had documentaries screened on SBS/NITV. She has had poetry published through USMOB Writing, and photographs displayed at PhotoAccess and the Sydney Living Museum.
Dena Curtis Head of Indigenous Commissions & Production, NITV (AUS)
Dena joined NITV in 2024, as the Head of Indigenous Commissions and Production, overseeing NITV’s original content slate. Dena’s background is Producing and Directing. Her work includes the acclaimed children’s series Grace Beside Me, Comedy Series 8MMM Aboriginal Radio, Vampire hunter series Firebite, documentaries Ella, A League of Her Own, Back to Nature and Rebels with a Cause which premiered at MIFF. As well as Factual Series’ Shadow Trackers and First Weapons, which took out GOLD at the New York Festivals Film and TV Awards in 2024.
Keisha Knight Director of IDA Funds and Advocacy, International Documentary Association (IDA) (USA)
Keisha Knight is the director of IDA Funds.In this capacity, Keisha oversees a portfolio of IDA’s granting and artist support programs, including the IDA Enterprise Production Fund, Logan Elevate Grant, Nonfiction Access Initiative, and the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, among other granting programs. Keisha has served on numerous juries and review panels and is a 2022-2023 Warhol Curatorial Research Fellow. She is also the founder and Executive Director of Sentient.Art.Film and a doctoral candidate in Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University.
Alex Pritz is a documentary film director based in New York City. Recently, Alex directed The Territory, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival where it won both the Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Documentary Craft. Alex is a 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough Fellow, and studied Environmental Science at McGill University where he received a Dalai Lama Fellowship for his work developing environmental film curricula alongside low-income communities in the Philippines. He has taught participatory video workshops for lawyers and human rights activists around the world, and has received grants from the Sundance Institute, IDA, Catapult Fund, Doc Society, and XTR. Alex is a co-owner of the production company Documist.
Amanda Arya Director of Documentary, Participant (USA)
Amanda Arya is a Director of Documentary at Participant where she scouts for new projects and supports the slate from development through release. At Participant, she has worked on award-winning titles including Academy Award®-nominated All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, as well as recent releases Descendant and Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power. Arya is currently working on an upcoming documentary about a groundbreaking treatment for PTSD and brain trauma for US Special Operations veterans, with directors Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen.
Arya was featured in Business Insider as a Rising Star in the Entertainment Industry in 2022. She is on the board of the Refugee Children’s Center, and this year, she served on the Advisory Committee at AIDC and was on the Jury for New Filmmakers LA.
Arya began her nonfiction film career in the Original Programming Division at Pivot TV. She earned her bachelor’s degree at NYU Tisch.
José Kaeté is a 29-year-old Indigenous activist of the Tupinambá people from the Brazilian Amazon. He is an industrial engineer and he’s been working as the Impact Producer of The Territory, which is transitioning its Impact Camping to an indigenous led institute that will run programs to develop, improve and promote indigenous narratives of the Amazon – José will be leading the Institute. He has also worked with fair trade with local communities for 10 years. Along this time, he’s been creating online content on social media (@zenarede) about the amazon, indigenous peoples in Brazil and climate change – focused on breaking stereotypes and sharing the different contexts of the Amazon.
Ianeta Le'i Senior Manager, Indigenous Program, Sundance Institute (USA)
As Senior Manager for the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, Ianeta’s focus is to identify and support emerging Indigenous filmmakers and their stories from across the USA and globally. She manages the implementation of all Labs, Fellowships, and Intensives, as well as facilitates outreach and engagement efforts. Raised in Waialua, Hawai’i, she previously worked at Pacific Islanders in Communications, managing nonfiction programs and content for public broadcast. She currently runs Kaioe Consulting, LLC., and sits on the board of non-profit Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti (PEAK). Ianeta is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in Sociology, minor in communications, and received a Master of Public Administration degree from the BYU Marriott School of Management.
Phil Breslin Presenter, Producer & Educator, Breslin Media (AUS)
Phillip Breslin is a passionate producer, presenter, and educator who was born and raised in North Queensland, Australia. Phil is the host of ABC’s First Weapons (2023 ), and he is also the creator, executive producer, and host of ABC ME’s Built to Survive (2022), a ten-part children’s Natural History series looking at some of Australia’s strangest and most specialized animal adaptations. Phil has also hosted NITV’s Lost Diamonds (2020) and National Geographic’s international series Wild Survivor (2015). Phil spent his childhood and teenage years exploring the reefs and rainforests in the north of Cairns, which he believes fostered his love for adventure and the natural world. After completing studies in wildlife science, land management, and education, Phil dedicated a decade to the field of education, serving as a high school biology teacher and as a designer and facilitator of Indigenous land management programs. Phil believes that TV and natural history are a perfect match and hopes to see more entertaining natural history content created for all ages, with the aim of igniting curiosity for the world around us.
Richard Fitzpatrick Director of Photography, Biopixel (AUS)
Richard Fitzpatrick ACS is an Emmy winning cinematographer and qualified marine biologist specialising in sharks. He has shot more than 50 films for clients such as the BBC, National Geographic and Discovery Channel and is renowned for filming complex behavioural sequences – including high speed, time lapse, macro, motion control and underwater. Richard has shot many presente- led programs. Able to switch quickly between topside and underwater filming and with a huge collection of ‘toys’, he brings high production value on fast-paced shoots. Extreme environments are no problem with Richard having filmed all over the world from the deserts of outback Australia to the jungles of the Amazon to snow-covered Alaska. In over 15,000 hours underwater he has filmed in the crystal clear coral gardens of the Great Barrier Reef, the murky waters of the Amazon, and everything in-between. In the process he has won numerous international awards. Richard started out as a marine biologist and has worked in public aquariums around the world, including: Oceanworld, Manly Australia; Maui Ocean Centre, Hawaii; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville. This gives him a unique perspective on the animals he films and an instinct for capturing the perfect shot.
Hannah joined Biopixel within a year of its inception and has been fundamental to the company’s development, steering the business into a successful niche market and building Biopixel’s blue-chip reputation. With almost a decade in the industry, Hannah continues to expand on the multiple skills needed to work in a small production company, that also supports their NGO, the Biopixel Oceans Foundation. From Field Producer or researcher, to Production Manager, Safety Diver, Camera Operator, editor, or fixer, Hannah continues to be an integral cog in supporting The Biopixel Group and its clientele. Her passion to educate the world about the environment and all the amazing creatures in it, means Hannah’s continued objective is to work with production companies to create documentaries that utilise Biopixel’s award winning filming services, showcase Biopixel’s extensive stock footage library and promote the research and science produced by the Biopixel Oceans Foundation.
Dr. Teresa Carrette Co-Founder & Director, Scientific Synergy (AUS)
Growing up in Far North Queensland, Theresa has been lucky enough to have two world heritage areas, rainforest and reef, as her playground for most of her life. Questioning the why and how of the world led her to a degree in science, where she found her passion and has a BSc, MSc and PhD in Zoology and Tropical Ecology specialising in venomous animals of the tropics. She has built a varied career combining 20 years of scientific research with television production where she has previously created content for Animal Planet and Discovery channel in the US. For Teresa, the only thing that comes close to the excitement of making new discoveries, is the opportunity to share these, and through this, inspire others. Currently based in Cairns, Teresa enjoys the best of both worlds, combining working at the University and running her own science communication company, consulting on a variety of projects around the region and especially enjoys the story telling aspect of production, finding new angles and approaches to highlight people and regions with stories to share.
Alex West Head of Documentary, Screen Australia (AUS)
Alex West has written, produced and directed over 40 factual and documentary series and specials for many TV networks, including BBC, C4, Five, ABC, SBS, National Geographic, Discovery and Seven.
He began his career in the USA, while a Fulbright Scholar, before returning to the UK to work with BBC.
As an EP at Wall to Wall Media, he co-created the celebrity genealogy hit global series ‘Who Do You Think You Are?
In Australia, he’s made many shows and specials including Ned Kelly Uncovered and Utopia Girls which was nominated for the 2013 NSW Premiers award for history. In 2011 Inside the Firestorm, the story of the Black Saturday Victorian bushfires, won 3 AFI’s as best feature length documentary.
In 2012 Immigration Nation: The Secret History of Us, was nominated for the AACTA/AFI as Best Documentary Series and the Prime Ministers prize for Australian History. Alex is a three time Logie nominee.
He has recently produced several high profile ABC doco series. The Art of Australia, and Bodyline: The Ultimate Test presented by writer and comedian Adam Zwar. Recent TV series include ‘Making Australia Great’, ‘Revolution School’ and ‘Monash & Me’.
With Nicholas Brown, in 2020 he won the Emmy Award for best nature film for ‘The Serengeti Rules.
He was appointed Head of Documentary at Screen Australia in July 2021.
Lisa O’Meara has been instrumental in building the regional screen industry and is a committed advocate for regional screen practitioners. Prior to her role as Screenworks CEO, Lisa was Programs and Operations Manager for Screenworks where she was responsible for initiating Career Pathway Programs, Industry Forums and Professional Development Opportunities that launched the careers and projects of hundreds of regional practitioners.
Before her career with Screenworks, Lisa designed national and international strategies to take a broad range of screen productions to buyers and audiences around the world. She launched the SBS TV series Under the Skin (Tony Ayres, Belinda Chayko) and the Network Nine children’s series Spellbinder (Ron Saunders) to national audiences and international markets. As a Marketing Manager in the distribution of games, Lisa designed national strategies for games including Diabolo (Blizzard) Riven (Broderbund) as well as launching the Disney, Barbie and Hasbro CD rom brands in Australia. Her roles have included Marketing Executive at Film Australia, Marketing Manager at Tech Pacific, Programs and Operations Manager at Screenworks and National Manager for Careers and Enterprise at SAE Creative Media Institute.