Erin Casper is an Emmy-nominated documentary editor based in Brooklyn. Her recent editing and writing work on the Oscar-nominated Fire of Love garnered critical acclaim and accolades from the Peabody Awards, American Cinema Editors, Cinema Eye, International Documentary Association, DocNYC, and the Sundance 2022 Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award. Her selected editing credits include Risk, American Promise, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking and nominated for three Emmys; Roll Red Roll, and The Last Season (Independent Spirit Awards Truer than Fiction nominee). Erin has served as panelist, guest speaker, and mentor for several institutions, filmmaking labs, and universities, including AIDC, Sundance, Tribeca Film Institute, Gotham Film Labs, and New York University. For the past five years, she has served as a board member for the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship, and was its inaugural editing fellow in 2011. Erin is a member of American Cinema Editors, British Film Editors, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Sasha was most recently Head of Programming for the Brisbane International Film Festival and Gold Coast Film Festival and currently consults to screen, cinema, and content businesses. Sasha is the current President of the Natalie Miller Fellowship and passionate about supporting gender equity and diversity in the Australian screen sector. Sasha has worked extensively in the Australian cinema and screen industry, starting in distribution before moving into exhibition, programming, and festivals. A highly regarded screen industry professional and leader in the independent screen and film sector, Sasha sat on the Board of the Independent Cinemas Association (2016-19) and was a member of Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Taskforce (2017-19). In 2016, Sasha was the recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship recognising female leadership in the screen industry.

Deborah joined BBC Studios in early 2022 and is currently the Head of Unscripted. Prior to this, Deb was at Screentime Australia in the role of Executive Producer of SAS Australia, and The School That Tried to End Racism. The latter was nominated in Best Documentary categories at both the AACTAS and AIDC. Deborah is currently overseeing documentaries including, The Matchmakers and is also an Executive Producer on Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye for SBS. Deborah has also worked as an Executive Producer for over ten years, Her career spans Southern Star Entertainment, Endemol Shine, Fremantle Media, SBS and ABC, and shows such as World’s Strictest Parents, Skimpy (short doc), JTV Live, So You Think You Can Dance, Big Brother, Undercover Boss, The Movie Show, Pizza and Beauty and the Geek amongst many others.

Madeleine Hetherton-Miau is a multi-awarded director and producer. In 2012 she co-founded the independent production company Media Stockade with Rebecca Barry. Their films have screened on National Geographic, Netflix, Amazon, ABC, BBC, Discovery, Hulu, Al Jazeera, and more. Madeline is proud to be currently directing Mozart’s Sister – a feature doc which will be released theatrically in mid 2024 and also broadcast on PBS and Sky Arts UK. Madeleine aims to make films that captivate and surprise. She is most proud of her work on The Surgery Ship (a feature doc and then 8-part series extension) for National Geographic. Inspired by the adage ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ her documentary filmmaking has taken her from diamond diving in Africa to wildlife trafficking in Burma and through the remote Australian outback.

With over 20 years of experience as a director and producer in the documentary field, Yukari is currently working as a producer at NHK Enterprises on NHK Specials and NHK documentary programs. Yukari’s main field is on international affairs and current affairs, and international director’s documentary, as well as developing NHK’s digital investigative programs.

Blayke is an Emmy winning producer with a passion for fascinating, moving and aesthetically interesting stories. In 2022, Blayke co-wrote, with director Selina Miles (Martha: A Picture Story), and produced, with Stranger Than Fiction, the feature documentary Harley & Katya. It was the ABC’s most watched Australian feature doc for 2022. The film was acquired by Netflix and in its first week, achieved a top 10 ranking in the UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, South Africa, and Ireland. It won the 2023 International Emmy Award for Best Sports Documentary and was longlisted for a Walkley Award. It has also received nominations in the 2024 Realscreen Awards, AACTA Awards and SPAA Awards. Blayke is currently in post-production on the feature documentary Deeper directed by Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa) which follows the Australian heroes of the Thai Cave Rescue, as they risk it all to pursue a dangerous obsession.

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.

Mia Falstein-Rush is a film programmer, talks curator, and event producer who currently lives and works on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin Nation in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). Mia is currently appointed Program Manager for the Melbourne International Film Festival, Mia co-leads the short film and Extended Reality programming. Immersed in the Australian film scene for over a decade, she spearheaded Seen & Heard Melbourne at ACMI, a film festival dedicated to screening the works of women and non-binary filmmakers. Mia has since lent her programming and production experience to other film organisations across the east coast of Australia, such as Sydney Film Festival, the Human Rights and Arts Film Festival, and Stranger With My Face International Film Festival. 

Patrick (Pat) Abboud is a Walkley-winning broadcast journalist, filmmaker, writer, director, presenter. He is the founder of Only Human Productions and a creative partner in Dreamchaser Studios, led by Carl Fennessy and Hugh Marks. Pat was awarded 2023 Freelance Journalist of the Year by the Walkley Foundation. He is a three-time winner at the New York Festivals TV & Radio Awards, four-time winner at the Australian Podcast Awards, a recipient of the SXSW Innovation Award, a Webby Award and two-time LGBTQ+ Presenter of the Year finalist. Pat’s work has been nominated for the Rose D’Or in Europe, a duPont Colombia award in the USA and International Documentary Association awards. DNA Magazine recently described Pat as “a prolific storyteller breaking the mould – he’s Australia’s Louis Theroux”. Pat is the co-creator of queer true crime podcast, The Greatest Menace: Inside The Gay Prison Experiment for Audible. The series has won 19 international awards and is currently being adapted for the screen. Pat’s  2024 groundbreaking personal film, ‘Gayrabia’ for ABC TV was featured on Gogglebox and continues to garner critical acclaim. Pat’s 2023 film for SBS’s premium documentary strand ‘Australia Uncovered: Kids Raising Kids’ was nominated for Best Documentary at AIDC 2023 and Best Direction at the 2023 Australian Directors Guild Awards. Pat’s multi-channel installations and interactive documentaries have been commissioned by The Biennale of Sydney, and he’s currently creating a series of site-specific immersive works for the permanent collection at MoAD – the Museum of Democracy. Formerly at the ABC & SBS TV, Pat founded national current affairs & culture program The Feed, was a foreign correspondent for Dateline, and hosted & directed content for the annual Mardi Gras live TV broadcast. He reported for The Project on Network 10, and hosted Australia’s most downloaded interview program Conversations for the ABC. Leading Australian content studio Dreamchaser, backed by global content powerhouse Fifth Season, have just signed an exclusive overall deal with Pat and his production company, Only Human. Together they are co-producing his new slate of TV/ streaming projects for global audiences.

Rachael Brown is an investigative journalist with the ABC. She’s held several postings, including Europe Correspondent. She’s the creator, investigator and host of the ABC’s pioneer true-crime podcast, Trace. Rachael’s review of the 1980 cold case of Maria James (Trace Season 1) sparked a new coronial inquest, and she published a book on the case (Trace: Who Killed Maria James? Scribe Publications). Trace 2, The Informer, tells the story of defence barrister turned police informer, Nicola Gobbo, with whom Rachael secured the world-exclusive interview. Rachael is a three-time Walkley Award winner. 

Seb Chan is Director & CEO at ACMI in Melbourne. Appointed to the role in August 2022, he was previously a key part of the team behind the organisation’s $40 million renewal project, underpinned by co-design methodology, which transformed ACMI into a multi-award winning, multiplatform museum. Seb joined ACMI as Chief Experience Officer in 2015, as the senior executive responsible for the Experience & Engagement division of the museum, guiding teams responsible for visitor experience, marketing, brand & communication design, digital products, technology, and the museum’s collections, digitisation & digital preservation programs. He designed and leads ACMI’s CEO Digital Mentoring Program (2021–ongoing), working with CEOs and directors across the Australian arts and cultural sector. He is currently the National President of the Australian Museums and Galleries Association. [Photo: Eugene Hyland].

Dr Julia Scott-Stevenson is a researcher, producer and curator of interactive and immersive media. Her current University of Technology Sydney Chancellor’s Fellowship project uses practice-led research to explore how immersive and XR media might address the climate crisis. She is also lead researcher on MIT’s immersive R&D partnership with IDFA DocLab. Julia produced Privy To, an XR project exploring privacy rights through using an artist’s brainwaves to compose music, which was one of 14 projects globally to be showcased at CPH:DOX’s Inter:Active Exhibition in 2021 and was also presented at Electric Dreams Festival. Julia was previously a research fellow in interactive factual media at UWE Bristol, UK, and in 2019 she was also an immersion fellow on the UK’s South West Creative Technology Network, where she developed a manifesto for virtual futures. Julia has given talks internationally and mentored in XR/VR/AR for Sheffield Doc/Fest, Dok Leipzig, BBC’s New Creatives and EastDoc (Prague). She holds a PhD in interactive documentary and social impact, and has taught at institutions in Australia and the UK.