Today Screen Producers Australia (SPA) announced the return of one of Australia’s most respected and seasoned television executives as the host of a series of In Conversation sessions at SCREEN FOREVER, and a brand-new Content Showcase that investigates cutting-edge Australian shows and how they came to fruition.
In an explorative In Conversation series, Foxtel Group Executive Director Brian Walsh will welcome the who’s who of domestic networks, key decision-makers from leading streaming services and global distributors to the stage for a range of intimate discussions, looking beyond the scripted corporate responses to reveal what drives programming choices, what keeps them awake at night and to cross-examine some of their make-or-break decisions in the world of Australian storytelling.
Domestic leaders sitting in the hot seat on the Gold Coast will include Adrian Swift, Head of Content, Production and Development at Nine, Beverley McGarvey, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer at Paramount Australia and New Zealand, Brook Hall, Director of Content Scheduling at Seven Network Australia, Cailah Scobie, Chief Content Officer at Stan, Chris Irvine, Acting Director of Television and Online content / Head of Commercial and Production at SBS, Sally Riley, Head of Drama, Entertainment, Indigenous at ABC. The series will also feature Amanda Laing, Chief Commercial and Content Officer at Foxtel Group who will go into conversation with senior culture writer at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Karl Quinn.
International experts joining the lineup include Louise Pedersen, CEO of All3Media International and Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content at Sky UK and Ireland.
Throughout the series, Brian will utilise his unmatched industry experience and renowned conversational skills to reveal what content inspires each of the executives and how content creators can get noticed by the screen industry’s most intuitive and forward-thinking executives.
Brian Walsh has been credited for the global success of the Australian family drama series, Neighbours, where he launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce. For more than four decades, Brian has stewarded the finest Australian stories and groundbreaking content in Australia, making him one of the nation’s leading authorities on creating content and strategies behind getting stories from page to screen.
In an exciting SCREEN FOREVER first, the forthcoming program includes a Content Showcase series where delegates will have the opportunity to sit in on sessions exploring the success of celebrated local productions; looking at the creative process behind hits in the making and hearing firsthand of the challenges and sacrifices made to bring these productions to screens.
Directors, producers, writers, cast and other key creatives will give their perspectives on what they deem the catalysts for success, and how they go about crafting and strategising stories that will resonate with audiences both locally and globally. For many, these sessions will be the first time they have shared a room since they wrapped production, so expect the unexpected.
Productions in the eight-session series include Foxtel Original and Lingo Pictures series Upright which was a breakout hit for Foxtel Group, the hugely successful Stan Original Series Bump from Roadshow Rough Diamond, the first original commission and Summer smash-hit by BINGE, Love Me, eight-part crime drama Troppo, which screens on ABC, Matchbox Pictures’ 10-part drama series Irreverent created for Netflix and the Indigenous vampire thrill-ride Firebite for AMC+.
Link to SCREEN FOREVER 36 ticketing information here.
Link to SCREEN FOREVER 36 program here.
Link to SCREEN FOREVER 36 speaker page including bios here.
