Made Up Stories founder and CEO Bruna Papandrea and writer/showrunner Tony Ayres will chair a new three-day television summit at Melbourne’s ACMI in July.
A collaboration between Australians in Film, Screen Australia, and VicScreen, Future Vision aims to advance premium episodic storytelling in Australia by bringing together established local television professionals with international television creators and executives.
The event will comprise an invite-only series of workshops and a broader industry-facing conference.
Headlining the inaugural line-up are the creator, writer, director, and executive producer of Netflix series Beef, Lee Sung Jin, and the co-showrunner, executive producer, and director from The Bear Joanna Calo. Producer and executive Rebecca Yeldham, who led the content team at MasterClass, is the creative director.
Ayres, co-creator of the series Clickbait and Fires who is also producing Jane Harper adaptation The Survivors for Netflix told IF Future Vision was built on “connecting people across borders”.
“I think the question of what international even means is really relevant now, particularly for Australian creatives,” he said.
“The first day is primarily writer-focused, the second day will be broader with commissioners and producers, and the third day will be more open, so it’s not just for writers but the focus of the conversations will be about the creative and the content.
“There is a tremendous opportunity at the moment for Australian work to travel internationally because of the growing presence of the streamers in Australia and because of the uncertainty in the American market.
“This is a chance for our work to speak globally and encourage people to take it up.”
Australians in Film executive director Peter Ritchie agreed, noting that although Australian television stories were being consumed around the world, commissioning those stories had never been more competitive.
“Future Vision, created with the incredible support of Screen Australia and VicScreen under the leadership of three acclaimed Australians – Bruna Papandrea, Tony Ayres, and Rebecca Yeldham – is designed to inspire courage in both creation and commissioning and expand the international audiences for Australian premium television and narrative comedy,” he said.
“We also hope to arm Australian creatives with the knowledge and skills to adapt to the massive changes and shifting economics happening internationally.”
Jin and Calo said they were both pleased to be able to contribute to the conversation about Australia’s place in the international television landscape.
“We are thrilled to be a part of Future Vision, as we are both very near-sighted,” they said.
“From Talk to Me to The Slap to all things George Miller, Baz Luhrmann, and countless other incredible filmmakers, we have long been fans of Australia’s film and television community and look forward to learning more and discussing the FUTURE of storytelling, both locally and beyond.”
Future Vision, which has industry support from ABC, Binge, Netflix and Stan, will be held July 15-17 at ACMI Melbourne. Find out more information about the event here.