More than 20 commissioners and creatives from the Australian screen industry, including representatives from Stan, Netflix, ABC, and Foxtel, have been confirmed as speakers for this month’s inaugural Future Vision summit in Melbourne.
Delivered through Australians in Film, Screen Australia, and VicScreen, the event will be held at ACMI from July 15-17, with sessions for invited screenwriters and industry creatives on the first two days, before an open conference on the third day.
Speaking as part of the public portion are Future Vision co-chairs Bruna Papandrea and Tony Ayres, along with writer John Collee; directors Kate Dennis, Robert Connolly, and Nash Edgerton; producer Debbie Lee; actors Kitty Flanagan and Asher Keddie; writer/producers Sarah Lambert and Sarah Scheller; and previously announced international guests Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, of Beef and The Bear, respectively.
The discussion topics for the third day are What Makes Great Bingeable, BEEF & The Bear: Creators in Conversation, Australian Comedy that is Internationally Funny, Australian Market vs International Market, and Transcending “Good Enough” into Great.
Other scribes set to take the stage at the summit include Anchuli Felicia King, Kris Mrksa, Alice Bell, Andrew Bovell, writer/director Cate Shortland, and writer/actor Nakkiah Lui.
There will also be contributions from Ludo Studio director and co-founder Daley Pearson, Stan chief content officer Cailah Scobie, ABC chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor, Foxtel Group executive director for commissioning and content Alison Hurbert-Burns, Netflix director of content (ANZ) Que Minh Luu, and Blackfella Films duo Darren Dale and Penny Smallacombe.
AiF executive director Peter Ritchie told IF the lineup was curated to highlight “creatives that are doing exciting work”.
“The event is about creative collaboration and creating those global connections,” he said.
“Hopefully, it inspires new thinking about work and how Australian stories can be viewed and consumed globally.”
Creative director Rebecca Yeldham said Australia continued to produce some of the world’s most talented storytellers.
“Australian film and television have a rich history of being watched and celebrated around the world,” she said.
“Never before has there been more access or more competition for creatives to capture the attention of global audiences. As technology and market forces change how we consume and create, the time is ripe to come together and share experiences and insights into how we connect with audiences, build sustainable careers, and not just survive, but thrive.”
Limited in-person and virtual tickets are still available for members of the public for July 17. Find out more information about how to attend the event here.