Lauren Smith.
Attendees at Screen Forever will be able to meet and hear first-hand from the acquisitions team at Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service with more than 130 million subscribers.
Lauren Smith, Netflix director of content acquisition, will give a fireside chat explaining how the platform works with Australian creators to bring their stories to the world.
While various industry groups have called on the government to impose a local content quota on streaming services, Netflix’s decision to become a supporting partner of the Screen Producers Australia conference may be well timely.
Its growing slate of Australian acquisitions, co-productions, distribution deals and original productions includes Pine Gap, Tidelands, The Letdown, Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette, Cargo, The New Legends of Monkey, Glitch, Beat Bugs, Bottersnikes & Gumbles, Kazoops, Mako Mermaids: An H20 Adventure and White Rabbit Project.
“Netflix has transformed the playing field for producers, broadcasters and distributors and we welcome the opportunity to deeply engage with the Netflix content team in Australia,” said SPA CEO Matt Deaner.
“For a company that is aiming to be simultaneously local, personal, and global, the insights of our special guest executive Lauren Smith will be an invaluable insight into the future of the industry and a prime opportunity for Australian producers to understand Netflix’s global acquisition strategy.”
Under Smith’s international remit she is responsible for acquiring content from independent studios and producers. Her recent acquisitions include the Laura Waters-produced untitled Chris Lilley series which was filmed in Queensland, Safe, Travelers, Trailer Park Boys and The Letdown. She previously worked at NBC Universal and Wasserman Media Group.
Screen Forever runs from November 20-22 at the Crown Conference Centre.