Megan Riakos is a dynamic filmmaker bringing a distinctive female lens to the world of genre filmmaking. As the writer/director/producer of the thriller Crushed, she was behind the film’s innovative Australian release becoming one of the most successful cinema-on-demand screening runs in the country and acquisitions by Qantas and Channel 10. She is the creator and producer of Australia’s first female horror anthology Dark Whispers – Volume 1 which premiered locally at Cinefest OZ and internationally at Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival, releasing digitally in early 2021 and is also the writer/director of an episode of the upcoming Deadhouse Dark horror series which screened at Canneseries. She compliments her filmmaking with her role as co-founder and board member of the Not-For-Profit organisation Women in Film & Television (WIFT) Australia and merges these two fields of creativity and advocacy via her company Hemlock & Cedar Films, which focuses on amplifying female voices. Megan is also a mentor and teacher, having taught at UNSW, AFTRS, QUT, NIDA and ACA.