SCREEN FOREVER / News / Program Expands with Industry Leaders Joining SCREEN FOREVER 40
PROGRAM EXPANDS WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS JOINING SCREEN FOREVER 40
PROGRAM EXPANDS WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS JOINING SCREEN FOREVER 40
15 April 2026
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) today announced a further wave of influential speakers confirmed for SCREEN FOREVER 40, reinforcing the conference’s position as Australia’s premier forum for screen industry leadership, market insight and business development.
Taking place on Queensland’s Gold Coast from 28 to 30 April 2026, the conference program continues to bring together senior decision-makers from across broadcasting, streaming, theatrical distribution, production and development.
Big Brother host Mel Tracina will moderate a panel unpacking the relaunched show's huge 2025 success in How Big Brother Won Gen-Z, joined by Sarah Thornton (Paramount+), Amelia Fisk (Endemol Shine Australia) and Ella Mumby (Endemol Shine Australia).
Sarah Christie (Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios), Rachel Gardner (Curio Pictures), Andy Ryan (Nine Entertainment), Phil Lloyd (Jungle Entertainment), Coco Garner Davis (Flying Bark Productions) and Rachel Okine (ABC) will come together to explore new approaches to strengthening development pipelines while managing budget pressures in Story Development: Please Sir Can I Have Some More?
We are proud to announce British feature film producer Matthew Jenkins (The Marvels, Death on the Nile, Artemis Fowl, The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde) will bring his unique perspectives on independent and studio production, literary adaptation and producing in a global marketplace, as well as his long-term collaboration with actor-director Kenneth Branagh.
The creative team behind the hit series Goolagong writer Steven McGregor, the show’s lead actor Lila McGuire and producer Joanna Werner (Werner Production) will join Brett Sleigh (ABC) to break down the challenges, and opportunities, of making a biopic in Goolagong: How to Ace a Biopic.
Lila McGuire also joins one of Australia’s most loved and respected actors Brooke Satchwell (Dog Park, The Twelve, Kangaroo, Black Snow) for a fireside chat about the realities of building a creative career.
Kirsty Wilson (Meta) joins Caroline Swift (Warner Bros Disovery), Deb Spinocchia (BBC Studios ANZ), and Adrian Swift (Nine Entertainment) in Expanding the Unscripted Ecosystem.
Grainne Brundson (Screen Australia) will lead a timely and critical discussion with Mitzi Goldman (Documentary Australia), Jomon Thomas (Mirador Pictures), Ian Murray (113 ) and Deanne Weir (Weir Anderson) in Private Investment: Risk, Return & Reality.
Jason Stephens (Lingo Pictures), Alexia Gates-Foale (Flying Bark), Pippa Masson (Curtis Brown) and Bec Cubitt (Lingo Pictures) will be joined by book scout Philippa Donovan in Option Fever: How Aussies Can Win the Global Story Rights Race. After many years in the US and UK markets. Philippa brings all that knowledge & experience back to Australia as the panel explore how Australian’s can access internationally competitive IP.
Sophia Zachariou (BBC Studios ANZ) will moderate a dynamic conversation with Jason Burrows (Jungle Entertainment), Kylie du Fresne (Goalpost Pictures), Liana Dubois (Entertainment Partners), Anne Kemp (Media Super) and Thea McLeod (McLeod Casting) exploring how producers can attract international cast attachments and what must be in place creatively and commercially to support globally ambitious productions in Star Attraction: Importing International Talent.
Julie Eckersley (Screen QLD) will lead a dynamic session highlighting real opportunities and new ideas with Georgia Mappin (Haven’t You Done Well), Nadine Bates (Like a Photon) and Farhad Meher-Homji (Changer Studios)in Beyond the Screen: Unlocking New Revenue for Production Companies.
And, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young will be joined by Kyle Irving (Chair, Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) Board of Directors / Eagle Vision) and Matt Deaner (Screen Producers Australia) in a probing discussion led by journalist Karl Quinn (Sydney Morning Herald/The Age) in Rules of the Game: How Policy Influences the Global Ecosystem.
Kyas Hepworth, Helen Bowden (Lingo Pictures), Veronica Fury (Fury Film Co), Rita Artmann (Artspear Entertainment), Donna Andrews (Sticky Pictures) and Kirsty Stark (Epic Films) explore practical solutions in Producer Skillset 2030: Building a Strategic, Scalable & Sustainable Screen Business.
Rosemarie Truglio (Sesame Workshop, US), Morgan Jaffit (Defian Development), Liz Ballantyne (Gamesloft Brisbane) and Joey Egger (Screen Australia) kick off an exciting session that unpacks collaborative opportunities in Play the IP: Bridging Screen & Games.
SPA CEO Matthew Deaner said the expanding program reflects both the scale of change across the global screen market and the importance of bringing industry leaders together to share insight and identify opportunities.
“SCREEN FOREVER continues to play a vital role in connecting Australian producers with the people shaping the future of content investment, audience engagement and global collaboration,” Mr Deaner said.
“This year’s program is designed to provide practical intelligence and meaningful connections that support producers to navigate a rapidly evolving marketplace.”
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SCREEN FOREVER is proudly supported by the Queensland Government, through Screen Queensland.
Screen Producers Australia respectfully acknowledges the people of the Yugambeh language region, the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet. We thank the traditional custodians for welcoming us all onto their lands.
We acknowledge and pay respect to them and all their descendants, both past and present. We also acknowledge the many Aboriginal people from other regions, as well as Torres Strait and South Sea Islander people who now live in the local area and have made an important contribution to the community.
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