Friday 29th November | 11am – 6:15pm
Richmond Room – 11 Regatta Ave, Ballina
A one day workshop on attracting international interest, finance and accessing international opportunities for Australian screen content.
Ideally suited to anyone creating content in Australia and seeking international exposure, investment and distribution.
Executives from key organisations and companies that support or work in the international exhibition and distribution of screen content will speak on how to tap into the opportunities that they offer as well as international rights optimisation, market and screen industry trends, what happens at international markets and how to take your content to international audiences.
See the full schedule below. Guest speakers include Harry Avramidis, Manager, International at Screen Australia; Martin Gallery, Head of International Sales and Distribution at Odin’s Eye; Charlotte Mickie, Vice Presdient Celluloid Dreams, Salma Abdalla, Managing Director at Autlook in Austria and Sally Browning, Producer at Emerald Films and Air Pig Productions.
Draft schedule subject to changes
11:00 Welcome & Intros
11:10 – 12:10 Presentation: Screen Australia, Harry Avramidis
12:15 – 1:00 Presentation: Celluloid Dreams, Charlotte Mickie (online – to zoom in from Toronto)
1:00 – 1:45 BREAK
1:45 – 2:30 Round tables x 3 (guest speakers will spend 15 minutes at each table listening to pitches / answering questions from the group)
2:40 – 3:40 Presentation: Martin Gallery, Odin’s Eye
3:40 – 4:40 Sally Browning, Producer Emerald Films and Air Pig Productions
4:40 – 5:00 BREAK
5:00 – 6:00 Presentation: Autlook, Salma Adballa (online – to zoom in from Austria)
6:00 CLOSE
6:15 – 7:00 NETWORKING DRINKS AT RAMADA
Guest Speakers
Harry Avramidis – Manager, International Screen Australia
Harry Avramidis is an experienced screen executive. His impressive career has seen him work both locally and internationally for many high profile film entertainment businesses including Twentieth Century Fox, Arclight Films International, Becker Films International and Beyond Films International. Harry has extensive knowledge of the film production process from project financing and acquisitions to post production, delivery, international distribution and marketing strategy.
As Screen Australia’s International Initiatives Manager, he oversees the agency’s presence at key markets and festivals such as Cannes, MIPCOM, TIFF and Content London. Harry also manages funding programs that assist Australian projects to engage international partnerships and finance.
In 2017 he designed and delivered the first ‘Talent LA’, an opportunity for Australian screen creatives to forge connections with key international decision makers. The initiative proved so successful, in 2018 it was expanded to include New York, and has now seen five delegations through the program.
Martin Gallery – Head of International Sales, Odin’s Eye Entertainment
An international sales agent with over 20 years’ experience in the film industry, Martin is a pas-sionate film lover and deal maker. Starting work at a video shop in Sydney at 16, Martin has al-ways been surrounded by movies in his professional life.
During a 13 year stint at home entertainment distributor 21st Century Pictures, Martin quickly rose to the level of General Manager where he oversaw all acquisitions – attending markets such as Cannes and AFM as a buyer and also co-acquiring titles with top independent Hopscotch Films, now owned by eOne – as well as marketing and sales into the retail and rental chan-nels. He also sat on the Board of Directors for the Mardi Gras Film Festival for three years.
In 2012, Martin moved to Pinnacle Films where he oversaw the acquisitions, marketing and distri-bution to cinemas for titles such as Dallas Buyers Club, Jobs, Predestiation, among others. In 2015, Martin joined Michael Favelle’s team at International Sales Agency Odin’s Eye Entertain-ment as Head of International Sales and Distribution and sustains a particular focus on Asia and leading European territories. In this role, Martin attends international film markets, pitching the features Odin’s Eye have acquired ROW rights for which run the gamut of budgets, genres, coun-tries of origin and languages. He is also involved as needed to acquire titles, raise finance for pro-jects Odin’s Eye are involved in, and to release features into local cinemas.
Salma Abdalla – Managing Director, Autlook
Salma Abdalla – Managing Director, Salma Abdalla started to work as international TV sales manager at Autlook in 2005. In 2016, she took over all operational matters and acquisitions as Autlook’s Managing Director and propelled digital distribution for documentaries. Salma speaks on panels, gives lectures and workshops at major film festivals with focus on rights management and distribution.
Based in Vienna and LA, Autlook Filmsales is one of the leading sales agents for feature documentaries and doc series. Since its inception in 2006, Autlook has been building a strong and varied network of partners including digital platforms, theatrical distributors, broadcasters and festivals.
Autlook offers a full spectrum of distribution, in-house, customized sales and festival strategies that help maximize revenues, audience engagement that fosters filmmakers’ careers, and an endless passion for the art of documentaries.
We attend all major festivals and markets, currently representing such films as:
Cannes winning FOR SAMA by Waad al-Kateab & Edward Watts, Academy nominated OF FATHERS AND SONS by Talal Derki, Tribeca winning ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS by Gabrielle Brady
Sally Browning – Executive Producer, Emerald Films and Air Pig Productions
Sally Browning has 25 years experience in the film & TV industry working across documentary and factual, children’s television, drama and corporates. She actively seeks out international partners and collaborative opportunities for her slate.
Her most recent work is as creator/EP of the ABC’s children’s factual format Project Planet and as co-creator and EP of the family comedy drama series, Drop Dead Weird (DDW), an official Australian-Irish co-production with Seven Network, ITV and RTÉ. DDW season 3 is currently financing for production in 2020.
Her slate includes an 8 x 1 hour international tragi-comic drama series recently funded by Screen Australia for development, early development of a second season of Project Planet with an international partner, an environmental science series and an Italian-Australian co-production for an adventure feature documentary.
Some of Sally’s award-winning adult factual and documentary programs include The Diplomat, Taking Care of Elvis, Blue Zoo, The Secret Safari, Stranger in the Family, Calling Young Hong Kong, Staying Out, Raskols and The Christmas Cake, dealing with subjects ranging from international and domestic socio-political themes, to sustainability and environment, pop culture, autism and personal character studies.
She is a former Head of Development & Investment for Screen NSW (2001-2006) and a former Investment Manager for Screen Australia (2006-2012).
Outside of producing, Sally is a qualified deckie, holds a boat license and AOW dive certificate and has been selected as part of the multi-disciplinary global female crew on the Vanuatu-Cairns leg of the 2020 round-the-world voyage eXXpedition which will document plastic pollution in our oceans.
Charlotte Mickie – Vice President Celluloid Dreams
In August 2017 Charlotte Mickie returned to Paris-based Celluloid Dreams as Vice President, operating out of Toronto, Canada.Mickie’s first acquisition for sales on behalf of Celluloid was the Australian crime thriller 1%. More recently Celluloid acquired and sold the critically acclaimed Australian drama Babyteeth which premiered in Competition at the Venice Biennale, where it garnered the Marcello Mastroianni Award.
Before this appointment she was president of International sales at Mongrel International, which she launched in 2014.She previously served as executive vice-president of eOne Films International when the company acquired Maximum Films in 2008, where she had served as Managing Director. Prior to that, Charlotte was Managing Director at Celluloid Dreams where she sold films by the Dardenne brothers, Michael Haneke and François Ozon, among others. Mickie also oversaw sales at Alliance Atlantis and founded the Alliance Independent division.
During her career, Charlotte was responsible for identifying the sales potential in works by new filmmakers such as Jennifer Kent (Babadook), Benh Zeiltin (Beasts Of The Southern Wild), Julia Leigh (Sleeping Beauty), David Michôd (Animal Kingdom) and Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse).
