Sunday Oct 8
1pm – 3pm
Byron Bay Community Centre

Screenworks presents a panel discussion on issue based film making. Drama and documentary filmmakers discuss the inspirations and challenges they face in bringing pressing issues to the attention of audiences. The filmmakers will talk about the ethical, environmental, social, cultural, political and humanitarian issues they faced and addressed in the making of their films and the responses they expect from audiences.

Guest speakers include:

GUEST SPEAKERS

Anthony Pedone – An American In Texas

In 2015, Anthony produced THE STRONGEST MAN (TSM). Written and directed by Kenny Riches, TSM world premiere at Sundance and was released theatrically, and on VOD by Film Buff in North America and Sundance Global internationally. Anthony recently directed his first narrative feature, AN AMERICAN IN TEXAS (AIT) will world premiered at Byron Bay Film Festival, mid October 2017 and will make its North American Premiere at the Austin Film Festival in later that month. AIT is a semi-autobiographical account of he and co-writer, Stephen Floyd’s time growing up in small town Victoria, Texas.

Lliam Worthington – One Less God

Liam is the lead writer, director and producer at New Realms Films and the current artist in residence at Regional Youth Support Services on the Central Coast 2017.

Eight years in the making, Lliam makes his feature length directorial debut with ‘One Less God’, a psychological thriller inspired by the Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008 that he also wrote, edited and produced. One Less God opened to great acclaim at its world premiere in Los Angeles at the famous Chinese Theatres in the Dances With Films Festival 2017, going on to become the first film in the twenty year history of the festival to receive both the Grand Jury Prize and Industry Choice Awards.

Sarah Beard – Blue
Producer / Impact Producer Northern Pictures

Sarah has worked in the film and television sector for over 20 years, working across many platforms including documentary, feature film, visual effects, television commercials and long form children’s television. The majority of Sarah’s work has been in documentary production, delivering natural history programs with an emphasis on the ocean stories and subjects to international networks. Blue is Sarah’s first feature documentary. As an impact film, from Good Pitch Australia, 2015, BLUE also has a two year outreach campaign, using the film as an impact tool.  As Impact Producer Sarah is responsible for the development and management of this campaign. Outside the film and television sector Sarah works with Take 3, a grassroots organisation giving a global voice on marine debris and a clean ocean initiative. Currently she works as project and outreach manager for the Take 3 Surf Life Saving clubs program and hold a position as a Director on the Take 3 Board.

Karina Holden – Blue
Director / Producer Northern Pictures

Growing up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Karina has spent her life in saltwater. Passionate about protecting nature, she studied science at Sydney University and then completed a Postgraduate degree in Conservation Biology from University of Queensland. At the age of 23, Karina joined the Natural History Unit of the ABC where she worked on blue chip wildlife documentaries as a researcher and eventually as a producer. Twenty years later, she has made many films across many genres for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Smithsonian, Arte, SBS and PBS. Her current role as Head of Factual at Northern Pictures has allowed her to oversee content creation for broadcast series, whilst directing her first theatrical film BLUE, which is being released in cinemas nationally on October 12. Karina is a passionate ambassador of conservation work in Australia.

Teresa Earle – Journeys to Akada

Producer, editor and writer Teresa Earle is attending BBFF for the International Premiere of Journeys to Adäka, a one-hour documentary about the healing journeys of seven indigenous artists from Canada’s North. Teresa and her partner Fritz Mueller and two daughters live in Whitehorse, Yukon where they develop and produce screen-based stories from around the circumpolar north. They are in post-production on Aurora Love, a documentary set in Tokyo and Yellowknife that explores the attraction of the northern lights. Their production company is in development with CBC and NFB on a documentary about master canoe carvers in Canada, USA and New Zealand. Teresa is a seasoned creative professional with 20 years of experience producing diverse projects from videos and websites to books and exhibits. She is a longtime board member of Screen Production Yukon Association and is a member of Documentary Association of Canada, Women in Film + TV Vancouver and Yukon Film Society.

 

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