Screen Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney opened the day, welcoming the audience to In the Frame 2026! She reflected on the strengths, opportunities and challenges of our globally connected screen industry, Screen Queensland’s role and our commitment to supporting local businesses, people and projects.
CRAFTING CAREERS THAT GO THE DISTANCE
Moderator: Ken Crouch (Executive Director Industry and Audience Engagement, Screen Queensland)
Panellists: Clare Sladden (writer, director and producer), Rhianna Malezer (writer and director), Stephanie Dower (producer and access coordinator)
This first panel charted the varied careers of three Queensland practitioners: Clare discussed how her career changed when she began to think of being a freelancer as a business, which prompted her to begin refining her ‘product’ through practice, upskilling and building a slate of work.
Steph has taken lessons from her start in post-production across her career, informing her approach to producing as well as access coordination, such as framing shots with captions in mind and never relying on the old saying, ‘we’ll fix it in post’, fix it first.
For Rhianna, starting in the art departmentwas the perfect place to learn about the roles of all departments and understand how they came together on set. This experience informs her work now as a director and was a fundamental time for forging relationships with practitioners who are now collaborators.
The panel discusses the fantasy of the ‘big break’, each finding that their careers are the culminations of a series of pivots, turning points, hops, skips and jumps, that all assist in building momentum. Clare advised against ‘putting all your eggs in one basket’ on the hopes of a big break and Steph recommended breaking down your goals into smaller steps and milestones. Rhianna emphasised the big break shouldn’t be the goal: being good is.
A shared value for the panellists was the importance of building authentic relationships and community over putting forward a pitch, particularly early in your career, and to remember that fruitful careers take time.
Steph’s closing advice centred around responding to change and adapting. “Keep curious about what is coming next,” she said. “Embrace the stories that only you can share—that’s your unique selling proposition.”
THE BUDGET BREAKDOWN: KEEPING PROJECT FINANCES GROWING AS YOU DO
Moderator: Tanya Ellen (Head of Content, Screen Queensland)
Panellists: Emma Sargent (Five Storey Films), Kristen Souvlis (Like A Photon Creative)
In this panel, we unpacked the business side of show business, diving into the blocks that build the finances for a project. When finding investors, whether they be private equity, distribution, sales agents or brands, Kristen emphasised the importance of building trust by delivering on your promises and reducing risk for the investors where possible.
“Become a safe bet!” she said.
Kristen and Emma discussed how brands can be important investors where the vision aligns. Emma talked about how approaching a brand is very different to a sales agent or pitching to a commissioner. Most brands want to be invited into the world of your story and the key is to demonstrate how you can align with them and benefit their brand through your storytelling.
Emma also discussed the importance of being discoverable online, with a website or social media that allows people to find out more about your work and what you offer.
In the new age of collaboration between traditional media and online creators, Emma discussed forging new partnerships and what that means for federal offsets, state support and legal agreements.
As Co-Founder and CEO of Like A Photon Creative, Kristen shared how she adjusted deals to build a pipeline of projects, being flexible around particular benefits early on in order to win more work, and negotiate better positions, later on.
“To be an artist is to be an entrepreneur… if we’re last on the list to take our cut and we win, then everyone has won,” said Kristen.
Q&A WITH JULIE ECKERSLEY AND LOANI ARMAN
This year, we added a new segment to In the Frame, Q&A time with our Executive Director of Screen Content, Julie Eckersley and MC Loani Arman. Responding to the audience’s questions and reflections, the pair broke down some of the day’s larger ideas and concepts and discussed their own learnings from the morning’s sessions.
GREAT IDEAS TO GREEN LIGHTS
Moderator: Julie Eckersley (Executive Director Screen Content, Screen Queensland)
Panellists: Andy Ryan (Stan, 9Network, 9Now), Brett Sleigh (ABC TV), Sophia Mogford (Paramount ANZ), Que Minh Luu (Screen Executive and Executive Producer)
This panel began like many meaty discussions: with the stats. Each shared the volume of pitches they receive in an average year (in the hundreds), with around a quarter of those continuing to verbal pitches, and only two handfuls of those making their way to development.
To help rise to the top of the pile, they highlighted the value of concise pitch decks with clear descriptions of the key story elements (characters, plot, the environment), as well as putting forward tailored, commercially viable stories with relatable themes and realistic budgets, take what audiences know and love and expand upon it in a fresh way.
Brett shared that the ABC look for “a good Australian story, well-told”—stories that have something to say about being Australian.
The panellists emphasised the importance of being a team player, not only in having a strong group of creatives behind a project, but also in your approach to collaborating with commissioners.
“I respond to ideas, but I work with teams,” Andy said.
Commissioners are your project’s biggest cheerleader in their organisation, and from pitch to release, they are embarking on a years-long journey with you, so you have to give them confidence in your production and an attitude that makes them want to go on that ride with you.
For creatives, advice from the panellists included understanding your audience, building a body of work and experience that means you are ready for opportunities when they arise and becoming familiar with who you are pitching to, spend time on their platforms and understand what projects have connected with their viewers.
A key takeaway is to remember that commissioners are your project’s biggest cheerleader in their organisation. From pitch to release, they are embarking on a years-long journey with you, so you have to give them confidence in your production and an attitude that makes them want to go on that ride with you.
THE NEXT WAVE OF OPPORTUNITY
Moderator: Phil Enchelmaier (Development Manager, Screen Queensland)
Panellists: John Harvey (Brown Cabs), Michelle Melky, Sam Lingham (Aunty Donna, Haven’t You Done Well, Grouse House), Takeshi Takada (Alt.vfx)
Despite an unexpected power outage, this future-focused panel covered a lot of ground—everything from baseball to Substack to Patreon and live theatre, but the one through-line was audience, audience, audience!
The panellists discussed marrying creative vision with audience appetites, the integration of the creator economy and that demographics alone don’t cut it when it comes to finding your audience.
“Attention spans aren’t smaller—attention is just more fragmented,” Michelle said.
Queensland practitioners were encouraged to investigate emerging platforms, connect with niche online creators to fulfil mutual goals, and create unique and authentic stories.
We closed the day with networking and refreshments, with every practitioner charged with the task of meeting one new person, facilitating new connections, exploring opportunities for collaboration and solidifying relationships.
Images by Amanda Gooch
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