Screen Australia Podcast

Screen Australia

Empowering the Australian screen industry Get the latest insight and explore the biggest industry trends from leading industry professionals, as well as interviews with world-class Australian practitioners. Subscribe to Screen Australia's fortnightly newsletter to receive the latest episode along with show notes and bonus content, as well as the latest agency news, opportunities, funding approvals, and more at www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Feedback can be sent to podcast@screenaustralia.gov.au.

  1. 'The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck to their creative guns.

    1 day ago

    'The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck to their creative guns.

    Horror is having a moment, and so is creator Ben Jenkins with the recent release of the cosmic horror, crime drama The Killings at Parrish Station.  Like creators of horror hits across the globe like Get Out, Weapons, Talk to Me, and more recently Obsession and Backrooms, Jenkins started in comedy. "Horrible things sometimes happen to quite funny people. […] People are naturally funny, even when bad things are happening to them," hey says. "And that, to me, is drama."  He credits the collaborative and improvisational nature of his sketch comedy past with shaping production of the series, instilling confidence to back the concept and landing the right market fit with Stan and ITV.  Jenkins shares the development and delivery of the series from its ideation in Soviet urban myths and working with Helium and Stan, to building a shared creative vision with director Daniel Nettheim, writers Tim Pye, Catherine Smyth-McMullen and Yolanda Ramke, as well as leading cast Mia Wasikowska, Heather Mitchel, Xavier Samuel, Robert Taylor, Alan Dale and Doris Younane The series investigates the gruesome murder of four scientists in a remote Australian desert research station. Set across the original mystery in 1987 and the fallout of a potential copycat spree killer decades later, Detectives Georgia Cooke (Wasikowska and Mitchell) and Michael Thorne (Samuel and Taylor) grapple with the uncanny mystery that threatens their families, careers and sanity. The Killings at Parrish Station is available now on Stan.

    38 min
  2. How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP

    11 June

    How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP

    The relationship between the games and screen sectors has never been closer, and with the Aussie games industry generating over $608.5 million in revenue, games storytelling is hitting a new boss level. In the first of this microseries, we get the lowdown on the indie games space from Screen Australia Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella. With over 25 years supporting indie films and tv on the global stage, Umbrella have recently launched a gaming distribution arm, Umbrella Gaming, with their first title Pro Jank Footy due for release in 2026.  Egger and Harrison discuss the intersection between the screen and games sectors, the challenges and opportunities facing both indie markets and how both industries can optimise potential through creative IP.

    42 min

  3. 19 Jan

    Your Audience: The Ultimate Market Guide

    Start the year right with the latest Marketplace intel from Screen Australia Head of Market and Audience Rakel Tansley. Throughout the podcast, Tansley gives insight into how the Screen Australia Market and Audience team collates investment data and deal terms to provide an overview of the domestic and global marketplace, including how the data is interpreted to identify trends and develop publicly available resources for producers and filmmakers. She also discusses the rise of direct-to-audience and the microdrama, the importance of retaining IP and non-exclusive terms, the big genre and format hitters from MIPCOM (cozy crime or family co-viewing, anyone?), filling the gaps in your finance plan, and the top ten territories buying Australian content.  "Considering [Australia is] a very small pool, we land a very large wave internationally," Tansley says. "Screen Australia are in a privileged position that we get to see globally what is happening across the whole distribution landscape, across all mediums. And we get to see those deal terms, those licence periods, the fees being paid, and expenses being taken, so we can help navigate and help negotiate the best deals to make sure that's fair and reasonable across the board."  Further Reading and Resources   Sales agents and distributors  Checklist when negotiating film and TV distribution deals   Podcast: How to make marketplace intel work for you   Market Profiles

    46 min

  4. 19/11/2025

    Alibrandi to Kangaroo: Kate Woods on directing hits for an enduring global career

    We all recognise the media landscape has changed dramatically over the past 40 years, and for creatives like today's guest, working as a director is a masterclass in embracing change. Joining us is Australian director Kate Woods to share her insights about the evolution of the television sector behind the camera and the project that brought her back to Australia. She's worked on some of the biggest titles on the small screen in Australia and the US, including Aussie favourites like GP, All Saints, Farscape and City Homicide, and US titles including Without a Trace, the Law and Order franchises, The Umbrella Academy, Agents of Shield, and The Good Lord Bird. You'll also likely recognise her debut feature film – the Aussie teen hit of 2000, Looking for Alibrandi – which this year celebrates 25 years since release. Kate reflects on her experiences working in the industry across film and TV in Australia and abroad, her approach to selecting projects, the influence of music in her work, and why she ignored the screen adage to never work with children or animals in her latest project, Kangaroo.

    35 min

  5. 23/10/2025

    From the Top End to the small screen with Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler

    Creators and writers of hit film Top End Wedding, Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler, join us this episode to talk about their new Amazon Australia Original Series Top End Bub. Following the global success of their debut feature film of Sundance-favourite Top End Wedding, creators and writers Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler found audiences clamouring for more tales from the top end – and they were happy to oblige. As Tyler says, "If you've got an audience there, you've got a fan base, keep feeding them!"  Tapsell and Tyler share how they leveraged the IP from the big screen to television, the appeal of the comedy half-hour, the joy of collaborating together, and how creators can embrace family, community and love to reflect the breadth and diversity of First Nations experiences on screen.

    28 min

  6. 06/10/2025

    Saving the planet one set at a time with Karl Liegis and Helen Panckhurst

    This is a big episode. We're talking saving the world big.  The global screen industry generates millions of metric tons of carbon emissions every year. From fossil fuels to food waste, costumes and sets, the average production can generate over 28700 kilograms of waste, and with pressure on production costs and budgeting, embracing sustainable practices on set can seem daunting.  But a growing movement of practitioners are exploring how to build more sustainable productions, regardless of size. 60Forty Films' Karl Liegis and Matchbox Pictures' Helen Panchurst join this episode to discuss the strategies and opportunities for engaging the screen sector in sustainability. They share their insights into what the industry is doing globally to be more environmentally conscious, how consultants and coordinators work with production, and why it's more important than ever for the Australia sector to embrace sustainable practices. Our top takeaways: Collaboration is key - not just within your team or production, but across the industry. Don't try to do everything. Pick three things that your production or team can focus on. It's not always about the successes. Learn from the hurdles and setbacks, and build them into your next project. Resources  Sustainable Screens Australia: https://www.sustainablescreens.au/  BAFTA Albert Toolkit: https://wearealbert.org/  The Pact HETV Drama Production Support Initiative: https://www.pact.co.uk/resource/the-hetv-drama-production-support-initiative.html   For feedback about this episode, please email podcast@screenaustralia.gov.au.

    40 min

  7. 26/06/2025

    Director Justin Kurzel on embracing your creative voice

    The Snowtown and Nitram director shares what he learnt from making his first documentary, Ellis Park. Ellis Park is Kurzel's third release over the past year, alongside feature film The Order, starring Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult, and Amazon Prime's Australian war drama series The Narrow Road to the Deep North. He shares the challenges and joys of juggling three feature film projects simultaneously, advice on shaping your project for success on the global market, and how his view of filmmaking has changed from director to producer.

    24 min
  8. "Don't think algorithm, think audience": making data work for you in online content with Nico Lockhart

    22/05/2025

    "Don't think algorithm, think audience": making data work for you in online content with Nico Lockhart

    Digital content strategist and kids IP specialist Nico Lockhart shares what producers can learn about audience development and content production from YouTube. From the importance of a good thumbnail, why a viral video could take years, how the direct-to-audience model is evolving with its audience, and the parallels between so-called traditional media and online media production, get the lowdown on how YouTube is changing the way audiences engage with screen stories. Resources Learn more about developing kids IP for YouTube with Nico Lockhart via the Kids IP Incubator webinar.

    46 min
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4.8
out of 5
53 Ratings

About

Empowering the Australian screen industry Get the latest insight and explore the biggest industry trends from leading industry professionals, as well as interviews with world-class Australian practitioners. Subscribe to Screen Australia's fortnightly newsletter to receive the latest episode along with show notes and bonus content, as well as the latest agency news, opportunities, funding approvals, and more at www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Feedback can be sent to podcast@screenaustralia.gov.au.

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