Innovation in Financing

David is the founder of Compton School and co-founder of Wizer. He is also Chair of Screen Canberra. He was previously Head of Screen Business at the Australian Film Television & Radio School, where he led the highly regarded Masters of Screen Arts & Business program.

He has been involved in the financing of more than a dozen film and television productions including Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, Dean Cavell’s The Wiggles Movie and Andrew Horne’s The Animated Leunig. As author of Film Assistance: Future Options (Allen & Unwin, 1986), he was policy architect of the Film Finance Corporation established by the Australian Government in 1988. David holds a PhD from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University.

Rosie is screen executive based in Wellington / Te Whanganui a Tara. As the
Commercial & Business Affairs Manager for Hinterland, Rosie helps to provide bespoke financing solutions for NZ and Australian producers, and facilitates cashflow lending for screen productions.

Prior to joining Hinterland, Rosie was an Investment Executive at the New Zealand Film Commission, assessing production funding applications. Rosie spent almost a decade before that working in London as part of the Universal Pictures Content Group, where she acquired feature films, documentaries and other content for global distribution across all platforms. At Universal, Rosie negotiated distribution deals for The Pod Generation (Sundance Film Festival) and The Inventor (Annecy International Animation Festival) as well as overseeing Australian productions including The Angels: Kickin’ Down the Door (Adelaide Film Festival).

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Owner of the prolific New Zealand-based film and television company, Firefly Films, Emma Slade is known for cultivating a diverse slate, with dynamic film makers and talented cast.

Emma’s latest film BOOKWORM, starring Elijah Wood, Nell Fisher and Michael Smiley, opened Fantasia International Film Festival in August 2024 winning the Audience Award for Best International Film.

Emma is in post-production on Natalie Boltt’s debut feature HOLY DAYS, starring Judy Davis, Jacki Weaver and Miriam Margolyes, while simultaneously in post-production on LOMU, an official UK/NZ co-production on the rugby superstar, Jonah Lomu.

Recent release UPROAR, starring Julian Dennison, Minnie Driver and Rhys Darby played on every screen in Aotearoa New Zealand, after premiering at TIFF to rave reviews. Simultaneously, MISTER ORGAN, New Zealand’s highest grossing feature documentary for 2022, has been picked up by Netflix and selected as New York Times Top Critic’s Pick.

Emma’s slate includes absurd comedy, NUDE TUESDAY, from director Armagan Ballantyne (Sydney Film Festival, Tribeca and Edinburgh), THE JUSTICE OF BUNNY KING (2021 Tribeca Film Festival) and COME TO DADDY, an NZ/Irish/Canadian official co-production, which premiered at Tribeca 2019. The film won Best Director (Ant Timpson) and Best Actor (Elijah Wood) at the Toronto After Dark Festival 2019.

In 2017, her young adult thriller THE CHANGEOVER starring Timothy Spall (Mr Turner) and Melanie Lynskey (The Intervention), was in competition at the Alice Nella Citta, Venice Film Festival. Earlier that year, Emma produced INTO THE RAINBOW, which was the first Chinese/NZ co-production, starring Willow Shields (Hunger Games) and the Brazilian/NZ feature LITTLE SECRET, which was nominated as Brazil’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Film 2017.

A preeminent figure within the film industry, Sharon has experience at the highest levels across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and has been financing cashflow solutions in film and television for producers for over 25 years.

Sharon’s newest venture, Hinterland, is the culmination of her experience, focusing on providing tailored and producer-friendly financing solutions for independent and creative producers in New Zealand and Australia, with unparalleled local rebate knowledge.

Prior to Hinterland, Sharon is most well known for her role in building Fulcrum Media Finance. During her tenure she provided over AUD $750 million in lending on over 450 projects without a single default. Earlier in her career, Sharon spent over
a decade in banking and finance across New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Pacific, working with organisations such as Westpac Banking Corporation, BBC Worldwide and several UK-based media financiers. This experience provided a strong foundation in commercial lending, structured finance and governance,
which continues to underpin her approach to screen industry financing today.

A loyal industry advocate, Sharon’s experience extends to governance, with over 15 years in chair, board and advisory positions at the national level across Australasia. Most notably she was appointed to the board of the New Zealand Film Commission win April 2025.

Polly Fryer is a British-born, New Zealand-based producer acclaimed for her work across
documentary and scripted storytelling.

In 2025 she produced, true-crime docuseries Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne, a 3 part series for Warner Bros, Nine and Sky UK released to critical acclaim. The series is represented worldwide by Submarine Entertainment. Also in the same year feature documentary Mighty Indeed won best Film and best Director at the Oscar qualifying Doc Edge festival. In 2024, she produced the feature film We Were Dangerous which won the SXSW Special Jury Award, imagineNATIVE Best Dramatic feature, Best Women Film Series at San Diego International Film Festival, Best Youth Film at SCHLINGEL, Best Narrative Feature at Kerry, and the Pasifika Award in Hawaii. It also screened at eight major festivals, including NZIFF, Sydney, and Chicago. It’s currently in theatres across the US. She’s in post production on Andrew Niccol’s feature film I, Object, a high end indie film for a family audience starring Anna Farris and Karl Urban. It’s presold to 15 territories.

Other notable work includes animated series Badjelly, based on Spike Milligan’s classic children’s book, featuring a star-studded voice cast including Miriam Margolyes and Rhys Darby. It premiered on TVNZ in 2025 and has been brought by ITV for the UK. She was Supervising
Producer on Season 2 of the dystopian dark comedy series Creamerie (2023), which aired on
TVNZ and Hulu. She produced the Netflix Original Dark Tourist (2018) and The Day That Changed
My Life (2015), which won Best New Zealand Feature at the Documentary Edge Festival. Earlier in her career, she produced the Emmy-nominated docudrama The Golden Hour (2012).

Polly worked at Netflix in Los Angeles for two years as a Production and Post Executive,
contributing to global non-fiction content. She also served as Joint Head of Te Puna Kairangi, the Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund at the NZFC, supporting high-quality New Zealand stories for global audiences.

Matthew Metcalfe is one of New Zealand’s leading independent film producers, with a 25-year career spanning feature film, television, and documentary. As founder of GFC Films, he’s known for bold, culturally resonant stories with global reach.

His credits include acclaimed films such as Whina, Ash, Dean Spanley, The Dead Lands (later adapted by AMC in a limited TV series), Love Birds, Beyond the Edge, 25 April, and 6 Days (Netflix). His documentaries include McLaren, Born Racer, Wayne, Dawn Raid, Mothers of the Revolution (Universal), and Capital in the 21st Century (StudioCanal).

Metcalfe’s work has premiered at major festivals including Toronto, Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, London, and Melbourne, cementing his international reputation. He was named Independent Producer of the Year at the 2013 SPADA Awards and received a Tui Award in 2002 for Che Fu’s Fade Away video. In 2024, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to film and television and in 2025 was appointed Adjunct Professor of Practice (Film) at the University of Canterbury.

Metcalfe remains a driving force in New Zealand’s screen industry, championing unique voices and stories that resonate worldwide.

Alex Reed is a producer of bold, high quality documentary and drama content. She started her career working with Ken Loach on films including Land and Freedom, My Name is Joe and Bread & Roses.  Since then she has written, researched or produced over thirty factual and drama projects.

Alex has a strong track record of producing films and television with impact including the hard-hitting Ms. Information, eco-feminist film Pacific Mother and female-focussed adventure epic, Te Ara – The Path (People’s choice award – NZ Mountain Film Festival, Finalist Banff Mountain Festival).

Her major credits include Leanne Pooley’s critically acclaimed intimate documentary The Girl on the Bridge, genre-bending feature, There’s No “I” in Threesome (HBO Max) and David Farrier’s box office hit, Mister Organ (Netflix). Alex has an active and vibrant slate of scripted and unscripted projects including Slavko Martinov’s upcoming film, Cats in Conflict.

Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa began his screen journey in television with current affairs show Tagata Pasifika and Pacific Island youth show Fresh. In 2015 he took the plunge into feature films with self-funded and self distributed feature film Three Wise Cousins (2016), a commercial success with over $2million worldwide at the box office.

He followed that by continuing to fund and distribute his next features Hibiscus & Ruthless (2018) and Take Home Pay (2019), and in 2020 to take advantage of the lack of films in the cinemas; Stallone and Producer Abba Rose created the Feature 30 Challenge – to make a feature film in 30 days, from ideation through to picture lock – that film was Mama’s Music Box – a Pacific Xmas film, released into cinemas in November 2020. 

Jasmin McSweeney leads on international and local acquisitions at Umbrella Entertainment, where she oversees theatrical and non-theatrical distribution, strategic acquisitions, and catalogue development in Aotearoa. She brings over a decade of experience across film marketing and release strategy, supporting projects from emerging voices and established auteurs alike.

In her current role, she is responsible for sourcing premium international content, negotiating rights, and shaping the ANZ marketing strategy while building the company’s New Zealand presence through partnerships, branding initiatives, and audience-centric positioning. Passionate about elevating distinctive storytelling for New Zealand audiences, she remains committed to championing bold, original cinema across the region.

Paul Wiegard is the Co-Founder and CEO of Madman Entertainment, one of Australasia’s leading independent film distribution and rights management companies. Under his leadership, Madman has released over 35 Oscar®-nominated films, including Parasite, Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest, The Substance, and Searching for Sugar Man.

Paul has Executive Produced more than 50 feature films and documentaries, among them Pike River, Mountain, The Australian Dream, High Ground, That Sugar Film, The Giants, Girls Can’t Surf, and the forthcoming Crowded House feature documentary.

In 2016, he launched DocPlay, a dedicated streaming platform curating the world’s most compelling and thought-provoking documentaries.

Paul is also a partner in the Curzon-Cinéart-Madman (CCM) Development Fund, a collaboration with Curzon Film World (UK) and Cinéart Nederland (Benelux), focused on director-led international projects.

A graduate of the AFTRS Master of Screen Arts and Business, Paul is deeply engaged in the screen industry. He served for a decade as President of the Australian Independent Distributors Association (AIDA) and is currently Co-Chair of the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC). He also sits on the Boards of both the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and Screenrights.

Jackie is a writer, director, actor, producer in Aotearoa New Zealand. She co-created The Breaker Upperers, Nude Tuesday, Educators and The Office Australia and has directed on TV series Wellington Paranormal, What We Do in the Shadows and Time Bandits.

Arma?an is a Director/Writer/Producer she gained an MA at AFTRS, her short films which have screened in Venice, Berlin, New York, Telluride and Melbourne.

She attended the Sundance Lab with her feature, The Strength of Water, (in competition in Berlin, Hawaii, Rotterdam and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards)

She then directed feature film Nude Tuesday (created with Jackie van Beek) which premiered in Sydney, and screened in Tribeca and Edinburgh. Nude Tuesday is released in America through GIANT Pictures / Tribeca Films.

In 2024 she was a guest director on Taika and Jemaine’s Time Bandits for Apple TV.

Bonnie Mahon is a Legal Affairs Manager with deep expertise in film financing. After seven years as an in-house lawyer at the New Zealand Film Commission, she recently joined Hinterland, bringing her strategic legal insight and passion for innovative funding models to support bold storytelling across film and television.

Stella is a Creative Producer with experience working internationally across television, film and digital content. She recently co-founded Wurthy Productions and currently works in Development at Greenstone Pictures.

Stella has produced content for international broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 5, CBBC, Smithsonian Channel, Curiosity Stream & Facebook Watch. Her local experience includes content for Channel 7 (AUS), TVNZ, Three and PRIME, as well as an array of digital campaigns and commercials.

Stella is passionate about the media industry and is committed towards seeing the future of our business thrive.

International Emmy winner, Shoshana McCallum is a writer, actress and producer in Auckland. For the last decade, Shoshana has consistently written and performed for television, film and theatre. In 2020 she co-founded production company Luminous Beast, and co-created the critically acclaimed series INSiDE. Shoshana was nominated for Best Comedy and Best Drama Script (The Creamerie, INSiDE) at the 2021 NZTV Awards. She won Woman to Watch at NZ WIFT Awards 2022. Shoshana was co-Showrunner and Head Writer for Madam, a multi-award winning drama-comedy series, and is currently Head Writer and Executive Producer for a new spooky comedy series, Good Bones.

New to the screen industry, but not new to business admin, operations and finance. Helped set up NZ’s first tech accelerator programme “Lightning Lab” and supported tech startups to attract and work with investors and mentors. Got disillusioned with the Silicon Valley investment model and spent a decade helping regular SMEs. Passionate teacher of financial concepts.

Dale Corlett is Te Tumu Whakarae Executive Director of Te Tari Tuhi Kupu a Whakaahua Script to Screen, Aotearoa’s leading screen sector talent development organisation. He brings decades of experience in talent development, content creation, and leadership across the film and screen industry. For 9 years he was Head of Talent Development at the NZ Film commission, prior to that, he was CEO of GMAC Film in Glasgow, Scotland. Dale is a BAFTA Scotland nominated film director.

(TAVU’I) MARINA ALOFAGIA MCCARTNEY (S?moeleoi, S?lilomaiava, Geordie, Romanichal) is an award-winning filmmaker and scholar whose work has screened at Palm Springs, NZIFF and ImagineNATIVE and more. She wrote and directed the Samoan piece for “Vai”, which opened the NATIVe section at the 2019 Berlinale, and later screened at SXSW, Edinburgh and MIFF. Marina has participated in competitive screen development programmes, writers’ rooms and writes for TV (“My Life is Murder”, “Blue Murder Motel”). Her PhD in Moana filmmaking is under examination, and she recently completed a short “The Return”. She is developing her next feature “Dusky”, alongside several long-form projects.

Harsh is an aspiring creative producer with a passion for bringing bold, diverse stories to life. He cut his teeth in the industry as a social media manager on Tavake’s debut series, The Panthers, where he led a digital campaign that expanded the show’s reach and engagement through targeted, carefully crafted content. From there, he freelanced on Wellington Paranormal and Creamerie, honing his storytelling skills through strategic content creation and audience engagement.

Harsh now works full-time across the Tavake/Four Knights Film slate. Most recently, he worked across development, production, and post-production on Madam, Tavake’s hit comedy-drama series. Passionate about championing underrepresented voices, he is committed to shaping meaningful stories from concept to screen, combining strong industry insight with a keen eye for storytelling that connects with audiences.

Emily Anderton is a producer and developer of film and television. She produced two seasons of Kid Sister for Greenstone TV/TVNZ. She developed and co-produced the television series MYSTIC for CBBC/Channel 7/TVNZ and the feature film DAFFODILS. She was the Associate Producer of BAFTA nominated animation KIRI AND LOU. Emily was script editor on AFTER THE PARTY and creative producer on the first season of TRALALA.

Daniel Pickstone (Ng?puhi) spent over a decade in the exhibition industry, operating cinemas, curating film programs, and even launching a film festival. They’ve mastered the art of understanding audience engagement and compelling content.

In 2019, they brought their talents to the earlier stages of the production process. Instead of analysing finished films, they now help develop projects that captivate audiences. In 2021, they joined FluroBlack and recently became the Head of Development there.

With a joy for collaborative storytelling that some might call an obsession, when they’re not working on projects, Daniel can be found running epic D&D games.

Daisy is a writer and producer primarily focused on 2D animated series and genre film. Her current development projects include an adult animated comedy about slacker girls in rural New Zealand, Wendy & Wydon; and a live-action menopause revenge feature film, Morag.

In 2023, Daisy joined the Mukpuddy team to coordinate Badjelly, and continues to manage the studio’s development projects (Footrot Flats, Untitled Beano Project and original IP) and day to day operations.

Luke Murray is the Senior Theatrical Manager in New Zealand for Umbrella Entertainment. He recently joined Umbrella from Madman New Zealand, where he oversaw the theatrical release of a range of box office successes, including the recent New Zealand smash hit Tin?. His proven expertise in connecting powerful cinema with New Zealand audiences makes him a valuable part of the Umbrella team.

Currently working as Rights and Sourcing Executive for NZ On Screen popular screen history website. Jude spent nine years at Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga the New Zealand Film Commission in the Talent Development Team as Talent Pathways Manager. She brought 15 years of experience across development, production, and post-production to the role. She has trained in Theatre, Film, and Television Production, advanced story development and has a post grad career development qualification. Jude has a rich background in organizing and budgeting story labs, mentoring programs, and coaching filmmakers in career progression. An NLP Master Practitioner and coach passionate about human development, Agile methodology, Design Thinking, and Innovation. Jude is an experienced presenter and facilitator. Through the Rainmakers programme Jude is developing an online Career and Talent Development website for screen makers.

Born in New Zealand with Malaysian-Chinese roots, Michelle, an Emmy-nominated actress, weaves her experience into diverse creative roles—writer, director, and producer. From animation to comedy and documentaries, her producing work encompasses several award-winning, NZOA funded projects including kids animation series Riddle Me This, doco series Hair Now, comedy series Self Help, and psychological thriller AMAH for the TVNZ Motherhood Anthology. She was a producer on For Izzy, an American micro-budget feature that enjoyed a strong festival run in the Asian diaspora and LGBTQIA+ film festivals around North America. She has projects in development through her production company A Grain of Rice Productions and currently is series producing an animated Canadian co-production.

Michelle’s passion lies in telling stories that uplift the marginalized experienced and defy expectations.

Amanda Jenkins is a producer working across film and advertising sectors. She has produced a number of funded shorts showing at MIFF, NZIFF, Sydney, St Tropez, Palm Springs notably Closer a Cannes Palme d’Or nominee, winner of NZ Screen Awards.

Recently Sister Josephine and The Road Out with Bloom Pictures, currently in post production. Feature credits include line producer of We Were Dangerous, Bookworm, and Head South.

Selected for multiple producer development programs including Script to Screen’s Strength in Numbers and Rainmakers. She is developing bold, culturally diverse stories with female led creatives. Passionate about industry growth is a board member of Te Puna Matarau, Advertising Producers Aotearoa and WIFTNZ.