Script to Screen Cohort
Jackie van Beek
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.
Shoshana McCallum
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.
Pulkit Arora
Pulkit is a writer-director of Indian origin based in New Zealand. His debut short Milk Toffee premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2021. His next short Anu won the Audience Award at NZIFF 2023 and released globally on MUBI in 2024. As a screenwriter, he led the development of two projects with Disney+ and Home Stories, a Netflix anthology. His feature film projects have been supported by MIFF Accelerator, NZ Writers Guild’s SEED fund, and Script To Screen’s labs FilmUp and Story Camp. He hosted Still Awesome, a film criticism series for Netflix, and served on the jury of NZIFF 2024.
Rosie Hole
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).
Armagan Ballantyne
Armagan 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.
Daniel Pickstone
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.
Jude McLaren
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.
Vista Rainmakers
Polly Fryer
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.
Malinna Liang
Malinna Liang is a Chinese-New Zealand writer based in Auckland. She has written for My Life is Murder Aotearoa for TVNZ, Homebound 3.0 and N00b for TV3, and has contributed as a storyliner to a diverse array of projects such as Madam, Vegas, and Vince. She is currently developing several exciting projects for screen, and has received both NZOA Fresh Shorts and Diverse Development funding. In 2022, she was awarded the Great Southern Tahuna Residency, and she has been a Semi-Finalist at the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting, as well as the Runner-up in Script Pipeline’s 2020 TV Writing Competition. Her prose has been published in Landfall and A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices.
In her previous life, she made a powerful stand against racial stereotypes by dropping out of law school, failing out of Year 12 math, and quitting classical piano. Because change, as they say, begins with you.
Stefan Roesch
In addition to producing three short films with director Pennie Hunt, Stefan is a leading industry expert in film tourism – work that has taken him around the world as a consultant for national tourism organisations and film commissions such as VisitBritain (consulting on ‘Paddington’), VisitDenmark (‘Trolls’), the Royal Film Commission of Jordan (‘The Martian’), Failte Ireland (‘Star Wars – The Last Jedi’) and Tourism Northern Ireland (‘Game of Thrones’).
Stefan is also the Director of recently founded company FilmQuest, a film-inspired travel resource for fans, featuring the world’s iconic film locations, the best on-site experiences and film tourism-related stories.
Amanda Jenkins
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.
Daisy Lawless
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.
Olivia Shanks
Olivia is a creative producer based in T?maki Makaurau. Her short films have competed in festivals around the world, including Venice, Clermont-Ferrand, Slamdance and Austin.
Her most recent short Workshop bowed at Venice Film Festival, was a Vimeo Staff Pick and was acquired for distribution by US studio Searchlight Pictures. The NZFC funded short film HEY BRAINY MAN! Directed by Jo Randerson and Loren Taylor won Best Film at NZIFF 2023. She has a slate of features and series in development.
Mentors Nominees
Harsh Patel
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.
George Halstead
George has worked as a producer, development assistant, and producer’s assistant across both entertainment formats and scripted series. She is passionate about comedy and is dedicated to showcasing Australian humour on the global stage. Her credits include Spicks and Specks (ABC), NCIS: Sydney (Paramount), and Heartbreak High (Netflix). She is currently assisting Director Alyssa McClelland, Showrunner Liz Doran, and Executive Producer Chloe Rickard on My Brilliant Career.
Denis Curnow
Denis Curnow is a Melbourne-based producer and writer. He currently has four short films on the festival circuit, including the award-winning QUIET NIGHT THOUGHT, based on letters written by his grandparents during the Great Leap Forward in 1950s China.
?Denis’ first taste of the industry was as a writer/actor in a children’s sketch comedy series on the Disney Channel when he was in high school, and has since worked in-house at Jungle Entertainment and Tony Ayres Productions. He holds a Master of Arts Screen (Producing) from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, as well as Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Languages (Mandarin) from the University of Melbourne.
Isabel Dilena
Isabel is a Melbourne-based Producer, Writer, and Actor. She co-produced and co-directed Bush Boots with Kynan Clarke, premiering at the 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival as part of the MIFF Footy Shorts initiative- a collaboration between VicScreen, the AFL, and MIFF. Isabel has produced short films, fashion films, commercials, and is developing her debut feature. With over a decade of experience as an actor, she brings a strong storytelling sensibility to her producing work. She is an Associate Producer with Typecast Entertainment and the Birrarangga Film Festival.
Alberto Di Troia
Alberto Di Troia is a screenwriter and playwright based in Melbourne/Naarm. Most recently, Alberto served as the co-writer of Episode 2 and script producer on the Netflix crime drama THE SURVIVORS, based on the bestselling novel by Jane Harper.
In 2022, he was the inaugural Victorian recipient of the SBS Emerging Writers Incubator, which saw him join Tony Ayres Productions (TAP) as a development assistant. In this role, he contributed to several TAP/ABC projects; writing on the children’s TV series THE SPOOKY FILES and script coordinating on the critically-acclaimed FIRES. His theatre work has been presented at Melbourne Theatre Company, Darwin Festival, Arts House Melbourne and Theatre Works.
Tess Emmerson
Tess Emmerson is a Melbourne based creative with a passion for telling stories with impact. After graduating from JMC Academy in 2016, she has worked her way up through the industry on projects such as How To Stay Married, Crazy Fun Park, Human Error, The Newsreader, Fisk, Love Divided By Eleven – just to name a few. She worked in the Production team on Safe Home & Fake, establishing a great relationship with the Kindling Pictures team. Tess is now in-house with Kindling, working to assist Imogen Banks with development projects in the TV space.
Samantha Kwan
Samantha Kwan is a Melbourne based producer and recently line-produced the ABC documentary, THE SEARCH FOR THE PALACE LETTERS (2024) and worked as an associate producer on the MUSHROOM 50 LIVE broadcast (Seven, 2023). She is currently the project manager for the Australian Feature Film Forum and has successfully organized their previous events at the AIMC 2023 and PRISM 2022. Sam has been a recipient of VicScreen’s Key Talent Producer Placement and completed a Screen-Australia-supported producer’s attachment on the logie-nominated EGO: THE MICHAEL GUDINSKI STORY (MIFF 2023). The latest project she produced and edited, MOTHER TONGUE, has garnered several emerging awards during its film festival run and is now available on SBS-On-Demand.
Holly Tosi
Holly Tosi is a screenwriter who’s done a little bit of everything. Starting as a note taker and script co-ordinator in comedy and children’s television, Holly worked both locally and in the UK. A long stint at Neighbours followed, where Holly wrote over twenty episodes and worked on hundreds more as a senior storyliner and senior script editor. Holly has been shortlisted twice for the Screen Australia/Vicscreen/SBS Emerging Writer’s Incubator and written an episode of the animated comedy webseries Deadbeat Ends Meet. Holly has also worked in development at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, providing script assessments.
Carly Robertson
I am a dedicated storyteller in the last year of an Advanced Diploma in Professional Screenwriting, bringing a positive outlook on any project, having a diverse skillset for writing also being a song writer. Drawing from a unique background in writing as a working musician and now screenwriter, bringing fresh perspectives and able to adapt to different audiences.
Michelle Ang
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.
Luke Murray
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.
Bronwynn Bakker
Bronwynn has worked in the New Zealand TV industry for close to 20 years where she has produced and directed content on shows which include Funny Girls, New Zealand Idol, X Factor, Funny Roots and numerous documentaries, as well as creating localised content for MTV New Zealand, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon.
From 2012 to 2018, she oversaw all creative and production of Jono & Ben, and Funny Girls.
She also works as a director and in the past two years, helped create and develop the shows Golden Boy, New Zealand Today, The Citizen’s Handbook, Frickin Dangerous Bro on the Road, Dai’s House Party, and alonside Avalon, Taskmaster NZ.
She has a strong passion for developing young talent and ensuring women have a strong presence in creative industries.
Hannah Reilly
Hannah Reilly is an award winning Australian writer, director, lyricist and performer.
Hannah originally developed THE DEB into a full-length musical after she was awarded the ATYP Rebel Wilson Comedy Commission in 2018. Hannah wrote and directed a live stage version of THE DEB which opened the eponymous Rebel Theatre in Sydney’s Walsh Bay theatre district in 2022.
Previously Hannah wrote, directed and presented the primetime TV show GROWING UP GRACEFULLY. SHEILAS – a comedy series about forgotten women of history – which Hannah wrote and directed won an Australian Writers Guild Award and the Grand Jury Prize at Melbourne Web Fest and Gold Coast Film Festival.
Priscilla-Anne Jacob
Priscilla-Anne Jacob is an award-winning producer, director, and accomplished actor, with over 15 years of experience in the film and television industry. She holds a Master’s degree in Screen Studies from the WA Screen Academy and a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Industries and Communications. Known for her sharp creative vision, Priscilla has made a name for herself in both behind-the-scenes and on-screen roles.
As a producer and director, Priscilla is the founder of New Thing Productions, a production company she launched in 2020. Her work spans a range of impactful projects, including the six-part docu-series YShac, produced for Anglicare to raise awareness about youth homelessness. Priscilla’s short film Joan (2024), funded by the Screenwest Elevate Production Grant, garnered widespread acclaim, further cementing her reputation as a talented and visionary filmmaker.
She is a board member of Women in Film & TV (WIFT) Western Australia, where she advocates for gender equity in the industry and champions authentic female-driven narratives.
Joyce Wong
Joyce Wong is a dynamic producer who transitioned from a successful career in business and tech startups into the film and TV industry. With a passion for storytelling through a pan-Asian female lens, she has quickly made her mark, collaborating with a diverse range of writers and directors to develop fresh, impactful narratives.
Recognised for her talent and vision, Joyce was named Runner-Up for the 2024 SPADA Emerging Producer Award and is the 2025 Vincent Burke Scholar. Her debut dark-comedy series for TVNZ ‘Camp Be Better’ was recently featured at MIPCOM and she’s currently in-production for her second NZ Film Commission supported film.
In 2025 she started production company, One7 Pictures, a play on the Chinese word ‘together’ to symbolise her belief in collaboration and the enduring nature of cinema and television to bring audiences together.
Charles Olsen
Charles Olsen is a writer, director, and producer, originally from Newcastle, NSW and now based in Bondi Beach. Charles works as an Associate Producer at Jungle Entertainment, has produced, written, and/or directed numerous short films, and recently completed a director’s attachment to Corrie Chen on Jungle Entertainment’s GOOD COP/BAD COP (Stan, TheCW, Roku). Charles holds a Master of Arts Screen: Producing and short course certificates in Directing from AFTRS, a BA(Hons) in creative writing and film studies, and a law degree.
Jashan Ramjee
A 1st Year Master of Screen Producing student at the VCA. I was born in South Africa and moved to Albury, NSW when I was 11 years old. Being from a small country town, I wasn’t exposed to a lot of world cinema so moving to Melbourne has been incredible for my filmmaking journey – I’ve been fortunate enough to do some work experience with Sue Maslin, volunteer work for MIFF and directors workshops with Nadia Tass. All of this has been very formative but now I am looking to begin the next stage of my career as a producer.
Kynan Clarke
Kynan is a Gunai/Kurnai and Monero filmmaker and holds a Bachelor of Media & Communications. Kynan is deeply committed to sharing the stories of his people and becoming a prominent storyteller for his culture. For Typecast, he worked on Elders (2018) as an Indigenous Attachment. Since then, he has become an integral part of the Team taking up the many opportunities on offer as a creative, including in 2024, the script development workshop, Inspirit Lab, and the Accelerator program at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Kynan’s goal is to continue using his talent and skills to uplift and amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples in film and media. Kynan believes First Nations stories are essential to the cultural fabric of Australia and that by sharing them, he can help foster greater understanding, appreciation, and respect for his people’s traditions and values.
Lola Button
Lola Button is an emerging writer working in the development team at Tony Ayres Productions. She has a background in short-form fiction and nonfiction, and she has had stories published in The Monthly and Meanjin. She has since transitioned to Film and TV writing and is developing a slate of feature film and TV projects, including an original series which is on the development slate Tony Ayres Productions.
Michael Hudson
Michael Hudson is a writer, director, and producer, and a proud Bangarang and Yorta Yorta man from northeast Victoria. He won the 2019 Sydney Film Festival Short Screenplay Award for Ties That Bind and has since worked on projects for ABC and Network Ten. An alumni of top talent labs including MIFF Accelerator, Untapped and SPA Ones to Watch, he founded Third Impact Films to develop his own slate of genre projects, coining the term “Cultural Horror” to describe his unique blend of First Nations storytelling and horror.
Katia Nizic
Katia Nizic originally hails from the publishing world and graduated from the AFTRS in 2012, producing a number of short films including “Violent Florence” (SXSW 2014).
Her recent productions under the Generator Pictures banner include HOMECOMING QUEENS (2018), the award-winning digital series that was the first online commission for SBS On-demand and the documentary PAPER TRAILS (2017) for the ABC about activist, broadcaster, and feminist writer Anne Deveson’s experience with Alzheimer’s.
In her role at Carver Films, she produced the feature documentary FIRE FRONT (2022) working with director Eddie Martin, about the Black Summer Bushfires (Premiere MIFF 2022). She also Associate Produced the feature drama RUN RABBIT RUN starring Sarah Snook and directed by Daina Reid (Premiere Sundance 2023), which was bought by Netflix.
She currently works at Werner Film Productions as Production Executive, working across the entire slate of projects from development through to delivery.
Simone Ball
Simone is Head of Legal and Business Affairs at Princess Pictures. She has worked in the entertainment industry for many years both in front of and behind the camera. She honed her legal skills at a national law firm and then at December Media, where she worked across their entire slate of television series, documentary and giant screen films.
Simone has a great appreciation for story, as well as an understanding of the legal intricacies involved in developing, financing and distributing quality content. During her time at Princess Pictures she has worked on a plethora of live action and animation projects, overseeing complex production and financing arrangements, licensing agreements and investment deals. Simone served as a board member for Women in Film and Television Victoria for a number of years and has strong ties to the creative community.
James Youl
I am professional screenwriting student at RMIT who has been in love with writing stories my whole life, looking to branch out into the industry one foot after the other. I am on my second year of the course and I am excited to connect with other creatives and find new inspiration.
Stella Staab
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.
Bonnie Mahon
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.
Sam Bonney
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.
Kara Pisconeri
Kara has more than a decade’s experience producing feature films, field producing for broadcast media and commercial campaigns, and running a successful PR and marketing firm . As co-founder of A Touch of Madness Studios, Kara has produced romantic comedy IT ONLY TAKES A NIGHT (2023, Feature), and short films THE LAST TRIP (2024, CinefestOz Official Selection) and RUNNER (2021, WA Made Film Festival Short). Kara has worked across key roles both above and below the line, always ensuring the creative and commercial aspect of production work seamlessly together.
Driven by a genuine passion for a collaborative industry, Kara strives to develop and produce content that showcases strong voices and brings to life characters who audiences connect with and find easy to consume, thanks to amazing talent partners from across the world. It is Kara’s dream to create the kind of timeless, beloved films and series that people are still quoting and revisiting years later.
Vee Shi
Vee Shi is the founder of Niu Studios.
Vee is an AACTA-nominated filmmaker. A recipient of both the Australian Directors’ Guild and Australian Writers’ Guild awards, Vee was selected as one of Screen Producers Australia’s ‘Ones to Watch’ in 2023. Vee’s work has also won a Screen Producers Award and the Iris Prize Youth Jury Award, among many others.
Rainmakers is Produced in Partnership with:
