COURSE EXPERTS
Vicky Pope - Producer, Pop Film Ltd.
Vicky is an award-winning producer with over 20 years experience working across film, television and advertising. Her short and feature film productions have sold around the world and screened in prestigious international festivals including Cannes, London BFI, Venice and Berlin.
Vicky’s feature film producing credits include the critically acclaimed theatrical documentary Trouble is My Business as well as NZ comedy Two Little Boys starring Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords) that premiered at Berlinale 2012. In 2013 Vicky produced and distributed NZ independent documentary Gardening with Soul. The film was a local smash hit winning Best Documentary at the 2013 NZ Film Awards, becoming one of the highest grossing NZ documentaries at the local box office at the time.
Vicky’s most recent production is Sam Kelly’s debut feature film Savage that premiered at Busan and London BFI Film Festivals in 2019 and has been sold around the world by Film Constellation (UK). Savage was released in NZ in Sept 2020, grossing over $1.5M at the NZ Box office, placing it in the top 20 NZ releases of all time.
Alongside her film work, has produced a number of digital media projects funded by NZ On Air Digital Media Fund, including the transmedia project for NZ kids Wild Eyes, and the interactive documentary Conversations with Young Mums, produced in partnership with NZ integrated media company NZME and the NZ Herald.
Vicky is a two-time recipient of slate funding from the NZ Film Commission via their highly contested Boost programme. She is currently in development with a number of film and television projects with the support of the NZ Film Commission including Went Up the Hill in partnership with Causeway Films (Australia) and NZ drama series The ARK in development with SKY TV NZ and NZ On Air.
Vicky will be presenting in our Case Study session, speaking to her experience of distributing her project, SAVAGE.
Veronica Fury - Producer, WildBear Entertainment
Veronica Fury is an Executive Producer, Producer and Principal of WildBear Entertainment with over 65 commissioned television series and feature documentaries to her name. Some of her prominent feature credits include the AACTA nominated biopic Brock: Over the Top, released by Universal Pictures, Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks, commissioned by Netflix, and the upcoming feature documentary, Hating Peter Tatchell, executive produced by Elton John. Veronica’s recent television credits include the ongoing series Scottish Vets Down Under, commissioned by BBC Scotland as well as Aussie Mega Mechanics and Demolition Down Under for Discovery and Network 10. From ABC to ZDF - Veronica works with a broad range of major domestic and international television broadcasters and distributors.
Catherine Fitzgerald - Producer, Blueskin Films
Catherine Fitzgerald, ONZM, founded Blueskin Films in 2002. The latest film, thriller, Coming Home in the Dark (dir James Ashcroft) premièred in the Midnight Section, Sundance 2021. Punch (dir Welby Ings) shot in New Zealand November - December 2020 is in post-production, as is Returning Home, a Chinese/NZ feature documentary. Blueskin Films has produced the acclaimed One Thousand Ropes, The Orator (both NZ’s nominees for Best for Foreign Film) and Bellbird amongst its extensive international award-winning slate of features, shorts and documentaries which have featured worldwide, including the Berlinale, Venice, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto Film Festivals and the Academy Awards. Catherine has a record of films by women, Māori and Polynesian and other under-represented voices. Recent releases include Bellbird and Helen Kelly. Short The Meek and Coming Home in the Dark will be hitting the screens in 2021.
She also Chairs the NZ Film Festival Trust and Playmarket, is a founding Trust member of the Screen Women’s Action Group and has consulted for the Berlinale for the NATIVe strand, and served on Generation, NETPAC and Adelaide Festival Juries. Her other governance roles include the founding Chair of WIFT NZ, NZ Film Commission Board, the Board of the Dunedin College of Education, and SPADA among others.
Catherine will be presenting in our Case Study session, speaking to her experience of distributing her project, Bellbird.
Paul Wiegard - CoFounder & CEO - Madman Entertainment Party Ltd.
B.Sc, B.Arts, Master (M.SAB)
Current roles
CoFounder & CEO – Madman Entertainment Pty Ltd
President - Australian Independent Distributors Association (AIDA), 2015 - current
Board Member - Australian Centre Moving Image (ACMI), 2017 – current
Vice-President - Aust. Home Entertainment Distributors Association (AHEDA) – 10+ years
Board Member - Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC)
Industry experience / awards
Distributed ( Australia & NZ ) x 5 Oscar Winning Feature Documentaries, 1 x Best Film
Executive Produced - 20+ Feature & Documentaries films. 3 x Winner - AACTA Award Best Film
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2004) - Australia
Established DocPlay – Dedicated documentary streaming VoD platform
Founder of Production companies Third Man Films Pty Ltd, Madman Production Company Pty Ltd
About Madman
Madman is a leading independent film and television distribution and rights management company, with offices in Australia, New Zealand & Berlin. Home to more than 80 employees across all divisions, including theatrical sales, marketing, publicity, digital aggregation and agency distribution. Madman is renowned for its commitment to quality Australian,NZ, Documentary and foreign film. Madman owned subsidiaries including DocPlay - a curated Documentary streaming platform & Garage Movies for Adventure.
Paul will be presenting in our Distribution session, working with participants to workshop their distribution plans.
Bill McDermid - General Manager Film, EVENT Cinemas
Bill McDermid - General Manager Film at Event Cinemas, with over thirty years experience in film exhibition and distribution across Australia and New Zealand.
A curator of film events, master of programming and scheduling, Bill has spent the last twenty years overseeing film & content for Australasia’s leading cinema chain with over 75 locations and 450 screens. Working as part of the team which launched premium cinema brands Gold Class, Vmax and the exciting new Boutique cinema experience.
Bill has forged strong partnerships with Studios & Film Distributors, working alongside them to bring their films to the big screen. Bill has a wealth of experience with locally made content across both countries and will often deal directly with film makers.
Bill has seen over 4000 movies throughout his career and his favourite films include Jerry Maguire, What We Do In The Shadows and Anchorman.
Mark Gooder - Co-President, Cornerstone Films
Mark Gooder is a NZ native who began his film career in Australia and New Zealand over 25 years ago. He established Icon Distribution in Sydney in 2000 for Academy-Award winning Producer/Director and Actor Mel Gibson and his producing partner Bruce Davey and re-located to Los Angeles in 2006 to oversee the successful Icon group of companies including an international sales arm, UK and Australian distribution and the Icon Productions banner (‘THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST’). In 2012 he became President of Acquisitions for The Weinstein Company. In 2015 he established the international sales company Cornerstone Films with business partner and former Focus Feature’s International President, Alison Thompson. The company is in Santa Monica and London. Cornerstone works with Producers to help develop, finance, and sell films and episodic content to the domestic and international marketplace. German TV and Film Production company, X Filme ( ‘BABYLON BERLIN’, ‘THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT’) are a minority shareholder in Cornerstone through their parent company Beta, one of the world’s leading international distributors of TV license rights. Cornerstone most recently became a shareholder in The Reset Collective, a new Australasian content distribution and production company based in Sydney.
Mark has overseen the territorial acquisition and release of over 250 of the leading independent films of all time including GOSFORD PARK, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, THE QUEEN, AMELIE, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, PRECIOUS, ONCE, LA VIE EN ROSE, IN BRUGES, FAR FROM HEAVEN, THE IRON LADY, PHILOMENA, PADDINGTON, FRUITVALE STATION and Academy Award ‘Best Film’ winners CRASH, 12 YEARS A SLAVE and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.
Mark will be presenting in our Sales Strategy session, working with participants to workshop their distribution plans.
Richard Fletcher - Managing Director, Libertine Pictures
Richard is the Managing Director of New Zealand based production company Libertine Pictures. With more than 20 years’ experience in international film and television production he has produced and executive produced a range of feature films, documentaries and TV series, including Mystic, Under the Vines, The Letter for the King, Rhys Darby: Big in Japan, The Legend of Baron To’a, Griff’s Great Kiwi Road Trip, Daffodils, Yellow is Forbidden, Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses, Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, The Last Ocean, Boy, Under the Mountain and River Queen. His productions have played at major international festivals including Berlin, Busan, Melbourne, Shanghai, Sundance, SXSW, Toronto and Tribeca film festivals and he has worked with a range of partners including the ABC, Acorn TV, BBC, CBBC, Disney, ITV, National Geographic, Netflix, Network Seven, Network Ten, Sky, TVNZ and Twentieth Century Fox.
Richard previously worked at the New Zealand Film Commission as Head of Business Affairs and in distribution in Australia for Beyond Films and in the UK for the Feature Film Company.
He has extensive domestic and international relationships across all sectors of the screen production industry. He has practical experience of film and television drama and factual production, financing and distribution in multiple jurisdictions. In addition, Richard has considerable experience in successfully managing the requirements of government funders, private investors, broadcasters and distributors. He is Co-President of the New Zealand producer’s association (SPADA) and is a former member of the New Zealand Film Commission NZSPG Certifying Panel. In 2009, he was the recipient of the SPADA Independent Producer of the Year award and in 2017 he received the SPADA/Data Book/SCREENZ Industry Champion award.
Mark Chamberlain – General Manager, Transmission Films NZ
Mark has spent some 27 years in the film industry in New Zealand and Australia, with his expertise covering distribution and exhibition in both the mainstream and independent sectors.
As Film and Content Programming Manager for major cinema chains Hoyts and Event across Australasia,
Mark used his natural innovative approach to forge fresh concepts that drove the exhibition business forward. His decisive action with calculated risks saw new opportunities soar and become a boon for boosting the overall business.
He pioneered the introduction of India’s “Bollywood” cinema into the mainstream during his time with Hoyts in Australia, laying the foundation for what is today, a very successful component of the overall box office.
Mark’s passion for cinema has seen him excel in the distribution side of the business, where he has worked with Madman and now in his current tenure as GM of Transmission Films NZ.
He strongly believes in a collaborative approach towards NZ film campaigns, putting film makers at ease with a shared vision for the end goal. Mark has overseen some powerhouse films and given strategic direction to local hits HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE / DAFFODILS / BELLBIRD / CAPITAL IN THE 21ST CENTURY and the upcoming JUNIPER releasing 2021 & WHINA releasing in 2022.
Anna Dean - Impact Producer, Co-Founder, Double Denim
Anna Dean is an impact producer with 15 years experience creating marketing campaigns of national significance and large scale events that get talked about for all the right reasons. She brings a creative approach to everything she does and is a trusted consultant and advisor to many on how to achieve cut-through in an increasingly overwhelming digital landscape.
She was co-director and co-founder of award-winning agency Double Denim Ltd who's work across the commercial, social good and political realms is regarded as making a huge impact in the gender and diversity space during the past five years in business. Her work on the Ace Lady Network is ongoing.
A Mainlander at heart she has lived in the capital for 20 years with stints in Berlin, India and South America and has recently relocated to Golden Bay.
Anna will be presenting in out Impact Producing session, working with participants to workshop their distribution plans.
Courtney Mayhew - Unit Publicist
Courtney has worked in the film and television industry in Australia, United States, China and at home in Aotearoa New Zealand. Starting with working at a cinema as a teenager, she then went on to spend the majority of her career in communications roles across all facets of the industry.
Having worked in house for Paramount and Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Marvel and Studiocanal, more recently Courtney’s work is between both the red carpet and the film set, and has worked with most major studios and streamers, as well as the leading independent organisations. With over 30 TV and film credits under her belt as unit publicist and behind the scenes/EPK producer, projects she has worked on in this capacity include the Ridley Scott directed Alien: Covenant, Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale, Little Monsters with Lupita Nyong’o and Josh Gad and the Cate Blanchett created TV series Stateless.
Along with on set work, under her company matter she works on film and TV releases, personal and organisational representation, social media and media training. Courtney also produced the documentary Nowhere to Be, that followed over 35 DPs across the world in April 2020 and is currently in post production.
In 2018 Courtney returned home to Tāmaki Makaurau, and lives there with her girlfriend and the stray cat they took in over lockdown, Bloomfield.
Courtney will be presenting in our Publicity session, working with our participants to workshop their distribution plans.
Jasmin McSweeney – Head of Marketing, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga New Zealand Film Commission
Jasmin is responsible for the promotion and marketing of New Zealand films and New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. She consults with filmmakers, international sales agents and distributors on international film festival and market placement. Within New Zealand, she assists distributors and filmmakers to identify and engage with their film’s audience through test screenings, audience research and distribution grants. Since 2005, Jasmin has been involved with the marketing and promotion of most of the films the NZFC has invested in including The World’s Fastest Indian, Boy, The Dark Horse, Chasing Great, James & Isey and Cousins.
Jasmin will be presenting in our Festival Strategy session, working with our participants on their festival plan to go along with their distribution plan.
Hayley Weston – Film Festival & Marketing Executive, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga New Zealand Film Commission
As Film Festival & Marketing Executive for the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), Hayley looks after domestic and international film festival and cultural screenings for NZFC funded films. She works with the Head of Marketing on festival release strategy, submitting the work of short and feature filmmakers, preparing for major international showcase markets and arranging materials delivery. With over 15 years’ experience in theatrical, festival and home entertainment distribution and marketing, Hayley has previously worked with Rialto Distribution, Reading Entertainment, Roadshow Films and as a guest Short Film Competition Juror for the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Hayley will be presenting in our Festival Strategy session, working with our participants on their festival plan to go along with their distribution plan.
MORE EXPERTS COMING SOON…
