Leaders of Australian Screen: The Future of Cinema through the Female Lens

Sasha has worked extensively in the Australian cinema and screen industry, starting in distribution before moving into exhibition, programming, and festivals. A highly regarded screen industry executive and leader in the independent screen and film sector, Sasha sat on the Board of the Independent Cinemas Association (2016-19) and was a member of Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Taskforce (2017-19).

In 2016, Sasha was the recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship recognising female leadership in the screen industry. Sasha was most recently Head of Programming for the Brisbane International Film Festival and Gold Coast Film Festival and currently consults to screen, cinema, and content businesses. Sasha is the current President of the Natalie Miller Fellowship and passionate about supporting gender equity and diversity in the Australian screen sector.

Anna Kaplan is Co-Founder and Head of Impact Production at Regen Studios. With two decades of experience as a screen producer and impact strategist, she has worked extensively in production and distribution in the UK and Australia, including roles at BBC Documentaries, ITV Factual, Granada Productions, VicScreen and Madman. In 2015, she devised and led the impact campaign for the high-impact feature documentary That Sugar Film, inspiring audiences to change their relationship with sugar. She then produced the climate solutions feature documentary 2040 and led a global impact campaign that mobilised audiences to directly support the solutions featured in the film. Both films sit in the top-ten highest grossing Australian theatrical documentaries of all time at the domestic box office.

In 2020, Anna co-founded Regen Studios with Damon Garneau to focus on storytelling that inspires and activates audiences. Recent credits include producing Regenerating Australia, a high-end short film created in partnership with WWF-Australia and executive producing Rachel's Farm directed by Rachel Ward and the upcoming Future Council directed by Damon Garneau.

Anna is a recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship and Co-founder and Co-Chair of Sustainable Screens Australia, an industry-led organisation working to reduce the environmental impact of local productions.

Bridgette Graham is the founder of Path to Audience, an entertainment marketing consultancy that delivers consumer research and insights to both the Australian and international screen industries. With 15 years of experience in the Australian screen sector, Bridgette has collaborated with leading brands across streaming, exhibition, distribution, and production.

Bridgette was previously the Marketing Manager for Local Production at Roadshow Films, specialising in creative and audience strategy for their locally produced Australian feature films. Prior to this Bridgette worked in exhibition marketing and operations with the Dendy Icon Group and Moving Story Entertainment.

A champion of creative storytelling, finding the human stories in data, and uncovering the narratives that inspires meaningful engagement for brands; Bridgette has led strategy for blockbuster Australian films The Dry, Penguin Bloom, RAMS, and The Drover's Wife, which have grossed a combined total of more than $30 million at the Australian box office.

In 2021, Bridgette became the 10th recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship with a focus on developing disruptive entertainment business models. Bridgette holds an MBA from RMIT, with concentrations in marketing and leadership, and was a recipient of the Film Victoria Women in Leadership and Development Award in 2018.

Sian Mitchell is the Festival Director and co-founder of the Melbourne Women in Film Festival, an annual festival showcasing the work of Australian, Aotearoa New Zealand and Pasifika women and gender diverse screen creatives. She is also a Lecturer in Film, Television and Animation at Deakin University where she revels in the opportunity to work with the next generation of screen storytellers and creative practitioners.

Sian's research in areas of women’s screen practice and film festivals has been published in books, journals and on industry sites, and she was the 2022 recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship. Most of all, Sian loves finding and sharing incredible stories made for the screen with others.