Screen Forever 2024: international guests

Screen Producers Australia has announced the first three international guests taking part in Screen Forever 38 next March.

From the UK, Head Gear Films Founder and CEO Phil Hunt will be in Australia for the first time in over a decade on the hunt for Australia’s ‘next big hit’.

Head Gear Films is a leading financier of independent film, TV and games projects and has been partnering with producers for over 20 years to help bring productions like Churchill, You Won’t be Alone, The Kill Room and critically acclaimed Australian indie film Talk To Me to audiences internationally.

“Last time I came to Screen Forever was around 15 years ago, and I am very happy that I’m returning to spend a few days with Australian film and TV business professionals. I’ve now Exec Produced and financed over 100 movies in Australia, including many global hits like Talk To Me. It’s a country that is very dear to me, with some incredible talent, wonderful people, and beautiful culture. It feels like my second home,” Hunt said.

Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, the Vice President of Scripted Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Red Arrow Studios International, a global TV distributor and a subsidiary of Seven.One Studios, will also attend. Based in Germany, he oversees all scripted development and acquisition activities, working directly with production companies and creatives, with the aim of packaging, co-financing, and co-producing projects. Delegates will have the chance to secure meetings with him in SPA Connect Market sessions.

Red Arrow distributes Australian comedies and dramas including titles Australian Gangster, Bad Mothers, Squinters, Summer Love, and most recently While the Men are Away.

“We’ve been delighted by our recent collaborations with exceptional talent in Australia and New Zealand, uncovering exciting perspectives that offer bold, distinctive concepts. While these connections have flourished from a distance, I’m thrilled to be attending Screen Forever 38, eagerly seeking to deepen these ties and forge new collaborations that will bring an array of captivating stories to audiences worldwide,” he said.

Delegates can also hear from and pitch to Ava Mustos, Associate Director of Acquisitions at Fifth Season, a global film and TV studio. Fifth Season’s slate includes Jack Thorne’s BBC One drama Best Interests, crime drama Tokyo Vice for Max and Nine Perfect Strangers for Hulu, alongside Australian titles such as courtroom drama The Twelve, Strife, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, One Night and Wolf Like Me.

Ava said: “The last edition of Screen Forever was a great experience and I had so many productive and engaging conversations, as well as being presented with an array of unique local projects. At Fifth Season, we have a robust slate of premium, fresh and talent-driven Australian-rooted content that is ideal for global audiences – including some exciting upcoming projects that we are deficit financing or co-producing with international partners – and Screen Forever provides an ideal springboard for unearthing these type of collaboration opportunities. I can’t wait to return to the Gold Coast and explore new opportunities with both new and existing partners.”

Screen Forever takes place 19-21 March 2024 on the Gold Coast.