Charting a path to screen industry leadership with Bardia Mor

At just 25, Bardia Mor is one of the youngest students in AFTRS’ Master of Arts Screen: Business (MASB) program – but his industry trajectory is already well underway. Currently a Content & Acquisitions Assistant at VA Media, Bardia entered the course with a clear ambition: to accelerate his career and step into future leadership roles within Australia’s screen sector. 

He’s also energised by the potential for industry transformation. 

Despite his young age, Bardia has already worked across several parts of the industry. “Within the four years of experience I have within the film industry, I’ve worked at Flame Media, I’ve worked at Seven Plus, Stan and now VA Media,” he explains. 

In his current role, Bardia is deeply involved in growth strategy and content evaluation. “I actively shape the acquisition pipeline by analysing audience needs and recommending titles that align with our channel brands,” he says. “My focus sits at the intersection of strategy and execution – managing partner liaisons, legal workflows, and contract lifecycles to ensure seamless publishing.” 

It’s a role that demands both creativity and business intelligence, and the MASB has been crucial in sharpening those tools. “I’m passionate about identifying high‑potential content and directly contributing to key network metrics!” 

Prestige, perspective and professional growth 

Bardia’s connection to AFTRS began years before he applied.

“I always had AFTRS on my mind just because of its prestige and what the school has been for the past 50 years,” he says. 

What ultimately convinced him, however, was the chance to expand his thinking. “I came less for the content and more because I wanted to have unique perspectives on different issues within the screen industry,” he explains. “In every single unit that I’ve done, we’ve had a conversation about a certain topic which has been both fascinating and very insightful in different ways.” 

The program also appealed to his ambition. “The Masters has definitely provided me a pathway to leadership,” he says.  

“The course’s emphasis on management, innovation and critical thinking has made me more aware of my professional career and helped me build the expertise needed to advance.” 

Coming from a creative background, the business side of the screen world was daunting at first, but he knew it was necessary for progression. 

“I had no clue about anything finance really before,” Bardia admits. 

“Entrepreneurial finance was a massive learning experience. But I ended up really enjoying that unit even though it was really uncomfortable and difficult to do initially.” 

He soon found himself diving into detailed analysis and using those skills in his daily work at the same time, at Stan. 

“Not only was I looking at my role from the perspective of a technical aspect, I was starting to look at it more from a data sense and a financial sense – really looking at viewership numbers, how we could improve those to accentuate subscriber numbers [and] engagement.” 

Analytics became one of his greatest fascinations. 

“The most exciting part of the course was definitely an exploration of data and how it can affect the screen business,” he says. 

“We use data as a really analytical and innovative technology to improve engagement … and ultimately fiscally.” 

A flexible course designed for busy people 

Managing a demanding work role alongside postgraduate study is challenging – but the MASB structure made it possible for Bardia.  

“The course is really accommodating … it is a very flexible and hybrid course,” he says. 

But he still completed as many subjects in person as possible, valuing real‑world interactions: “Being with people … and being able to get lunch with them and develop a better connection has been really helpful for me and has enhanced the experience. But I’ve also made great connections with everyone online.” 

That human connection became one of the biggest unexpected gifts of the program. 

“I love every single one of them,” he says of his cohort. “They all have such unique perspectives which they are happy to share … and culturally as well, I think it’s so important to have a diverse cultural group, and I’m really grateful I’ve had that here.” 

Advice for future MASB students 

As a catalyst for growth, Bardia believes the course is well suited to people wanting to move into leadership positions in the screen industry. 

“I’d recommend AFTRS because I believe the qualities that you gain from a management and leadership perspective allow for a greater understanding of the industry – and are beneficial from a personal perspective as well as for the industry itself,” he says. 

“I’m fascinated by the screen business, and AFTRS has given me a unique way of thinking about nuanced and maybe contentious parts of the industry and how we can approach those with the analytics and logic. I am excited about improvements that can be made to further develop our industry to a global standard and I hope I can play a part in that.”