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TV TALKS: The Latest from MIP

07 May 2019,
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Australian Film Television and Radio School

You may be an industry pro who has attended dozens of international markets – or you may be asking, “What’s a MIP? Can I eat a MIP? Can I dividend a MIP? Am I a MIP?”

AFTRS’ May TV Talks panel will answer this real question, and many more: should you have gone to MIP?

Five industry professionals report back from the international market in Cannes and share their thoughts on trends, the shows everyone’s talking about, and how Australian shows are travelling around the globe.

GUESTS

Christiaan Van Vuuren: Producer/writer/actor Over and Out, Soul Mates
David Mott: CEO ITV Studios
Evan Maloney: Development Manager, Screen Tasmania
Jessica Ellis: Head Content Sales and Distribution, ABC Commercial
Natalie Apostolou: Mipcom Consultant, Reed Midem
MC Andrew Garrick: producer/director

Christiaan Van Vuuren

Christiaan Van Vuuren has most recently written, created and performed (with partner Adele Vuko) the web series ‘Over and Out’ which was directed by his brother Connor Van Vuuren and won the Canneseries Short Form Competition at MIP this year. Christiaan is also one of the creators, writers and directors of the multi-platform comedy series Soul Mates, which premiered on ABC2 in 2014 and moved to ABC1 in 2015. Soul Mates is a spin-off of the successful web-series Bondi Hipsters co-created with Nick Boshier, for which the Van Vuuren Bros won an ADG Award for ‘Best Direction in an Original Online Project’ in 2013, and whose YouTube channel has hosted in excess of 25 million views. The second series of Soul Mates screened on ABC and ABC iView in 2016, and resulted in the Van Vuuren Bros receiving an ADG Award nomination for ‘Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Comedy Program’.

Christiaan has also worked on Jungle series Squinters and Sando as a co-director, and Foxtel’s comedy series The Slot as a host, director and performer. The Van Vuuren Bros are currently developing several television projects, including comedy-horror feature Croak, to be produced by Chloe Rickard for Jungle and Bridget Callow-Wright for Midwinter Films.

Christiaan’s collaborations have received over 150million views online, and he has credits directing the comedy series The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide to Knife Fighting for the ABC, the web series Skit Box and Eastern Suburbs Mums, Tim Minchin’s 15 Minutes, and the viral Skitbox video Activewear. He has also written and directed content for brands including Northern Territory Tourism, Tourism Portland, Old Spice, McDonalds, Vittoria, AMEX, Cadbury, Coca Cola, and Sony. Christiaan acted in miniseries Stag for the BBC and recently appeared in television series Top Of The Lake: China Girl and Ben Elton’s feature Three Summers.

David Mott

David Mott has over 35 years experience in the broadcast industry and before joining ITV Studios Australia as CEO and MD, he was most recently MD of Nine Network, Perth and Network Programme Executive. Prior to this, he was Chief Programming Officer at Network TEN, where he commissioned hit programs including Talking About your Generation, Big Brother, The Biggest Loser, Australian Idol, Masterchef and groundbreaking scripted series Offspring, Secret Life of Us and Puberty Blues.

He’s also held a number of senior roles at the Seven Network. In 2009 and 2010, David was listed in Top 5 Media People in Australia.

Evan Maloney

Evan Maloney worked as a development executive for production companies in the UK, Poland and Portugal for more than 10 years before returning to Australia in 2010 to take up the position of Head of Development at Screen Tasmania. Since then he has assisted in the development of projects including The Hunter, The Kettering Incident, Rosehaven and The Gloaming, as well as working on many documentary and short-form projects.

Jessica Ellis

With over 18-years of experience, Jessica Ellis is an accomplished senior manager within Australia’s TV and digital media landscape with a proven track record of strategic business development, global TV distribution and content acquisition success.  As Head of Content Sales & Distribution for ABC Commercial, Jess is responsible for leading the ABC’s International broadcast and digital sales initiatives, in addition to managing local and international news syndication, global home entertainment and library sales. Throughout her time at the ABC, Jess has developed content distribution and release strategies_ across the ABC’s complete domestic and international release slate, managing global distribution rights across all platforms, including EST, TVOD, SVOD, AVOD and more.

Under Jess’s Leadership ABC Commercial has signed major output deals with international distribution partners, leading to exponential growth in yearly revenue; secured launch partnerships with leading digital players, including Netflix, Stan and iTunes; launched The Wiggles YouTube channel globally, generating dramatic increases in watch time and channel subscriptions; and signed a landmark syndication deal with out-of-home advertiser oOh! Media to syndicate ABC News content to 20 million people each week.

In addition to her extensive experience as a Senior Manager at the ABC, Jess has also worked in Drama Investment for Screen Australia and Digital Media Sales for BBC Worldwide.

Natalie Apostolou

Natalie Apostolou is a passionate advocate for Australian content and its creators. She is a 10 year veteran of the MIPTV and MIPCOM markets, operating as the Australian and New Zealand representative for Reed Midem, who runs the world’s biggest television events. Natalie is also a freelance journalist, media consultant and most recently curated the Screen Forever conferences and events for Screen Producers Australia.

Andrew Garrick

Andrew Garrick is best known for Creating and EP’ing late-night comedy show Tonightly on ABC Comedy. While at the ABC, he also produced a variety of shows and pilots including Comedy Next Gen, Stand & Deliver, as well as directing the acclaimed documentary Rookie Reporter for ABC Kids.

Prior to working at Aunty, his experience included developing, writing, producing and directing shows for all of the local networks and major production houses, both here and abroad, including Shine, Freemantle, Screentime, Beyond and more. He also made documentary films around the globe from the Great Barrier Reef to central Africa.

Andrew directs lots of commercials, including one just recently choreographing 14 animals to perform in a 60s one-take, and one where a guy copped a ball to the face in slow motion. His advertising directing credits include for Westpac, Formula 1, Opera Australia, RSPCA, Target and Volvo.

He’s currently working with Screentime, and teaches Applied Storytelling For Business for AFTRS. He’s also the Managing Director of Zedtown, a live zombie apocalypse experience for thousands of people at a time (yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous fun) which has recently expanded from Australia into the USA and will shortly tour across Asia.