MEDIA RELEASE: Friday 23 October

MEET THE BUYER 2015 SCREEN FOREVER CONFERENCE, MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA

Australian producers have the opportunity to hear first hand from 21 leading local and international Development Executives, Commissioning Editors, Programmers and Controllers in Meet The Buyer, a highlight event of SCREEN FOREVER 2015, the premier conference for the screen industry in Australia.

The invaluable three-day Partnership Event invites leading executives from significant media platforms and channels to outline their programming priorities, production schedules and target audiences, and to articulate how Australian producers may best facilitate collaborations. Screen Producers Australia is delighted to confirm the 21 Network Executives from SBS Television, ABC Television, Network Ten, Network Seven, Foxtel and STAN, who will participate in Meet The Buyer and link up with Australian producers.

"The importance for producers and creators of screen content to understand the key programming needs of media platforms in Australia and overseas cannot be overstated. We are delighted to have 21 key representatives join us for Meet The Buyer at SCREEN FOREVER 2015, bringing potential partners together and facilitating successful productions,” said Matthew Deaner, CEO, Screen Producers Australia.

The representatives confirmed for Meet the Buyer include the following executives:

ABC TELEVISION Adrian Swift Head of Content Jon Casimir Head of Entertainment Carole Sklan Head of Fiction Kath Earle Acting Head of Arts Rick Kalowski Head of Comedy

FOXTEL Ross Crowley Director of Movies and Content Duane Hatherly Director of Production Hannah Barnes General Manager, The LifeStyle Group Penny Win Head of Drama

NETWORK SEVEN Rikkie Proost Executive Producer, Reality TV Sonya Wilkes Head of Programme Development MaryAnne Carroll Executive Producer, Comedy

NETWORK TEN Stephen Tate Head of Entertainment and Factual Programming Azar Marashian Head of Acquisitions, Development Manager Daniel Monaghan Programming Manager

SBS TELEVISION Marshall Heald Director, Television and Online Content Sue Masters Executive Producer, Drama and Comedy John Godfrey Head of Documentaries Kylie Boltin Executive Producer, Documentaries and Drama Online

STAN Nick Forward Director, Content and Product Rob Gibson Head of Originals Development

The Meet The Buyer sessions at SCREEN FOREVER 2015 are produced by Lou Porter (Production Executive, TV Entertainment, ABC Television) and will be moderated by Jason Burrows, Managing Director/EP Television at Jungleboys.

Meet the Buyer is a three-day Partnership Event spanning the 2015 SCREEN Forever Conference, 17-19 November.

SCREEN FOREVER 17-19 November 2015, Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne Australia Registrations now open at www.screenforever.org.au.

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Media Enquiries: Miranda Brown | Miranda Brown Publicity ph: 03 9419 0931 mob: 0411 568 781 [email protected] Stephanie Pirrie |Miranda Brown Publicity | ph: 03 9419 0931 mob: 0430 517 722 | [email protected]

SCREEN FOREVER, marking 30 years in 2015, is one of the largest congregations of screen professionals in the southern hemisphere, providing a forum for discussion and debate on local and global trends, issues and challenges facing the business of screen production. Past keynote speakers include Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead, Aliens, The Terminator); Beau Willimon (House of Cards); Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech, Top of the Lake); Sydney Pollack (Tootsie); Ted Hope (21 Grams), David Puttnam, Kt, CBE (The Mission), Jon Plowman (The Office), Matthew Weiner (Mad Men) and George Lucas (Star Wars).