PRESS RELEASE
Filmmakers in Western Australia for the CinefestOZ Film Festival's Industry Program - running 4 to 5 September 2025 - will have the opportunity to meet with some of Australia’s, leading streamers, broadcasters and practitioners - including Stan, Paramount Plus, BBC Studios, Minderoo Pictures and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) - as part of the new CineConnect program announced today by the CinefestOZ Film Festival.
CineConnect will match emerging, mid and experienced filmmakers with influential film and TV executives, including:Alex Baldwin, Head of Screen, ABC TV; Donna Chang,Commissioning Editor, Stan Originals; Mike Jones, Development Executive, BBC Studios Australia; Nel Minchin, Head of Factual, Easy Tiger Productions; Sophia Mogford, Head of Scripted Content & Comedy, Paramount Plus; Bernadette O'Mahony, Head of Content at Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF), and, Malinda Wink, Executive Director, and Amanda Clarke, Investment Manager, Minderoo Pictures.
Cassandra Jordan, CEO CinefestOZ said that the idea behind CineConnect was to build on CinefestOZ’ role in WA as a connector of industry, and provide opportunities for local film practitioners to connect one-on-one with influential players in the Australian screen industry.
“Western Australia’s distance from the east coast of Australia means that local filmmakers often find it challenging to meet and develop relationships with leading screen business executives and innovators. ”
“The aim of CineConnect is to create a space for meaningful connections and provide our industry with the opportunity to more easily showcase their projects and talent, and help to grow the capacity of Western Australia’s screen industry.”
Expressions of Interest are now open for filmmakers to participate in CineConnect in Busselton from September 4-5. To be eligible, filmmakers must be a CinefestOZ Film Festival Industry Passholder and submit their EOI by August 15 2025. EOIs will be reviewed for the best fit and, as places are limited, the process will be highly competitive.
Industry Passes can be purchased online at www.cinefestoz.com and the full Industry Program will be released in August.
CineConnect is an initiative of the CinefestOZ Film Festival (August 30 – September 7) and is supported by the Western Australian Government and Minderoo Pictures.
Meet the screen executives confirmed for CineConnect 2025
Alex Baldwin, Head of Screen, ABC TV
As Head of Screen, Alex works closely with the Director of Content providing editorial leadership and screen business acumen, overseeing all screen output at the ABC. Prior to his appointment as Head of Screen, Alex worked in the ABC’s Scripted department overseeing the national broadcaster’s Drama and Comedy slates. First serving as Deputy Head and eventually Head of Scripted programming. Whilst in this role he was instrumental in the development, financing, and commissioning of well over 500hrs of original Australian content, including groundbreaking TV series such as Total Control, Mystery Road, The Newsreader, Fisk, and Austin. Prior to working at the ABC, he worked in the UK working across feature films and TV, producing work for many companies including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, RSA Films, and Radical Media.
Donna Chang, Commissioning Editor, Stan
As Commissioning Editor at Stan, Donna Chang is part of a team overseeing the development and production of original film and television projects. She brings extensive experience from her previous roles as commissioning editor at SBS, head of development at Lingo Pictures, development executive at Screen Australia, and Production Executive at Ridley Scott's Scott Free Films in London.
Mike Jones, Development Executive, Scripted Production
Mike Jones is a producer, writer, and story developer whose work spans more than twenty broadcast series and feature productions collecting numerous accolades including AACTA, Emmy, Rockie, AWG, Logie, SPA, SeriesMania, and ADG awards. His collaborations include major international TV dramas - The Gloaming, The Kettering Incident, Eden, DeadhouseDark, and Ms Fishers’s Modern Mysteries - along with much loved dramedies, F'cking Adelaide and emmy-nominated Wrong Kind of Black. Mike was co-creator and writer of supernatural mystery, The Orchard, starring Eric Bana for Amazon's Audible. Other producing credits include ACCTA-winning youth drama Deadlock and hit comedy and family features Sunburnt Christmas, Christmas Ransom, and Windcatcher starring Jessica Mauboy. Mike has previously worked with companies including the ABC, WarnerBros, Jungle, 2Jons, and Princess Pictures. He was previously head of content at Every Cloud Productions, development executive to ScreenAustralia, and lectured in story and writing at the Australian Film TV & Radio School. Mike currently leads scripted development at BBC Studios ANZ.
Sophia Mogford, Head of Scripted Content & Comedy, Paramount (ANZ)
Sophia joined Paramount ANZ in October 2022 as Head of Scripted Content & Comedy. Sophia’s Paramount portfolio includes Paramount+ titles; Fake, One Night, Paper Dolls, and feature Appleton Ladies Potato Race along with soon to be released thriller Playing Gracie Darling & comedy favourite Ghosts. Her Network TEN slate includes Talkin ‘Bout Your Gen, Sam Pang Tonight and stalwart The Amazing Race, Sophia has also broken ground with partnership productions such as The Inspired Unemployed’s Impractical Jokers & Betoota Advocate Presents. Sophia was Head of Entertainment at Eureka Productions for the seven years before joining Paramount ANZ.
Having worked across the full gambit of television and multi-platform production in Australia and the UK, Sophia’s work has been nominated and won multiple awards including BAFTA, Telly Awards, AACTA’s and Logies. She has overseen the full gambit of ratings and award winning content across streaming services and free to air networks including, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Drunk History, Little Big Shots, Luxe Listings, Australian Ninja Warrior, Holey Moley, It Takes Two, Australia’s Got Talent, and Hamish & Andy’s Gap Years, multiple ARIA Awards, as well as collaboratively developing and creatively executing the long running The Project.
Pre her Australian escapades Sophia had a successful 10-year career in the UK, spanning a diverse slate of projects across multiple genres and award-winning formats including the likes of The Big Breakfast, TFI Friday, Big Brother, House of Tiny Tearaways, and CBBC.
Bernadette O'Mahony, Head of Content, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Bernadette O’Mahony is an award-winning Executive Producer and Producer and the Head of Content at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. She oversees the Foundation’s development, production, and international distribution activities.
Bernadette’s producer credits include the award-winning series Mortified and Round the Twist. As a highly regarded Executive Producer, Bernadette has helped producers develop, finance, and produce series including Dance Academy, Hardball, Little Lunch, Eddie’s Lil’ Homies, Crazy Fun Park and The Inbestigators, and family films including Windcatcher and RUNT.
Bernadette has worked with broadcasters across all platforms, and her knowledge and experience in the development, production, financing, and distribution of Australian children’s content are unparalleled.
Nel Minchin, Head of Factual, Easy Tiger Productions
Nel Minchin is a director, writer and producer with a reputation for making smart, thought-provoking and engaging documentaries. A recipient of the Screen Australia Enterprise People grant in 2016, Nel worked at In Films under the mentorship of Ivan O’Mahoney where she created, directed and produced prime time TV docs AACTA-nominated Matilda and Me (co-directed with Rhian Skirving), Making Muriel and feature documentary Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra (co-directed with Wayne Blair). Firestarter screened at over 35 festivals across the world winning the Rose D’Or for Arts Programming, the Walkley Documentary Award, the documentary award at the Pan African Film Festival LA, the AACTA, an ADG, the Adelaide Film Festival Award and a SPA Award. Other work includes highly popular Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India, 3-part prime time fashion history series The Way We Wore hosted by Celeste Barber and SBS documentary The Truth about Anxiety with comedian Celia Pacquola winning the WA mental health award. Nel returned to In Films to direct prime time sports series Folau, nominated at Mipcom Cannes in 2023. Nel started out her career in London working for 5 years on factual formats including the Blood, Sweat and … series and Britain’s Next Big Thing for the BBC, Cowboy Builders for Channel Five and as a digital producer in the Google Creative Lab. She worked as a development producer at Fremantle Media Australia for 2 years and as an independent producer has also dabbled in short films and comedy, producing and developing shows for comedians Joel Creasey, Rhys Nicholson and youtube comedy superstars Aunty Donna for many years. She currently sits on the Gender Matters Taskforce at Screen Australia.
Malinda Wink, Executive Director, Minderoo Pictures
Malinda Wink is the Executive Director of Minderoo Pictures. Ms Wink was Executive Producer of high-profile social impact documentaries including 2040, The Final Quarter about champion AFL player, Adam Goodes, and Big Deal: Is Our Democracy for Sale? and is a highly regarded leader within the global screen industry and not-for-profit sector. Before joining Minderoo Pictures, Ms Wink was Doc Society's Global Director of Good Pitch and launched their Australian programs, including the ABC's Climate and Environment Shorts initiative. She was previously Executive Director of Good Pitch Australia whose films included That Sugar Film, Gayby Baby, The Opposition, Blue, Frackman, and In My Blood It Runs, and Executive Director of Ian Darling’s Shark Island Institute.
Amanda Clarke, Investment Manager, Minderoo Pictures
As Investment Manager, Amanda Clarke manages the diverse slate of projects for Minderoo Pictures. Minderoo Pictures invests in scripted and documentary projects in development and production, thematically aligned with the work and priorities of the Minderoo Foundation. Projects in the portfolio include David Attenborough: Ocean, The Cranes Call, Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story, Mozart’s Sister and Magic Beach. Amanda has a range of experience in the screen industry with roles covering financing, development, and production. She spent five years at Screen Australia where she coordinated talent initiatives and workshops including Brilliant Pitches with US-based producer Sheila Hanahan-Taylor. Before joining Minderoo, Amanda managed the Scripted Development program at Screenwest.
About CinefestOZ
CinefestOZ in the South West region of Western Australia is a celebration of Australian filmmaking that includes premieres and events in cinemas, wineries, small bars and galleries across Bunbury, Busselton and Margaret River. The festival offers a lucrative film prize of $100,000 – the largest for an Australian film in the country - and has cultivated a reputation as both an industry event and film festival destination. The event has since grown with CinefestOZ Albany, and CinefestOZ Broome - WA’s Indigenous film festival held in conjunction with Goolarri Media, a wholly owned and run Indigenous media organisation.