Breaking Screen

Today's episode features Holly Lyons, who gives her insights into pitching, including what a pitch is, the different types of pitches, why they are important, how to prepare, what to do about nerves, why a strong pitch is a win-win situation regardless of if it's successful, and much more. Also see the TED Talk by Amy Cuddy, which Holly refers to in the episode to help overcome nerves: https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are Holly is a screenwriter with extensive experience in Australia and the UK, and more than 500 hours of broadcast credits as a writer or script editor. She is currently associate story producer at Home and Away and the founder of Screenwriting Scriptease, which involves script assessment, script editing and running writers' rooms. Holly also worked at AFTRS for five years as a screenwriting lecturer and presenting short courses, and it's where she conducted the research project "Pitching: A Biometric approach" to try and scientifically analyse what techniques make a successful pitch. This episode is brought to you by the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). To explore the Master of Arts Screen: Business and submit an application for the upcoming intake, visit: https://www.aftrs.edu.au/award-course/master-of-arts-screen-business/

Today's episode features Elise McCredie, an award-winning showrunner and screenwriter, whose most recent series is The Airport Chaplain, starring Hugo Weaving, Shabana Azeez and Claudia Karvan. Co-created and executive produced by Elise and Jude Troy, it's produced by Wooden Horse and all 8 episodes are available to watch on SBS now. Throughout the podcast Elise talks about writing for film versus writing for television, her approach to putting together and running a writers' room, how seeing The Kettering Incident be created by a female Australian showrunner made it feel possible to become one herself, if being a good writer makes for a good showrunner, and much more. Elise's credits include as a showrunner the first locally commissioned Australian Disney+ series The Clearing and showrunner of Stateless with EPs and co-creators Tony Ayres and Cate Blanchett, which won a record 13 AACTA awards in 2020. She also wrote, created and produced Sunshine for SBS, co-wrote the feature film Ride Like a Girl with Andrew Knight – which was the top grossing Australian film of 2019 – with other writing credits including Nowhere Boys, Jack Irish and Secret City. She also wrote and directed her debut feature film Strange Fits of Passion which was selected to screen at Cannes Film Festival. This episode is brought to you by the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). To explore the Master of Arts Screen: Business and submit an application for the upcoming intake, visit: https://www.aftrs.edu.au/award-course/master-of-arts-screen-business/

Today's episode features Gemma Crofts, an award-winning screenwriter, a script editor and former development executive, with more than fifteen years' experience across film and television development. Throughout the podcast Gemma talks about what a script editor does, takeaways from her time as a development executive, how to understand what the note behind the note is, what she enjoys about working across different genres, and much more. As a writer, Gemma has worked on shows for Netflix, Fremantle, Werner Film Productions, Orange Entertainment and SBS, most notably Surviving Summer for Netflix. Some of her projects in development include a US rom-com starring Emmy-Award winning actor Justin Hartley for Happy Accidents and as a co-creator of Twisted, a series adaptation of iconic Australian author Paul Jennings' short stories for Fremantle Media. She has also worked as a development executive for production companies such as Werner Productions and was formally trained in story development at the prestigious European-based Binger Film Lab. This episode is brought to you by the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). To explore the Master of Arts Screen: Business and submit an application for the upcoming intake, visit: https://www.aftrs.edu.au/award-course/master-of-arts-screen-business/

Today's episode features Sarah Goodes, an Award-winning Australian theatre director who started Jacaranda Productions in 2025 with actor/ producer Diana Glenn after they met at AFTRS. Their goal? To create multi medium stories by finding stories that start in theatre and developing them into TV , film and online productions - and vice versa. Throughout the podcast Sarah talks about making the decision to expand into a new career path and benefits and challenges of that, the differences and similarities between directing theatre and screen, advice for directors wanting to build sustainable careers, and much more. This episode is brought to you by the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). To explore the Master of Arts Screen: Business and submit an application for the upcoming intake, visit: https://www.aftrs.edu.au/award-course/master-of-arts-screen-business/

Today's episode features Benson Wu, the CEO of Queer Screen. Throughout the podcast, Benson talks about for submitting to film festivals, why they are important to both audiences and filmmakers and why he volunteered at Queer Screen at the beginning of his career. Benson also started the Taiwan Film Festival in Australia and has worked at Sydney Film Festival, SXSW Sydney, Taiwan International Queer Film Festival and Cinema at Sea – Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival. Benson also joins us ahead of September's Queer Screen Film Fest (Sept 2-8) and the launch of their inaugural industry event Queer Screen Studio on September 6th, which will feature panels on pitching, pathways to audience and the making of Leviticus as well as a masterclass with director Goran Stolevski. For more information, visit: https://queerscreen.org.au/sessions/queer-screen-studio/