ZERO-POINT – MARK COLE SMITH

Hailing from Broome, Mark has worked across several performing arts’ genres, first and foremost as an actor, but also as a writer, producer and sound designer.

In 2017,  Mark won a Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for his work on Leah Purcell’s acclaimed adaptation of The Drover’s Wife.  On television, he appeared on Doctor Doctor and Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell. 

He received a Best Supporting Actor AACTA nomination and a Best Supporting Actor win at the Film Critics’ Circle of Australia awards for his work in the feature film Last Cab to Darwin, opposite Jacki Weaver and Michael Caton, and was also honoured with a Best Supporting Actor AACTA nomination for the film Pawno.  Mark’s other screen credits include U.S. series Hunters for the SyFy Network; Old School, opposite Bryan Brown and Sam Neill; The Gods of Wheat Street; a lead guest in the hit American comedy Modern Family; Hard Rock Medical, a co-production between SBS TV and Canada’s TV Ontario, the features Around the Block and Beneath Hill 60; Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries; Blue Heelers; Dirt Game; The Circuit and Please Like Me.

On top of The Drover’s Wife, other theatre credits include Jandamarra under the direction of Phil Thompson, and Wulamanayuwi and Seven Pamanuas, directed by Noel Jordan for the Darwin Festival.

In 2018, Mark appeared in the re-imagining of Picnic at Hanging Rock for Foxtel.

With a gift for storytelling, Mark worked under the guidance of Gary Crew as part of the Indigenous Mentorship Program for the Australian Society of Authors.  He has a certificate in Aboriginal Theatre from WAAPA and a Bachelor in Indigenous Studies.  In 2007 he won the Yvonne Cohen Award from the VCA Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts.  In 2008 he took out a grant from ScreenWest for the short film Layoordoo, which he wrote, co-produced and directed, while also featuring in a supporting role. Layoordoo screened at Toronto’s ImagiNATIVE Film Festival.

In addition to his acting and writing, in recent years Mark has pursued work in the field of audio production and sound design.  He designed the sound for Ilbijerri’s Which Way Home and he produces across an array of genres, including the debut album of Australian Hip Hop group ‘Bare Minimum’ and an electronica album under the alias ‘Karate Surfing.’  He is also a regular voice artist for animation, documentary and audiobooks.

Mark was awarded the Casting Guild of Australia’s inaugural Sirius Award for New Talent of the Future.

SAMSON – STEVEN OLIVER

Steven Oliver is a descendant of the Kuku-Yalanji, Waanyi, Gangalidda, Woppaburra, Bundjalung and Biripi (in other words, biggest mob) peoples.  He was born in Cloncurry in North West Queensland and grew up in Townsville before moving to Perth to study performing arts.

Steven has worked with numerous theatre companies and arts organisations across Australia and has been an artist in residence at La Boite Theatre Company.  He became notorious with ABC’s hit sketch show Black Comedy as a writer/actor/associate producer.  He is also a published playwright and poet with his poetry accumulating over two million views online.  A number only overshadowed by his comedic work which collectively has accumulated over ten million views.  He currently works full-time at the Brisbane Indigenous Media Association as its Creative Director.  Steven is the creator of a soon to be released web series A Chance Affair.

WING COMMANDER – EBONY MAGUIRE

Ebony McGuire graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Certificate IV in Aboriginal Theatre. She played various workshopped roles while at WAAPA.

In 2014 Ebony performed at The Blue Room as Alison, in What Do They Call Me? written by Eva Johnson, directed by Eva Mullaley.  In October 2014 she was a workshop facilitator in the Culture 2.0 | Respecting Yourself | Respect Your Culture workshop program with Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company.

Continuing her relationship with Yirra Yaakin, in 2015 Ebony performed in Kep Kaatijin directed by Ian Wilkes and worked with a team of artists in developing the Shakespeare Sonnets in Noongar workshop program.  In 2015 she was Lizzy in The Fever and The Fret , with Yirra Yaakin, written by Jub Clerc, directed by Kyle Morrison.

In 2017 Ebony played various roles for the Coranderrk National Tour with Ilbijerri Theatre Company, directed by Eva Mullaley. And most recently, she played the role of Irene Adler/Sally Barak with wit incorporated, in A Scandal In The Weima , written by Claire Bowen and Jennifer Piper, and is playing Lou in Outside In by Hilary Beaton, also with wit incorporated.

CREATOR/CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR – JONATHON SAUNDERS

Jonathon Saunders is a Darwin based Indigenous illustrator and animator. While born and raised in Darwin, Jonathon is a member of the Woppaburra indigenous people, from the Kanomie clan of Keppel Island in Queensland. Jonathon has always had an interest in the visual arts. After completing high school, Jonathon enrolled at Charles Darwin University and studied a Bachelor of Visual Arts, which he completed with Honours. On graduation from tertiary studies, Jonathon joined an Indigenous arts peak body where he works to this day, undertaking both lead and support roles assisting Indigenous art centres and arts workers across Northern Australia.

Jonathon’s artwork focuses strongly on comic book and superhero iconography and re-contextualizing those images within an Australian urban setting. Jonathon explores the themes of morality, heroism and identity. He has exhibited around Darwin and interstate. As a 2d animator and illustrator, Jonathon uses many programs to achieve his creative projects. Jonathon uses Clip Studio Paint for concept illustrations, animation layouts, backgrounds and key frame pencil tests. Jonathon also uses Toon Boom Harmony for animation, utilizing the programs art tools for his own pre-production workflow. In 2016, his script for Zero-Point a animated pilot based on his webcomic Astounding Tales of Hero Fiction  was selected for further development under Screen Territory’s Illuminator masterclass with writers Mike Jones and Vicki Madden.

Jonathon undertook a Screen Australia internship at Fox Studio Australia working on Ridley Scott’s Alien Covenant working with the Art Department and providing illustrations for use in the film. In late 2017 Jonathon received funding from Screen Australia’s Black Space Web series initiative to produce his animated mini series Zero-Point Season Zero, production wrapped up in early 2018 as Jonathon and his producers are looking into screen the series at local and international film festivals.

CO-WRITER – PHILIP TARL DENSON

Philip Tarl Denson is a screenwriter and script editor living in Darwin, Northern Territory. His 2016 INSITE finalist script, BORDERLINE, is currently in pre-production in the USA, fully financed and shooting later this year.

Philip has a number of feature film and television projects in development including his first feature film script, LUCID, which has won several accolades comprising the NT Literary Award for Screenwriting, shortlisted for the 2016 JOHN HINDE award for Science Fiction, finalist in the BlueCat Screenplay competition, finalist in the Fresh Voices Screenplay competition, quarter-finalist in the Nicholl Fellowship screenwriting contest and more recently finalist in the 2017 GATEWAY LA ‘Aussie List’ of the best unproduced scripts by Australian writers.

Philip has script edited several local and national projects and was selected to participate in AFTRS inaugural Script Editing course this year with a full scholarship from AFTRS and support from Screen Territory. Philip is represented by Elevate Entertainment in the US.

ANIMATION DIRECTOR – GUY JAMIESON – POKE THE BEAR

Guy is a producer working in the Australian animation industry that has worked in near all facets of production over the last 20 years. Starting in ink & paint, moving through design, animation, teaching and commercial producing and production management.

Guy is also the founder of the Sydney Animation Production Group. Leading Sydney creatives on a journey into how to develop and produce their own animation concepts.

PRODUCER – TIMOTHY PARISH

Timothy Parish is a writer, director and producer and founder of Undergrowth Productions, an independent production company through which he has created long and short form documentaries, music videos, live audiovisual performances and short films.

Parish produced and directed the feature documentary AYA AWAKENINGS. In 2014, he wrote and directed the stage play THE BOOK OF SHAD­OWS.  In 2015, Parish directed the short documentary GHOST STORY as part of ART X NORTH for ABC TV. Parish was selected to take part in Screen Producers Australia’s ONES TO WATCH program and he founded UNDERGROWTH PRODUCTIONS PTY LTD in order to develop original feature film, documentary, television projects and web series.  In 2016, Parish was the writer, director and co-producer on THE WORD: RISE OF THE SLAM POETS a web-series for ABC iView.

Parish founded the Transitions Film Festival in 2012 showcasing visionary documentaries about social and environmental issues. He was also the Director of the Darwin International Film Festival from 2016-2017.

His latest short film SPECTRUM screened at Flickerfest 2019.

PRODUCER – MEREDITH GARLICK

Meredith Garlick is a producer, writer, consultant and senior executive, with over 20 years in the film and television industry. In 2015-16 Meredith worked in the Northern Territory, first as Director of Screen Territory, delivering the report of the Ministerial Advisory Council, Charting new territory, which resulted in a significant funding increase to the local industry, and, later, also producing the arts and cultural policy for the Northern Territory Government.

As Head of Development and Production and CEO at Screen Queensland, Meredith was responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation and drove the expansion of the local industry through targeted development programs. She oversaw development and production investment in over 100 domestic and international projects, of all genres and formats.

Meredith has produced for film and television on three continents. Meredith’s $30M children’s film, The Secret of Moonacre, was a UK-France-Hungary co-production starring Dakota Blue Richards, Ioan Gruffudd, Juliet Stevenson and Tim Curry. It was released in over 120 territories.

Meredith has an MFA (Producing) from Columbia University and was awarded the University Medal and First Class Honours from University of Queensland for her thesis on the films of Quentin Tarantino.