Australians in Film and Screen Australia Announce the 2026 Participants in the Talent Gateway and Global Producers Program 9 April 2026Top (L-R): Ryan van Dijk, Zoe Pepper, Ra Chapman. Bottom (L-R): Nicholas Colla, Nick Waterman, Meg Washington.
Australians in Film (AiF), in partnership with Screen Australia, has today announced the 2026 participants in its internationally recognised Talent Gateway and Global Producers Exchange initiatives.
These highly competitive programs are designed to elevate Australian screen creatives by strengthening their professional capabilities and expanding their access to the global market.
Running online since 2021, Talent Gateway supports Australian writer/directors who have demonstrated recent international success, equipping them with the tools, industry access and strategic relationships needed to compete and collaborate in the global market.
The Global Producers Exchange, also established in 2021, focuses on strengthening the skills, knowledge, access and relationships necessary for Australian producers to succeed in the global market and to attract investment and market partnerships for Australian scripted content.
Peter Ritchie, Executive Director of Australians in Film, said: For five years, AiF has proudly partnered with Screen Australia to open global pathways for Australia's most exciting screen talent, both emerging and established. We are thrilled again to be working with Screen Australia, and to welcome the 2026 cohort.
Through Talent Gateway and Global Producers Exchange, AiF are investing in a creative, globally competitive Australian screen sector that is recognised both internationally and at home.
Screen Australia Chief Operating Officer Grainne Brunsdon said, The 2026 cohort reflect the exceptional calibre, ambition, creative range and distinctive voices that are defining the future of Australian screen storytelling. Through these initiatives, Australian screen practitioners are able to foster international pathways, establish meaningful creative relationships and continue championing local stories on the world stage.
The programs play an important role in building bridges between the Australian and international screen industries, providing participants with access to leading executives, producers and creative collaborators across key global markets.
Talent Gateway 2026 Participants:
Jo-Anne Brechin (Qld)
With a Top 10 Most Watched Film on Amazon Prime US, Jo-Anne is an award-winning, queer, neurodivergent filmmaker who brings stories to life with humour and heart. With a slate of high-concept genre feature films, she thrives in the space where creativity meets commerce. Her latest Lionsgate creature-feature Killer Whale stars Virginia Gardner (Fall, Halloween, 1923) and as an AFTRS alumni, Jo-Anne's work has screened on Netflix, Prime, iTunes, The Hallmark Channel, Great American Channel, ABC, SBS and at film festivals the world over, including GBiennale21, Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), CinefestOz, Byron Bay and the Academy-Accredited Flickerfest.
Ra Chapman (Vic)
Ra Chapman is a multidisciplinary writer, actor and filmmaker working across film, television, documentary and theatre. Recognised as one of IF Magazine's 2024 Rising Talents and selected for Screen Australia's 2025 Talent USA: NY, she received a 2025 Australian Writers' Guild (AWGIE) Award nomination and was shortlisted for the Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting for her series White Fever, which she created, wrote and starred in. She recently undertook a VicScreen Director's attachment on the ABC series Separated at Birth and attended the 2025 Platform Busan Filmmaker Program. Her award-winning play K-Box premiered at Malthouse Theatre, and other notable work includes SBS series Night Bloomers, docu-series Adoptee Voices: Women of Melbourne and Hamlet play adaptation Because the Night.
Alberto Di Troia (Vic)
Alberto Di Troia is a writer and script producer working across stage and screen. Recently, he co-wrote Episode 2 and served as script producer on the crime drama The Survivors (Tony Ayres Productions/Netflix), based on the bestselling novel by Jane Harper. The series reached #2 on the global Netflix charts and the Top 10 in 85 countries. Alberto also wrote on the hit children's TV series Spooky Files (Tony Ayres Productions/ABC) and is the co-director of award-winning independent theatre company Stage Mom. Alongside a slate of original film and television projects, he is currently developing a new play with Queensland Theatre Company.
Alexei Mizin (Vic) & Ryan van Dijk (NSW)
Alexei Mizin & Ryan van Dijk are the creators and writers of the Stan Original erotic thriller Watching You starring Aisha Dee. Watching You was nominated for Best Lead Actress at the 2026 AACTA awards and has been released globally on Hulu and Disney . Alexei & Ryan are also writers on The Dispatcher for 60Forty Films and Apple TV . They are currently developing numerous projects including a feature adaptation of Web, a classic John Wyndham sci-fi novel for Route 24 (UK) and Brouhaha (AU). Known for their propulsive concepts and intricate world-building, Alexei & Ryan collaborate with Australia's leading production companies and have sold and developed high-end original projects for Apple TV , Disney and the AMC Network.
Zoe Pepper (WA)
Zoe Pepper is a writer and director. She tells big-hearted, dark and irreverent stories. Her debut feature film Birthright had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival before screening at Sydney Film Festival (SFF) and MIFF. Zoe worked as a writer on Jungle Entertainment's thriller/comedy series Population 11 for Lionsgate and Stan. Zoe's short form content has earned her a Directors' Guild Award and an AWGIE award. She also has a long career writing and directing
