Scott Myers - Associate Professor, Screenwriting, DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts, Chicago, Illinois

Scott Myers has written over thirty movie and TV projects at almost every major Hollywood studio and broadcast network. His screenwriting credits include K-9, Alaska, and Trojan War. Since 2008, Scott has hosted GoIntoTheStory.com, the official screenwriting blog of the Black List and named Best of the Best Scriptwriting Website by Writer’s Digest. Author of The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling (Palgrave Macmillan), Scott is currently an Associate Professor of screenwriting at DePaul University.

Elina Fessa - Script Consultant, Screenwriter, and Director

Screenwriter, director, and co-founder of EXTINT, a multilingual script consulting agency helping filmmakers maximize the international potential of their scripts. Elina collaborates with labs such as Cine Qua Non Lab (Mexico) and Coofilm (Spain), has taught at The Core School, Séptima Ars, and EFTI in Madrid, and served on the selection committee for MFI Script 2 Film Workshops. Her scripts have been selected by prestigious film labs, including Berlinale Script Station and the SGAE Foundation, and her short films have won awards from the DGA. Elina is currently developing two feature films and a series. She holds a B.A. from Yale and an M.F.A. from Columbia.

Brendan Fitzgerald - CEO, Secuoya Studios

Brendan Fitzgerald is a 20-year veteran of the international television business on both the production and distribution sides. He has structured innovative strategic partnerships between content suppliers, producers, broadcasters, and distributors across a wide variety of cultures, resulting in some 3,000 scripted episodes produced in more than 15 countries.

Isabelle Degeorges - Producer/President of Gaumont Television

Isabelle Degeorges is a renowned French producer and President of Gaumont Television France since 2013. A graduate of the Sorbonne, she began her career in 2001 at Images et Compagnie (Lagardère), producing a wide range of scripted content. In 2011, she joined Gaumont to launch its French television division. Known for crafting local stories with global appeal, she has produced major successes such as Lupin (Netflix) starring Omar Sy and Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (Disney+) with Daniel Brühl. As Vice President of USPA, she plays a key role in shaping the French audiovisual sector. In 2025, she received the Series Mania “Woman in Series” award, honoring her 25-year career and industry impact.

Jarmo Lampela - Head of Drama, Y

Jarmo has been Head of Drama at YLE since 2015. His background includes working as Professor of Film Directing and Head of the Department of Film, Television and Scenography at Aalto University, Helsinki. Since 1992 has worked as director, scriptwriter and producer with numerous productions for cinema, television and theatre.

Larry Bass -  CEO, Founder & Executive Producer, Shinawil

Since 1999, Larry Bass has built Shinawil into a leading Irish production company behind hits like Dancing With The Stars, The Voice of Ireland, and MasterChef Ireland. Expanding into scripted drama, Shinawil has developed series with international partners, supported by Screen Ireland and major broadcasters. Notable projects include Miss Scarlet & The Duke (PBS), The Catch (Channel 5), Clean Sweep (RTE/Sundance Now), Maryland (ITV), and Doll Factory (Paramount+). Feature films include The Miracle Club, which premiered at Tribeca 2023, and The Lighterkeeper, now in post-production. In 2024, Borderline, a crime drama, launched on MGM+, Roku, and ZDF.

Gustavo Gontijo - Executive Producer, development, O2 filmes

O2 Filmes Executive Producer for Development since January 2021, developing projects like Max’s “City of God – The Fight Rages On” series and Prime’s “New Bandits”, Gustavo Gontijo has a long career in entertainment beginning as a writer with Globo Studios in 2000. In 2014 , he was appointed Drama Weekly Content Manager, developing the hits UNDER PRESSURE, MISTER BRAU, IRON ISLAND, SUPERMAX, SECOND CALL, JAILERS and other 20 shows, in a total of over 30 seasons broadcasted. Gustavo was personally in charge of taking those shows to prestigious Festivals like the Berlinale, TIFF, SXSW. From 2019 to 2020, he was the content manager for Globo Filmes with the main focus in features.

Michael Colleary - Screenwriter, Producer, Educator and Screenwriting Consultant

During his career he’s worked for all major Hollywood studios and TV networks.  His produced credits include Lara Croft:  Tomb Raider, the family comedy Firehouse Dog; and the TV series Professionals.   Michael won a Saturn Award for co-writing (with Mike Werb) the John Woo-directed action thriller Face/Off, which the New York Times deemed “one of the best 1000 movies ever made.” Michael has also taught screenwriting in the MFA program at UCLA, at Story Academy in Gotland, and at Hollins University.  

Tina Gharavi - Doctor in Screenwriting 

Tina Gharavi is a visionary filmmaker and BAFTA-nominated storyteller redefining outsider narratives. Born in Tehran and raised in the U.S. and Europe, she fuses bold artistry with raw authenticity. Her breakout feature, I Am Nasrine (2012), earned a BAFTA nod for its powerful portrayal of exile. Gharavi’s fearless work spans Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra and her upcoming third feature, Virginia Woolf’s Night & Day starring Tim Spall, Lily Allen and Haley Bennett. Founder of Bridge + Tunnel Productions and a professor at Newcastle University, she champions underrepresented voices but in her spare time she dreams of beekeeping in Iran. Represented by Independent Talent in the UK and Gersh in Los Angeles, Gharavi divides her time between the UK and Paris.

Matti Halonen - Executive producer, CEO, partner, Wolfberry Film Company Ltd

Matti Halonen (Nymphs, Bordertown, Estonia) has been 35 years in the professional film and drama business. He has produced several feature films and over 100 hours of high-end drama, with production airing on Netflix, Amazon prime, and HBO.

Brendan Foley - Head Writer and Executive Producer

Brendan is an award-winning Northern Irish Writer-EP, with international co-pro experience in TV, features and bestselling books. Past work with CW, WB Discovery, Lionsgate, Sony, BBC, CBC, NBC, AMC, Viaplay, Acorn, Universal, Elisa, SBS. Most recently: 2025 Sherlock and Daughter starring David Thewlis; two seasons of hit series The Man Who Died for Elisa, AMC/Acorn; Cold Courage for Viaplay, AMC+, Britbox and Lionsgate. Previous indie feature films for Sony, Nordisk and Lionsgate include multi-award winner Johnny Was and The Riddle, Books include Amazon UK bestseller Under the Wire for Random House. Formerly a freelance international features journalist in 77 countries.

Shelly Goldstein - Writer, Performer

Shelly Goldstein’s first play, COMING ATTRACTIONS, ran for almost two years in Chicago. Legendary Hollywood producer Garry Marshall saw it and hired her as a sitcom writer at Paramount. Since then she’s written hundreds of hours of television, including the Emmy-winning PBS special, CHICAGO VOICES and Sheryl Lee Ralph’s DIVAS SIMPLY SINGING.  She’s a senior writer on 2025’s SHERLOCK & DAUGHTER, starring David Thewlis. Shelly has written for top talent including Stephen Colbert, Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Sharon Stone, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson & Yoko Ono. She is a proud past winner of the New Yorker’s iconic Cartoon Caption Contest.

Julia Berg - Creative Producer & Director

Julia Berg is a TV Producer/Director and Series Producer with more than 25 years’ experience; mainly in factual programming.  She started as a researcher and has worked on everything from late night chat shows and magazine series to producing and directing Documentaries for BBC 2 and Channel 4 and many years making investigative current affairs programmes: ITV World in Action & Tonight, BBC Panorama, C4 Dispatches. She has recently worked on a factual series for Children: 'Same but Different' which won an International Emmy for BBC Learning, and a drama for BBC Learning, 'Sleeping Lions' which won an RTS award for best production. She has also made many corporate films, produced and directed low-budget dramas and has been teaching at Salford University for the past 5 years. This year she has also been Pathway leader for the MA in Children’s TV Production. She has a Certificate in Academic Practice and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Marc Lorber - Executive Producer at The Art of Co Production. Former SVP at Lionsgate

Residing in London as a dual US/UK citizen, Marc Lober works with diverse media enterprises with mandates to build or simply improve upon their local/regional if not also international: content creation/development and physical productions, acquisitions, and/or co-production capabilities. As one of the most experienced international multi-genre creative content and programming executives, and an Emmy and International Emmy-nominated and Bafta-Award winning Executive Producer; skilled in conception, acquisition, development, sales, strategic partnerships and co-productions, direct physical production and management/financial oversight, of both scripted and unscripted projects; formats and originals.

Kjartan Thor Thordarson - CEO Sagafilm Nordic at Sagafilm

A seasoned media executive, I began my career in Marketing and Sales Management for the music industry in Iceland, representing Sony Music and Warner Music. I later transitioned into production, co-founding Wiz-Art (now STORM), a leader in digital content. I launched PoppTV, Iceland’s first 24-hour music TV station, and founded VYRE, a UK-based content management company. I’ve held executive roles at Sagafilm and 2AM Films, overseeing international investments and Nordic expansion. With deep expertise in content creation, business development, and media innovation, I’ve played key roles in shaping the digital and broadcast landscape in both Iceland and the broader Nordic region.

Erik Pack - SVP, Global Sales & Co-production at Boat Rocker Studios

A multifaceted media executive, Erik Pack has an industry-wide reputation for achievements in content creation, development and distribution. He currently serves as SVP, Global Sales & Co-Production at Boat Rocker. In this role, he leads the day-to-day international strategy for Boat Rocker’s premium scripted and documentary content, across UK and EMEA, as well as developing and sourcing new scripted projects in the regions for co-production. Erik’s proven business acumen at top media firms like Gaumont Television, Hallmark Entertainment, Power and New Line Television, along with his deep roots in the creative community, is why he us both a valued media executive as well as a respected creator of content. Erik has unrivalled experience working with content platforms and broadcasters all over the world, working on critically acclaimed content on both sides of the Atlantic.

Maria Kivinen - Sales Manager, Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company

Maria Kivinen manages international sales and co-productions of Nordic drama series, documentaries, remakes, kids & youth programmes, music & performing arts globally to her wide network of clients of TV and Streaming platforms she has built over her twelve year career at Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company. In addition to this, Kivinen is RADA trained dramaturg. Kivinen also produced her debut play, The Idealist, at the Tara Arts Theatre London and Brighton Fringe Festival by her company at the time, Odd Stumble. Kivinen has expertise of selling and financing TV and film content globally creatively and commercially. Over the years Kivinen has built a network of clients from all major TV and streaming platforms around the World.

Helena Danielsson - Producer, NordiskFilm

Award winning Swedish producer Helena Danielsson won Prix Eurimages for her work on acclaimed European co-productions in 2012. Credits include  Pernilla August´s “Beyond” , winner of  Venice Critics’ Week  ,“The Childhood of a Leader” (“The Brutalist”-director Brady Corbet’s debut), winner of Lion of the Future and Best Director in Venice FF Notable works include the Emmy-nominated “Smiling in a War Zone” and  “Hilma” by Lasse Hallstrom , “Stockholm Bloodbath” Mikael Håfstrom. In 2025 she joined  iconic mini major Nordisk Film in Denmark. Danielsson is a member of EFA, ACE, and an alumna of EAVE, Screen Leaders, and Inside Pictures.

Julien Leroux - Executive Producer - "Tehran" - London

Paper Entertainment is a TV production company based in London and LA, founded in 2020 by industry executive Julien Leroux. It is one of the producers behind Apple TV+’s first international hit series Tehran, which won the 2021 Emmy Award for Best International Drama Series.

Born in Paris in 1980, Julien completed a double master's in European business and management and began his career in 2004 at TV France International, the association of French TV distributors. He later worked at France Télévisions and AB International Distribution. In 2011, he joined Newen Group, contributing to its international growth and working on hit shows like Spiral and Versailles. In 2018, he joined Cineflix, leading scripted content and launching series such as Coroner and An Ordinary Woman. In 2020, Leroux executive produced Tehran, which became a top Apple TV+ series. He then founded Paper Entertainment, focusing on producing thrilling stories and future seasons of Tehran.

Kristinn Thordarson - SVP of production - Truenorth

Kristinn Thordarson, an alumnus of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles with a focus on producing and script development, began his career as a script editor with various studios in Los Angeles, including Warner Bros, Paramount and Sony, before transitioning to independent production as a Producer.

Since then, Mr. Thordarson has produced dozens of feature films and TV series. His most recent credits include “The Darkness” a six-part crime series produced for CBS/Paramount, “Margarete I,” a feature film produced for SF Studios, “Trom” a six-part crime series produced for Viaplay and “The Valhalla Murders” a critically acclaimed TV series co-produced by Netflix and globally released on their platform in March 2020. Currently serving as Senior Vice President at Truenorth in Iceland, Mr. Thordarson is involved in several projects under development for both feature films and TV shows

Arnauld de Battice - Producer and CEO - AT-Prod

Graduated from the IAD and holder of an MBA from the Solvay Business School, Arnauld de Battice began his career as a freelance director. Next, he worked as production manager and associated producer. In 1999, after working with RTL-TVI as director of content, Arnauld decided to become an independent producer and created AT-Prod, a TV and cinema production company. Arnauld’s line-up now includes 11 feature films, 180 TV-movies, 40 TV series, 30 documentaries and many upcoming projects.

Arnauld is also a lecturer at the MBA ESG in Paris and The Mediafaculty and regularly appointed as an expert for MEDIA program.