Australians in Film (AiF), in partnership with Screen Australia, has today announced the 2026 participants in its internationally recognized Talent Gateway initiative.
This highly competitive program is 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 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, 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.
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, MIFF, CinefestOz, Byron Bay, and the Academy-Accredited Flickerfest.
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 and Melbourne International Film Festival. 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 Director’s Guild Award and an Australian Writer’s Guild award. She also has a long career writing and directing theatre. Zoe’s work is Helpmann-nominated and has played at the Sydney Opera House and Dark Mofo Festival.
Vic Zerbst and Jenna Owen – NSW
Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst (Freudian Nip) are award-winning comedy actors, writers, and directors working on Gadigal land. They recently co-wrote, executive produced and starred in the Logie-nominated narrative comedy TV show Optics on ABC. They also starred in and wrote the film Nugget is Dead for Stan and CBS, which marked their debut as feature writers, associate producer and dual Logie nominees for Best Actress in a Comedy. Jenna and Vic sharpened their comedy teeth working for The Feed on SBS for five years, garnering them three AWGIE Awards and amassing over 90 million views online.
