VIDEO JUNKEE 2017 | MEDIA RELEASE 25 May 2017

Video Junkee 2017, a festival for creators and lovers of video, today announces that the stars and producers, of the hit Foxtel series Wentworth, and Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator and showrunner of the Netflix Original series BoJack Horseman) will join an incredible line-up of speakers at the Festival’s inaugural event. These creative powerhouses are announced in addition to keynote Yael Stone (Orange Is The New Black, Deep Water, Picnic At Hanging Rock).

Taking over Sydney’s iconic Carriageworks on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 July, Video Junkee 2017 is a new Festival proudly created by Junkee Media and presented in partnership with Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency. The Festival is a two-day celebration of creativity and innovation in video, partnering with leading platforms Foxtel, YouTube, Netflix, BuzzFeed and ABC iview to present a series of talks, screenings, masterclasses and awards that brings together world leading and emerging content creators to discuss the Golden Age of video.

Major Platform Partner Foxtel is presenting a series of stellar sessions. Be there as the Wentworth cast and production panel goes behind the scenes of this great Australian TV success story. Take a deep dive into the creation and evolution of the acclaimed drama which has just stunned audiences with its season five finale. Wentworth panellists will be on day release from season six production of the FremantleMedia Australia drama.

Netflix takes to the stage with Raphael Bob-Waksberg, showrunner and creator of the hit animation series Bojack Horseman. Raphael, in a Q&A presentation with Marc Fennell, will go into the creation of his wildly acclaimed dark comedy and how an animation about a humanoid horse became a global hit. Join the cast and crew of ABC’s hit show Cleverman to hear about how they wrote and developed one of Australia’s most exciting new productions and shared it all around the world. This will also offer an exclusive opportunity to catch an un-aired sneak peak of Season Two’s dramatic finale and chat about the new season. Video Junkee 2017 will also bring together some of Australia’s most hilarious creators for an in-depth chat on cracking jokes and making it in the boy’s club. The panel discussion, moderated by Claudia Pickering, will feature some of our most viral comedy exports including, Tanya Hennessy, Veronica Milsom, Skit Box (Sarah Bishop, Greta Jackson and Adele Vuko) and SketchSHE (Lana Kington and Madison Lloyd).

Also joining the line up is BuzzFeed’s viral content creator Ashly Perez, the creator and star of UnfortunatelyAshly who will be presenting Audience First: Making Viral Content That Actually Matters. Attend the ‘Pitch, Please’ session and join leaders from festival partners Foxtel, YouTube and ABC for the inside scoop on what streaming services and platforms look for when commissioning content.

Get into the depths of going viral in a two-part chat STRAYA: Australians Go Viral with journalist Cariss Bizzaca (from Screen Australia’s in-house publication Screen News) and joined by some of Australia’s leading digital content makers to discuss the realities of creating online videos and what you need to do to get them seen. Hear from Yolanda Ramke (writer and co-director) and Ben Howling (Co-director) behind Cargo, the Tropfest 7-minute short film which garnered over 13 million views on YouTube before going on to be adapted into a feature film project. The Cargo feature film stars Emmy Award-winning actor Martin Freeman, with the Australian feature to be released globally as a Netflix Original who acquired the worldwide rights to the film after seeing a 3-minute promo.

Learn how to become a ‘Filmbreaker’ in a masterclass with Jason Van Genderen as he walks attendees through jawdropping developments that could turn that device in your pocket into your new career gateway, from app hacks to broadcast quality audio tips to workflow secrets. YouTube will explore the platform’s best Australian and International content creators, sharing how they got to where they are, their unique insights and the future of the world’s most used platform in a special Creators panel.

Video Junkee 2017 is presented with the support of Strategic Sponsor Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, key partner Carriageworks who are hosting the main Event, Dendy Cinemas with screenings at Dendy Newtown and major media partner oOh!media who are supporting the festival with an extensive
out-of-home campaign.

If you’re a lover, a creator or a consumer of video then head along to Video Junkee 2017 in Sydney to hear from the leaders in video and get a glimpse of what and who Australia are watching in 2017.