Meet our local and international guests
Discover the voices and creators behind the stories.
Amanda Gillies
Co-host The Detail
Amanda is a multi-award-winning journalist, presenter, and podcast host. A former foreign correspondent, she worked for TV3 for more than two decades, as a broadcast news, current affairs journalist and presenter, including co-hosting The AM Show. Currently co-hosts The Detail, an award-winning daily current affairs podcast for Newsroom.co.nz and RNZ.
Bo Zhang
Head International Department
BILIBILI
Bo is the Head of International Co-productions of bilibili factual. He focuses on co-producing quality factual content with international partners for bilibili like BBC, Discovery, NatGeo, NHK and ARTE, as well as with world-renowned production houses like BBC Studios, Brian Leith Productions, Beach House Pictures and more.
Chris Gerbhardt
President and Co-Founder
RandomGood Films & RandomGood Foundation
Chris is an advocate for impact storytelling. With a background in entertainment, he honed his expertise in strategic storytelling, which he applies as co-founder & president of Random Good Films & founder and president of Random Good Foundation. Through Random Good Films, he produces impactful documentaries that amplify social causes & encourage meaningful dialogue. Chris is an Edmund Hillary EHF Fellow.
Courtney Sexton
EVP
Jigsaw Productions
Courtney Sexton is a prominent documentary film executive currently serving as the Executive Vice President of Film and Television and Head of West Coast Operations at Jigsaw Productions, a New York-based company renowned for its impactful documentaries, including Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Going Clear, and The Armstrong Lie. Prior to this Courtney worked as Executive Vice-President Documentary at Participant media and Senior Vice-President at CNN Films.
Dr. Chen Chen
Director
Little Potato
Chen Chen is an internationally exhibiting film director, writer, and designer with a background in film and television production, journalism, and curatorial practice. Her films have shown across 20 international film festivals, including the New Zealand International Film Festival. She currently teaches at Auckland University of Technology.
Kathy Susca
Director of Contents & Operations
The Film Collaborative (USA)
Kathy manages operations for TFC’s festival and non-theatrical distribution program, spearheading TFC’s 2020 transition to virtual festivals, and served as the editor of How Not to Sign a Film Contract: Know What You’re Saying Yes To. Kathy was the founding Director of Operations for the diversity initiative the Jane Bolin Project.
Kim Baker-Wilson
Journalist
Kim worked in broadcast journalism for more than two decades. He was previously a reporter for TVNZ’s 1News. Kim worked in reporting, producing, camera operating and newsroom leadership. His heart is in crafting stories making full use of visuals, sound and editing. He won best news coverage at the NZ Radio Awards.
Kimberlee Bassford
Director
Before The Moon Falls
Kim worked in broadcast journalism for more than two decades. He was previously a reporter for TVNZ’s 1News. Kim worked in reporting, producing, camera operating and newsroom leadership. His heart is in crafting stories making full use of visuals, sound and editing. He won best news coverage at the NZ Radio Awards.
Leanne Pooley
Doc Edge Superhero 2017
Leanne is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished documentary filmmakers having directed over 20 films. In 2011 Leanne’s work was recognised by the New Zealand Arts Foundation and she was made a New Zealand Arts Laureate. Leanne was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for Services to Documentary Filmmaking in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List and she is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The Oscars). In 2017, Leanne was made a Doc Edge Superhero.
Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Producer
Before The Moon Falls
Film director and producer of Whale Rider, The Shipping News, The World According to Sesame Street, Somewhere Between, Code Black, We Are The Radical Monarchs, and now Split At The Root.
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