Anna Rose Duckworth is an award-winning queer filmmaker from Auckland, New Zealand, creating raw depictions of relatable feminine experiences through a distinctly Kiwi lens. Her NZFC-funded short PAIN screened at over 30 international festivals including Busan and Stockholm.

With a decade of industry experience across NYC and Auckland, Anna’s work explores taboo themes through flawed female protagonists. Recent achievements include an NZWG Seed Grant and NZFC EDF Grant for her feature PUT A BABY IN ME about queer motherhood, and the People's Choice Award for her romcom short JUST KIDDING I ACTUALLY LOVE YOU at Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2023.

Anna leads with collaboration over hierarchy, creating films that evoke empathy and understanding while finding humour in life's complexities.

Sam Brooks is an award-winning playwright and journalist. He won the Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award and his plays include Burn Her, Riding in Cars with (Mostly Straight) Boys and A Rich Man. He currently holds the record for the most plays shortlisted for the ADAM New Play Award, at 17. As a journalist, his bylines include The Spinoff, Metro, and Sunday and he regularly covers arts and culture for his newsletter Dramatic Pause.

Sloane Hong (she/her) is a Korean-tauiwi artist, rumoured to lurk somewhere deep within the agonising, suburban sprawl of Tāmaki-Makaurau. Her practice has been diverse and varied over the course of her career, but her main focus lies in illustration, comics, writing, design and screen printing.

Her narrative practice is largely rooted in body-horror, folk-horror and science-fiction, inspired by the likes of John Waters, David Cronenberg, Julia Ducournau, and a range of Korean films. 

Victoria Lewis (she/her) is a writer and filmmaker born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand. A graduate of Victoria University of Wellington’s Master of Arts in Scriptwriting programme, she is passionate about bold, character-driven storytelling across film and television.

Victoria’s work spans from drama and comedy to high-stakes action and fantasy, with a particular interest in emotional truth, sharp dialogue, and genre storytelling that prioritises human connection. She is drawn to stories that balance spectacle with intimacy, and that explore identity, relationships, and resilience through compelling characters and cinematic worlds.