Session
Two filmmakers on craft, endurance and what legacy work requires.
Purpose: This session puts two genuine masters of craft — film and conservation — in direct conversation about the texture of practice itself, not just the visible outputs.
Discussion: Schuyler and Sarah will share what decades inside Baz Luhrmann's productions and the Great Barrier Reef have each required, and what authored work that actually endures has in common across two very different fields.
Outcomes: You'll leave with an unusually direct view inside two crafts most principals never see up close, language for thinking about your own creative or conservation work, and a different frame on what enduring impact actually requires.
Malinda is the Executive Director of Minderoo Pictures. Established by Andrew and Nicola Forrest in 2021, Minderoo Pictures invests in scripted and documentary projects in development and production, thematically aligned with the work and priorities of the Minderoo Foundation.
From 2040 to David Attenborough's Ocean, Malinda Wink has invested in films that shift culture. Now at Minderoo Pictures, she's investing in the next generation of stories that matter.
Before joining Minderoo Pictures, Malinda was Doc Society's Global Director of Good Pitch and launched their Australian programs, including the ABC's Climate and Environment Shorts initiative. She was previously Executive Director of Good Pitch Australia whose films included That Sugar Film, Gayby Baby, The Opposition, Blue, Frackman, and In My Blood It Runs, and Executive Director of Ian Darling’s Shark Island Institute.
Schuyler Weiss is an Academy Award nominated producer based in the Gold Coast, Australia. He has worked with Baz Luhrmann’s production company, Bazmark, since 2005 and currently serves as Managing Director and producing partner to Luhrmann and his creative partner Catherine Martin.
In addition to producing Luhrmann’s hit 2022 feature Elvis, which garnered eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Weiss also produced the recent documentary companion piece, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, which has already become one of the most successful IMAX documentaries of all time.
Outside of his work at Bazmark, Weiss recently produced the widely acclaimed 2024 feature film How To Make Gravy, based on Paul Kelly’s iconic song.
In the US, Weiss co-founded New York-based Tandem Pictures in 2010, which he built into a successful film and commercial production company and sold in 2016. He has produced numerous independent films, including three features selected for the Sundance Film Festival.
Weiss’s work in entertainment spans film, TV, commercials, live events, VR and even co-writing a song with Elton John. His next production will be Luhrmann’s much-anticipated film based on the life of Joan of Arc.
Sarah is a documentary producer and impact producer with over 30 years’ experience in film and television production, delivering highly successful projects to diverse national and international stakeholders. With a focus on impactful storytelling around ocean conservation, key projects include the award-winning ocean conservation film BLUE, Sea Lions-Life By A Whisker, an IMAX film about the critical status of the Australian sea lion, Secrets of the Octopus, with EP James Cameron for National Geographic/Disney+, and Sea Otters 3D for IMAX.
She is considered one of Australia’s leading impact producers, including the Australian impact campaign for OCEAN with David Attenborough for the Minderoo Foundation, Trade Secret and Untitled Film Works and is currently Co-Producer and Impact Producer for The Plastic Country, directed by Kal Glanznig. Sarah works at the intersection between filmmaking, impact, and the not-for-profit sector, having co-founded The Australian Sea Lion Recovery Foundation and holding Director positions with The Conflict Islands Conservation Initiative and Take 3 for the Sea. In addition, she has built a strong network of Philanthropic partners and enjoys connecting them to impactful projects.
