Encore Question Time: Martha Coleman, Christopher Mapp, Stephen Basil-Jones and Al Clark
Encore will host its first Question Time live event on November 30, with an A-list panel including Screen Australia head of development Martha Coleman, Omnilab Media Group managing director Christopher Mapp, Sony Pictures Releasing Australia managing director Stephen Basil-Jones and Red Hill and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert producer Al Clark.
This Q&A session will be moderated by Encore editor Miguel Gonzalez, giving the audience a chance to ask any question about the film, television and TV commercial sectors of the screen industry.
The breakfast event will be held at L’Aqua at Cockle Bay Wharf in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, the morning of November 30, 2010 from 7:30 to 9:30am.
Our panellists have experience a wealth of experience that anyone in the industry can learn from:
Martha Coleman is the head of development at Screen Australia. Martha worked in the United Kingdom as the head of development at Icon Entertainment International, the head of creative affairs at Material Entertainment and as a consultant producer. At Icon, she was responsible for the company’s UK development slate as well as being involved in their production investment decisions. At Material Entertainment, she developed projects with some of the UK’s top creative talent as well as nurturing new talent. Before working in the UK, Martha was an independent feature film and commercials producer based in Sydney. Martha produced the acclaimed Australian feature film Praise and was executive producer on the UK box office hit, Run Fat Boy, Run.
Stephen Basil-Jones is the managing director of Sony Pictures Australia. He joined the film industry in 1992, having worked in the advertising and marketing field for 10 years in both Sydney and London. Stephen started as the national marketing manager for Hoyts Fox Columbia TriStar; he was appointed managing director of Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1996 and promoted to Los Angeles in 2001 as senior vice-president of international distribution – supervising Mexico, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Scandinavia, Australia and N.Z. Stephen became senior vice-president of marketing and oversaw advertising/media for all the international territories in 2003.The following year he moved to London as head of international distribution and marketing for Dreamworks, and in 2006 Stephen returned to Australia to head Sony Pictures. He has held numerous industry positions over the years including: Chairman of the Motion Pictures Distributor’s Association. (MPDAA) in 2001 and 2009 , Executive Board Director – N.S.W Film & Television Office (2001), Board Director – Sydney Film Festival (2008/9) Board Director of Australians in Film (Los Angeles 2003/4) and is a member of British Academy of Film & Television (BAFTA-UK).
The number one man in Encore’s Power 50 list for 2010 is Omnilab Media Group managing director Christopher Mapp. In the late 90s Christopher’s vision was to vertically integrate, which he has. He has built the Omnilab business into the largest supplier of comprehensive services to the broadcast, production and advertising industries.
In content his portfolio develops by partnering with the best creative and financial talent around the world. His recent and upcoming Executive Producer credits include The Power of the Dark Crystal, The Killer Elite, The Loved Ones, and the two highest grossing Australian films of 2010, Bran Nue Dae and Tomorrow, When the War Began.
Red Hill producer Al Clark will replace director Patrick Hughes, who had to jet off to Los Angeles to shoot a commercial. 
Clark began his career as a writer for Time Out magazine in London, before joining Virgin, where he founded and edited The Film Yearbook and served as head of production for the film division – with credits including Nineteen Eighty-Four, Aria, Gothic and Absolute Beginners.
He then moved to Sydney, where he has produced the iconic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, as well as Heaven’s Burning, Siam Sunset, The Hard Word, The Book of Revelation, Blessed and Red Hill – Patrick Hughes’ modern western which opens today.
Clark has also been executive producer of films such as Chopper, Thunderstruck and Razzle Dazzle, and was a member of the board of the Australian Film Commission. He has written the books Raymond Chandler in Hollywood and The Lavender Bus.
Tickets for the event are $80, and they are available here.
