2026 Ambassadors
Ambassadors
Anna Torv
Actor
Anna Torv has become a household name through her extensive film and television work in the US and Australia. Her performance in the HBO series THE LAST OF US garnered her international praise, including a 2024 Emmy Award nomination. She played the lead role of Dr Wendy Carr in David Fincher’s highly acclaimed television series MINDHUNTER (Season 1 and 2) and she also starred as Olivia Dunham in five seasons of J.J Abrams’ applauded series Fringe.
Anna’s most recent television credits are NAUTILUS, SO LONG, MARIANNE and the Netflix Australian neo-Western, TERRITORY. She has featured in several well-known television series in Australia including FIRES, SECRET CITY, Deadline Gallipoli, The Secret Life Of Us, Young Lions and MCLeod’s Daughters. Anna has also won multiple awards for her role as Helen Norville across three series of THE NEWSREADER which has screened internationally to great acclaim.
Anna’s feature film credits include Love Is Now, The Daughter, Travelling Light, The Book of Revelation and STEPHANIE. Anna can also be seen opposite Eric Bana in FORCE OF NATURE directed by Robert Connelly.
Anna is currently filming a new crime series in Australia for the ABC, collaborating again with director Emma Freeman who she has worked with on SECRET CITY and NEWSREADER.
Dacre Montgomery is best known for his performance as Billy Hargrove in Netflix's STRANGER THINGS. His acting credits include Gus Van Sant’s DEAD MAN’S WIRE, Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS, Dean Israelite’s POWER RANGERS and Samuel Van Grinsven’s WENT UP THE HILL. In 2026, Dacre will make his directorial debut with THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, as well as Brad Anderson’s MORAL CAPACITY and Daniel Goldhaber’s FACES OF DEATH. Dacre has also released a collection of poems entitled DKMH. He has received two Screen Actors Guild nominations for his work in the cast of STRANGER THINGS.
Dacre Montgomery
Actor
Leah Purcell
Actor, Writer, Director, Producer, EP
Leah Purcell is one of Australia’s most admired and leading creatives, thought leaders and polymaths. Best known for her outstanding work in classic Australian film, theatre and TV such as LANTANA and THE PROPOSITION, BOX THE PONY and STUFF HAPPENS, WENTWORTH and THE LOST FLOWER OF ALICE HART. She is also at the forefront of the First Nations Canon of film, theatre, and TV in THE DROVER’S WIFE THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON, BRAN NUE DAE and THE STORY OF THE MIRACLES AT COOKIE’S TABLE, REDFERN NOW and CLEVERMAN. In 2024 she was seen in the lead role on the highly acclaimed HIGH COUNTRY which premiered in 2024 on BBC One in the UK. And nominated for a 2024 LOGIE Award for “Best Support Lead in a TV Drama” for her outstanding work in THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART.
In the meantime, outside of her acting accolades and in her capacity as a writer/director/producer she is developing through her company Oombarra Productions premium series, film, and publishing projects such as I AM MOLLY, KOA KID, IS THAT YOU RUTHIE? PROMISED, NETBALL and MOXIE GIRLS. Finally, THE DROVER’S WIFE Opera the Libretto written and to be directed by Leah Purcell was recently announced to World Premiere at the new Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC in Brisbane QLD and transferring to the Sydney Opera House in both April and August 2026.
Lachlan & Austin Macfarlane are multi-disciplined filmmakers and content creators, whose creative work has amassed over 500 million views online. They have translated their industry experience in traditional media to social media with engaging and shareable content. The brothers have travelled the world working with brands such as Warner Bros, Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures, represented Australia at Cannes after winning the Cannes Young Lions Film category and were awarded Most Influential 2023 Creator by the Australian Influencer Marketing Council Awards. In the commercial space, the Macfarlane Brothers are on Haven’t You Done Well Productions’ directing roster. They are currently developing a web series funded by Screen Australia.
Macfarlane Brothers
Multi-disciplined VFX Directors
Shabana Azeez
Actor
Shabana plays the main cast role of Victoria Javadi in Emmy-award winning US TV series THE PITT, which is currently streaming on Max in the USA, Binge in Australia and a number of other platforms around the world. Amidst strong reviews, Shabana's work has regularly been singled out for being both nuanced and engaging, and she will reprise her role for the show's second series.
She also plays the lead role of Irene in the feature film, BIRDEATER (dir. Jack Clark & Jim Weir); for which she was awarded Best Actress by the Australian Film Critics Association. The film also won the AACTA for Best Independent Feature Film, the audience award for Best Australian Narrative Feature at Sydney Film Festival and had sold out screenings at Melbourne International Film Festival prior to a very well-received release in the USA at SxSW.
Multi-talented, Shabana also voices the lead character of Saira, in the animated feature film LESBIAN SPACE PRINCESS which sold out all of its three premiere screenings at the Adelaide Film Festival, taking out the Feature Fiction Audience Award. It was also selected for the 2025 Berlinale where it won the Teddy Award; which recognises films representing issues of social diversity.
Additional TV credits include recurring roles in the ABC's IN LIMBO, SBS' THE HUNTING and METROSEXUAL for Channel 9. As well as guest roles in Netflix's TV drama APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, NAUTILUS for Disney+, ABC's UTOPIA, ABC/Netflix's THE LETDOWN and WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? and a memorable turn in web series TRIPLE OH! funded by Screen Australia.
Shabana has also worked on a number of other feature films, short films and web series. She co-won Best Female Actor at Tropfest in 2019 and was nominated for Best Performance at Stellar Film Festival and Best Actress at the South Australian Screen Awards for her work in the feature CRUSH. She also plays Lali in the short film I'M THE MOST RACIST PERSON I KNOW (dir. Leela Varghese) which won the Special Jury Award at SxSW 2025 and Best Short Film at Cinefest Oz in 2025.
As half of comedy band, The Coconuts, Shabana has received strong reviews FOR BROWN ON THE OUTSIDE, WHITE ON THE INSIDE at Adelaide Fringe in 2023, was a 2019 Raw Comedy South Australian State Finalist and is developing a web series with the band's content. Their show won the Fringe Tour Ready Award at Adelaide Fringe in 2023, awarding them the financing to tour the show to major cities around Australia.
Shabana also regularly lends her voice and talent for accents to voiceover work and audiobooks, including the very important story HOME TO BILOELA by Pruya Nadesalingam. Passionate about telling stories that push the envelope, Shabana has worked with a number of female directors, queer creatives, and culturally diverse teams of storytellers.
Samantha is an Australian writer and executive producer for film and television and co-founder of her own label PICKING SCABS, a joint venture with See-Saw Films.
Samantha is writing and showrunning GROWN UPS, an 8-part series for Netflix UK, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Marian Keyes. This is being filmed in Ireland and being produced by Picking Scabs and See-Saw Films.
In 2023/24 Samantha was the showrunner, head writer and executive producer of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, a 6-part limited series for Netflix which won best Miniseries or Telemovie at the 2025 Logie Awards and was No.1 in over 50 countries on Netflix. This series stars Kaitlyn Dever and Alycia Debnam-Carey and was produced by Picking Scabs and See-Saw Films.
In 2023 Samantha wrote and executive produced THE LAST ANNIVERSARY, a 6-part series for Binge Australia and the BBC. Based on the book by Liane Moriarty. Starring Teresa Palmer and Miranda Richardson. Produced by Made Up Stories and Blossom Films and set to air late 2024.
In 2020 Samantha wrote and executive produced NINE PERFECT STRANGERS for Hulu. Based on the bestselling novel by Liane Moriarty. Starring Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy and Bobby Cannavale. Produced by Made up Stories and Blossom Films.
In 2019 Samantha wrote, created and executive produced 10-part series THE END for Foxtel (Australia), Sky Atlantic (UK) and Showtime (USA), produced by See-Saw Films. The Guardian described THE END as “devastating TV that shows what makes life worth living.” The Times reviewed it as “sharp and unlike anything I’ve seen.” The series was nominated for several AACTAs, AWGIES and an RTS award in the UK.
In 2017 Samantha script produced and was the head writer on THE WRONG GIRL Season 2, a returning series for Network Ten (Australia), based on the bestselling novel by Zoe Foster-Blake.
As an emerging writer, Sam created teen phenomenon, DANCE ACADEMY, which screens in over 160 countries and ran to 65 episodes. Sam was the head writer across the three series and wrote 25 episodes. The series was nominated for two International Emmys, won the Outstanding Children’s Series Logie awards in 2012 and 2013 and has won or been nominated for multiple AACTA awards, Asian Television awards, Sichuan Festival Golden Panda awards, Banff Television Festival and New York Festivals awards. In 2016, Samantha wrote a spin-off feature film, DANCE ACADEMY: THE MOVIE, which has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sam has been nominated for seven Australian Writer’s Guild Awards and has won three times.
Samantha Strauss
Writer and Producer
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