Show Notes
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2026! With Julie Eckersley departing We Interrupt This Broadcast for her new role at Screen Queensland, we’re excited to welcome Loani Arman, Aven Yap and Robbie Miles, who will be joining Kirsty Stark as hosts. We’re thrilled to expand the WITB team with a great mix of people and personalities who all have the best interests of the industry at heart - and we have big plans for the podcast this year! Tune in to this episode to hear more about who we are and what we’re excited about. Plus, we announce our upcoming first appearance as a team at AACTA Festival, where we’ll be hosting a panel (register and say hi!), and running an activation to capture your big ideas about the future of the industry (more news in the episode!). --- Loani Arman is a writer, director, and screen executive with over 20 years in the Australian screen industry, including her AIDC Award winning documentary My Body Says and as executive producer of the AACTA-winning series Latecomers. She most recently co-wrote a feature film adaptation of a hugely popular horror title. Aven Yap is a producer, writer, content creator working across Australia and Asia, and founder of Nimbus Creative. His credits span scripted and documentary projects for ABC, Nine, Disney+/NatGeo, and his award-winning short Piano Mums has a feature adaptation in development with investment from Screen Queensland and Screen Australia. Robbie Miles is a producer, educator and screen industry strategist with a deep interest in how creative work actually gets made. He currently leads industry engagement at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and develops projects across film, television and digital platforms through Miles Ahead Productions. Kirsty Stark is an Emmy award-winning producer at Epic Films with a strong commitment to industry support, particularly in areas that promote career sustainability for freelancers and industry growth. She is the founder of CrewHQ, a nationwide crew database, and CrewCon, a conference for freelance crew. Kirsty is also Deputy Chair of The Mercury, and a host of We Interrupt This Broadcast. --- Our podcast schedule for 2026: Last Tuesday of the month - Monthly round-up episode
All other Tuesdays - Deep Dive interviews
Next week’s episode will be a special bonus AACTA Festival preview with Sam Buckland, with our regular schedule kicking off in February. Listen on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts. --- Links for your enjoyment: Aven crashes out in Sunnybank Plaza: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTJ5xttDI_K Robbie Miles in The Guardian: What It’s Like Winning Mastermind Australia: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/19/mastermind-australia-sbs-winner See you in February, and don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list to get all of our episodes in your inbox when they’re released! --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple or give us 5 stars on Spotify to help us spread the word. We Interrupt This Broadcast is hosted by Kirsty Stark, Loani Arman, Robbie Miles and Aven Yap. This episode was edited by Kirsty Stark. This episode is sponsored by AFTRS, the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Head to aftrs.edu.au to find an AFTRS course that’s made for you.
More from We Interrupt This Broadcast
Loani Arman sits down with Mandy Walker AM ACS ASC, the Oscar nominated cinematographer behind Elvis, Hidden Figures, Mulan and Tracks, and the first woman to lead the American Society of Cinematographers in its 106 year history. Mandy talks about breaking into camera departments when few women were there, the mentors who backed her, and why wants to open doors for other women in camera. --- Listen to hear Mandy discuss: The mentors who championed her in her early career How she builds collaborative sets between departments The story-led way she prepares for a shoot, while being ready to pivot when things change on the day How she approached scenes in Elvis to allow the actors space to perform Why she isn't scared of AI, and what remains fundamentally human about cinematography
Kirsty Stark sits down with the team behind Leviticus: Writer/Director Adrian Chiarella, Producer Sam Jennings (Causeway Films), and Distributor Marc Wooldridge (Maslow Entertainment) for Part 2 of a two-part conversation about what it takes to make a million dollars at the Australian box office. If you missed Part 1, head back to last week's episode, #77. The queer horror feature reached almost 1.5 million dollars domestically, and in this conversation the three share what happens on the ground when you make a sale at Sundance, the strategy behind opening weekend, and how to turn audience members into fans. --- Listen to hear Adrian, Marc and Sam discuss: What actually happens in the 48 hours after a Sundance screening How to choose the right partner when you have multiple offers on the table Why going day and date with the US gave Leviticus the advantages of a global release The accidental in-season Q&A strategy that gave the film's theatrical run a boost What number you need to hit on opening weekend to reach a million dollars How involving and empowering their audience helped turn viewers into passionate advocates
Kirsty Stark sits down with the team behind Leviticus: Writer/Director Adrian Chiarella, Producer Sam Jennings (Causeway Films), and Distributor Marc Wooldridge (Maslow Entertainment) for Part 1 of a two-part conversation about what it takes to make a million dollars at the Australian box office. The queer horror feature reached almost 1.5 million dollars domestically, and in this conversation the three share how they got there, from an idea developed through VicScreen’s Originate program to their breakout Sundance premiere. Come back next week for Part 2, where they’ll discuss what happens on the ground when you make a sale at Sundance, the strategy behind opening weekend, and how to turn audience members into fans. --- Listen to hear Adrian, Sam and Marc discuss: Why horror is intrinsically theatrical and how they positioned Leviticus for both queer and broad horror audiences. Causeway Films’ financing strategy for the film, which allowed them to build a theatrical model that wasn’t centred on international pre-sales. What Maslow looks for in a script, concept and pathway to market before saying yes to distribution. The casting and packaging process and what actually mattered when putting the project together. Why they kept news about the film quiet through production and launched it as a breakout festival film. How they planned their Sundance premiere, including pre-screenings, PR and festival strategy. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe & leave a rating or review to help us reach more listeners for We Interrupt This Broadcast.
Loani and Robbie cover all of your screen industry news from September, digging into the Screen Queensland funding cuts, 46 production jobs going at the ABC, and what it means to lose an internal champion on a project. They discuss the reboot-heavy upfronts, the reversal on the ABC Indigenous department, and the new Shared Ground initiative. Plus the Emmys, the Tilly Norwood “interview”, the cancelled Clayton Jacobson ACS workshop, upcoming conference and festival appearances for the team, and what they’ve been watching.
This episode is sponsored by Getty Images, home to market-leading creative and editorial content from the world’s best photographers and videographers.