Independent Film
Programming | Festivals | Distribution | Audiences
My work in independent film has developed over more than a decade, from programming and curating sapphic films for festivals and community events to exhibition, streaming, distribution, film financing and filmmaker education.
What started with programming films for LGBTQ+ audiences has given me hands-on experience across much of a film's journey. I've worked with filmmakers preparing for festivals, curated programmes for different audiences and occasions, acquired and distributed hundreds of independent films, served on festival juries and explored different ways of connecting films with the audiences actively looking for them.
Today, I'm particularly interested in what happens beyond making the film. How does an independent film find its audience? What happens after the festival circuit? Which distribution models actually generate revenue? How can filmmakers retain more control and make informed decisions about their rights? And how can financing, marketing, festivals and distribution work together rather than being treated as completely separate stages?
My experience combines practical industry knowledge with something that has been central to my work since long before I entered film: understanding communities and how people discover, engage with and support the things created for them.
Programming & Curation
I've been programming and curating sapphic film for festivals, screenings and events since 2016, building on several years of LGBTQ+ community events and audience engagement before that.
My approach to programming starts with the audience. Rather than simply grouping films by genre, I enjoy creating programmes around experiences, conversations and communities, whether that's coming out, family, identity, faith, ageing, intersectionality or wider social issues.
I've curated programmes for film festivals, community screenings, corporate events and key dates in the LGBTQ+ calendar, including Pride and LGBT+ History Month. Through Planet Nation, Lesflicks and now Safflicks, that work has developed from individual screenings into physical, virtual and hybrid festival programmes.
For me, curation isn't simply choosing good films. It's understanding why these particular films should be shown together, who should see them and what conversation they might create.
Festivals & Exhibition
My festival experience began through programming sapphic film at LFEST and has since developed across physical screenings, pop-ups, virtual festivals, hybrid programmes and international events.
When COVID made physical screenings impossible, we moved quickly online and delivered around 140 virtual events during 2020. That experience fundamentally changed how I thought about film exhibition, demonstrating that specialist festivals didn't necessarily have to choose between creating an intimate community experience and reaching audiences internationally.
That thinking eventually contributed to the launch of Safflicks in 2023, creating a dedicated identity for the festival and exhibition work that had developed through Planet Nation and Lesflicks.
I've also experienced festivals from the other side of the table, including serving as a juror for Out On Film and speaking at Frameline International Film Festival on unconventional distribution.
I'm particularly interested in flexible models of exhibition: taking films to existing communities, working with partner organisations and venues, and using virtual access where appropriate rather than assuming every festival needs to follow the same model.
Distribution & Audiences
My route into distribution came through audiences.
For years I heard filmmakers say they couldn't find an audience for their films while LGBTQ+ women were simultaneously telling me they couldn't find films representing them. The films existed and the audiences existed, but somewhere between production, festivals, marketing and distribution they weren't connecting.
That disconnect ultimately led me to found Lesflicks in 2019.
Since then, I've worked hands-on across acquisition, rights, streaming, release strategy, audience development and monetisation, connecting hundreds of independent films with audiences around the world. That practical experience has also exposed me to the challenges filmmakers face when navigating distribution agreements, rights, sales agents and platforms.
I'm particularly interested in transparent and sustainable approaches to distribution. A distribution deal isn't valuable simply because a film has been "picked up". What matters is what the distributor is actually going to do, how the film will reach an audience, what rights are being exchanged and whether there is a realistic route to revenue.
Increasingly, my work is focused on helping filmmakers understand those questions before they sign something they may spend years trying to undo.
Financing, Strategy & Filmmaker Support
Working in distribution made me increasingly interested in decisions being made much earlier in a film's life.
Distribution shouldn't be something filmmakers first think about when the festival run is ending. Decisions around audience, rights, marketing, financing and partnerships made during development and production can have consequences much later.
That thinking contributed to the launch of SapphicIFF in 2021, initially as an investment initiative and now providing wider education and support around the business of independent film.
Our first investment, Australian series Love Me Lex, provided a particularly useful opportunity to test that joined-up approach. Alongside investment, the project received strategic, marketing and distribution support and subsequently secured further funding from Screen Australia. During its first 27 months of commercial release, it generated more than US$20,000 in net royalties for its creators and repaid its original investors in full.
One successful project doesn't prove that every independent film will generate a commercial return. What it does demonstrate is why financing, audiences and distribution need to be part of the same conversation much earlier.
Industry
Festival Programmer | Festival Director | Juror | Distributor | Exhibitor | Speaker
- Frameline International Film Festival 2026
Speaker, Unconventional Distribution - SapphicIFF 2023-present
Founder - Safflicks 2023-present
Festival Director - Out On Film 2022
Festival Juror - LFEST 2016-2022
Programmer
PROGRAMMER & CURATOR
Programming sapphic film since 2016
SPEAKER
Frameline International Film Festival, Unconventional Distribution
FESTIVAL & EXHIBITION
Physical, virtual and hybrid festivals and screenings
FESTIVAL JUROR
DISTRIBUTOR
Hands-on acquisition, rights, streaming and monetisation
FILM FINANCING
SapphicIFF and Love Me Lex
FILMMAKER EDUCATION
Festivals, marketing, rights, distribution and financing
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
15+ years understanding specialist LGBTQ+ communities