Global Connections Panelists

Ruth Borgobello

Ruth Borgobello is a writer/director. Ruth’s debut feature, THE SPACE BETWEEN, was the first official co-production between Italy and Australia, and Australia’s candidate for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2018 Academy Awards. Ruth is currently developing three original TV series, including one with Roadshow Rough Diamond, and her next feature.

Carmen Knox

Carmen Knox is the Director of Craft Services, an online network and support system for emerging screenwriters and directors across the world, founded by Emmy-nominated producer Nicky Weinstock (BRIDESMAIDS, SEVERANCE). With over a decade of experience in scripted development, producing and literary management in the U.S., Carmen is passionate about forging pathways for underrepresented Australian voices abroad.

Nahyeon Lee

Nahyeon Lee is a writer, director and theatre producer of Korean descent based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. She has a Master of Arts in Drama Directing in Screen Production from the University of Auckland and is one director of KĀINGA (2022). Recently, she wrote THE FIRST PRIME-TIME ASIAN SITCOM, debuting with SILO Theatre in late 2022. She embeds herself in stage and screen projects that strive to dismantle the hegemony through genre, form and narratives of identity.

Kerry Warkia

Kerry Warkia is a producer who has been at the forefront of some of New Zealand’s most innovative content for film and television. She is the producer of ground-breaking films WARU (2017), VAI (2019) and KĀINGA (2022). Kerry was acknowledged as “Woman to Watch” at the 2014 NZ WIFT Awards and was awarded the SPADA Independent Producer of the Year Award in 2017. Kerry is currently packaging her fifth feature film, mentoring young female producers and working on her slate of local and international feature films and series. 

Ester Harding (moderator)

Ester Harding is a screen industry development and production executive, who has worked across documentary, drama, and multiplatform projects. Currently, she works with Mind The Gap Film Finance, an Offset cashflow lender with a positive impact decision-making framework. Prior to this, Ester has worked primarily in scripted development, most recently as Head of Drama at independent production company Sweetshop & Green, and as a Development Executive at Screen Australia, where she oversaw narrative features, episodic and extended reality projects, and the fostering of emerging talent.