access to opportunities matters for people living outside major cities
In the ongoing effort to close the distance between regional ambition and national opportunity, Screenworks has named Lisa Rose as its new chief executive, effective July 1st, 2026. Rose brings eight years of festival leadership from Queer Screen, where she guided the Mardi Gras Film Festival through a period of meaningful growth. Her appointment arrives as the organisation marks 25 years of building professional pathways for screen practitioners living and working beyond Australia's major cities — a quiet but consequential mission that asks whether geography should determine destiny.
- Regional screen workers have long faced a structural disadvantage — distance from the industry's centres of power creates real gaps in access, networks, and opportunity.
- Screenworks, the national body dedicated to closing that gap, now enters a leadership transition at a moment when its 25-year mission is both celebrated and tested.
- Lisa Rose arrives with a proven record of expanding industry programs and forging partnerships with government and cultural institutions during her tenure at Queer Screen.
- Her appointment is timed to a pivotal gathering — the Regional to Global Screen Forum in Lennox Head this September, the largest annual assembly of regional screen professionals in Australia.
- The organisation is signalling not just continuity but an intention to deepen its reach across every state and territory, with a leader who understands the barriers from the inside.
Lisa Rose will become chief executive of Screenworks on July 1st, stepping into leadership of the national body that has spent 25 years building professional pathways for filmmakers, producers, and crew working outside Australia's major cities. It is a role that carries both operational weight and a larger purpose — the belief that where a person lives should not limit what they can achieve in the screen industry.
Rose comes from eight years as Festival Director at Queer Screen, where she expanded the Mardi Gras Film Festival's industry programming, strengthened government and funding relationships, and built connections across cultural institutions. Before that, she served on Queer Screen's Board as Co-chair. Screenworks chair Tracey Mair described her as a natural fit — someone with both the operational discipline and the genuine industry commitment the organisation needs.
Growing up in Tasmania, Rose has long understood the particular challenges of working at a distance from Sydney and Melbourne — the difficulty of accessing opportunities, building networks, and finding meaningful professional development. She has spoken of joining at what she sees as a pivotal moment, and committed to supporting screen workers wherever they choose to live and work.
Her arrival coincides with Screenworks preparing for its flagship Regional to Global Screen Forum, set for September 9th and 10th in Lennox Head, New South Wales — the largest gathering of regional screen professionals in the country. After a quarter-century of skills training, career development, and networking initiatives, Rose's appointment signals the organisation's intention not simply to continue that work, but to expand it.
Lisa Rose will take over as chief executive of Screenworks on July 1st, stepping into a role that oversees the national body dedicated to supporting screen workers across regional Australia. The appointment marks a significant moment for an organisation that has spent a quarter-century building pathways for filmmakers, producers, and crew members working outside the major metropolitan centres.
Rose arrives with eight years of experience as Festival Director at Queer Screen, where she managed the strategic and operational direction of the Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival through a period of expansion. During her tenure, she grew the festival's industry development programming, strengthened relationships with government agencies and funding bodies, and built connections across cultural institutions. Before taking on the festival director role in 2017, she served as Co-chair of Queer Screen's Board.
Tracey Mair, who chairs Screenworks, described the appointment as a natural fit for the organisation's needs. Rose brings both the operational discipline and genuine commitment to the screen industry that Screenworks requires as it continues its work, Mair said. Her track record of building programs, forging partnerships, and creating professional pathways for screen practitioners positions her well to lead the organisation forward.
Rose, who grew up in Tasmania, has long followed Screenworks' work with particular attention to its commitment to practitioners living beyond Sydney and Melbourne. She understands the real barriers that distance creates—the difficulty of accessing opportunities, building professional networks, and finding quality professional development when you're not in a major city. In a statement, she expressed enthusiasm about joining at what she called a pivotal moment, and committed to working with the board, staff, and industry to support screen workers regardless of where they choose to live and work.
The timing of Rose's arrival is significant. Screenworks is preparing for its flagship Regional to Global Screen Forum, scheduled for September 9th and 10th in Lennox Head, New South Wales. The event represents the largest gathering of regional screen professionals in Australia. Founded in 2000, Screenworks has spent the last 25 years running career development programs, skills training, and networking initiatives designed to build a diverse talent pipeline of regional film and television workers across every state and territory. Rose's appointment signals the organisation's intention to deepen and expand that work.
Citas Notables
Lisa brings exactly the combination of organisational rigour and genuine passion for the screen industry that aligns with Screenworks' vision— Tracey Mair, Screenworks Chair
I understand how important access to opportunities, networks and professional development can be for people living outside major metropolitan centres— Lisa Rose
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What makes this appointment significant enough to matter beyond the industry itself?
Screenworks operates in a space most people don't think about—the screen workers who aren't in Sydney or Melbourne. For 25 years, they've been building infrastructure for those people. Rose's appointment suggests they're ready to scale that work.
Why does her background at Queer Screen matter here?
She didn't just run a festival. She built relationships with government, funding bodies, cultural institutions. She expanded programming. That's exactly what a regional screen body needs—someone who understands how to create access and opportunity through institutional partnerships.
She's from Tasmania. Is that just a nice detail, or does it matter?
It matters because she understands the problem from lived experience. She knows what it feels like to be outside the centre. That's not something you can fake in a role like this.
What's the Regional to Global Screen Forum, and why does it matter that she's arriving just before it?
It's their flagship event—the largest gathering of regional screen professionals in Australia. It's happening in September. She's arriving in July. She'll have two months to understand the organisation before leading them into their biggest moment of the year.
What does Screenworks actually do?
Career development, skills training, networking. They're building a pipeline of film and television talent across every state and territory. They're trying to ensure that where you live doesn't determine whether you can have a screen career.