TEAM
JAMES CRAWLEY
WRITER & DIRECTOR
Starting his professional life as an on-set grip, James Crawley is now a founder, owner and Creative Director of Common Ventures; an established creative agency based in Sydney and Los Angeles. James is a writer by trade and is obsessed with brilliant brand storytelling that evokes an emotional response. He’s a past winner of 30under30, has been on GRUEN on the ABC and has won a tonne of ad awards. Most satisfyingly, he’s made the jump back to the film side, now an award-winning commercial director, winning Mumbrella’s TV Ad of the Year for the Australian Federal Police’s Missing Persons Day in 2019.
James' debut feature VOLCANO MAN premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival where it came 3rd in the Audience Award.
TIM RUSSELL
WRITER & PRODUCER
Tim Russell is an AWGIE award winning writer & producer in film, TV & podcasts. In August 2022, Tim's debut feature VOLCANO MAN had its World Premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival where it came 3rd in the Audience Award. He is the writer & producer of the documentary podcast THE ELEMENTS, hosted by Stuart Diver and audio produced by Gold Walkley winner Slade Gibson (THE TEACHER’S PET). THE ELEMENTS reached #4 on Apple's Australian Charts, cracked the Documentary Top 50 in the US & UK and is in development as a TV series. Tim's short film HIGHWAY, directed by Vanessa Gazy (ECHOES, EDEN), sold to Amazon Prime, was nominated by the ADG for Best Direction in a short film 2018 and Tim is serving as an EP on the feature adaptation from Goalpost Pictures (THE INVISIBLE MAN). In November 2022, Tim was announced as One to Watch by the Screen Producers Association.
Tim has a background in film development having worked for Academy Award winning River Road Entertainment (TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN), Porchlight Films (THE KING, ANIMAL KINGDOM), Cold Iron Pictures (THE AMAZING JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY, SWISS ARMY MAN) and Hopscotch Features (SAVING MR BANKS, THE WATER DIVINER).
RHIAN SKIRVING
PRODUCER
Rhian is an experienced writer, producer and director with a diverse body of work, first joining forces with GoodThing to create OFF COUNTRY, which followed the lives of Indigenous scholarship students through a year boarding at Geelong Grammar School. With Lizzette Atkins, Rhian produced MY MOTHER’S LOST CHILDREN for ABC and BBC Storyville and OUTBACK RABBIS for SBS’s Untold Australia.
Directing highlights include the AACTA nominated MATILDA AND ME for ABC, feature doc ROCK N ROLL NERD charting Tim Minchin’s meteoric rise to comic superstar and THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS exploring the science of altruism, winning the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism.
STEVEN SANDER
WRITER & EDITOR
Steven is an Emmy Award-winning editor (30 for 30: OF MIRACLES AND MEN, 2016 Outstanding Long Sports Documentary) with twelve year’s experience writing and cutting feature drama and documentary projects. His films have screened theatrically, on major television networks (Seven, NBC, BBC, Sky and Channel 4) and streaming services (Discovery+, Disney+).
His debut feature, NEW TOWN KILLERS received three BAFTA Scotland Nominations (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor) and more recently MY BEAUTIFUL STUTTER won five best documentary awards during its film festival run. In 2021, Steven edited the Australian feature documentary BEYOND THE WASTELAND released by Umbrella Entertainment. Steven also writes and directs and has won awards for his commercials and documentaries. He combines his work as a feature film editor with commercials directing.
NICK BATZIAS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Nick Batzias has twenty years of experience in the film industry across acquisition, distribution and production. In 2018, he founded GoodThing Productions after 15 years at Madman Entertainment (MME) and Head of Madman Production Company (MPC). GoodThing focuses on Narrative and Factual projects for screens big and small. At MME he worked on the release of over three- hundred feature and documentary films across various rights exploitation. As a key part of his role, Nick has assessed hundreds of scripts, treatments and rough cuts with a view to acquiring the films for distribution in ANZ. At MPC, he produced a range of critically acclaimed and award-winning films, both narrative and documentary.
Most recently, Nick has produced the award-winning feature documentaries 2040 with director Damon Gameau, AUSTRALIAN DREAM, (winner best feature documentary AACTA Award), the dark, comic feature narrative BELOW and NITRAM directed by Justin Kurzel, screened in Official Competition at Cannes, where it Won Best Actor, and comedy NUDE TUESDAY, which is an NZ co production.
VIRGINIA WHITWELL
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Virginia Whitwell is a highly experienced film practitioner and producer having been in the industry for over twenty years. She is the Head of Production and Partner at GoodThing Productions after five years as Head of Production at Madman Production Company.
She has co-produced and produced many scripted and factual projects including NITRAM, THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM, THAT SUGAR FILM, SAVE YOUR LEGS!, A MONTH OF SUNDAYS. Hailing from the UK, as a freelancer she worked on numerous productions all over the world. Her extensive production experience includes projects for Warner Bros, HBO, Lucasfilm, EON, 20th Century Fox and Universal.