Patrons & Board

Patrons

AFF is honoured to have Australian screen industry legends Margaret Pomeranz AM and David Stratton AM as our Festival Patrons. 

After spending 27 years on television as Australia’s most beloved film critics, Margaret and David retired from hosting At the Movies in 2014. Their contribution to the Australian screen industry was acknowledged by AFF in 2018 when they were awarded the Don Dunstan Award. Margaret and David continue to be a much loved and hugely respected voice in the Australian screen landscape, and their continued support of the Festival is tremendously appreciated.  

David and I are proud and excited to be part of the always fabulous, always interesting and always challenging Adelaide Film Festival. No wonder it’s ranked amongst the top 50 festivals in the world.

– Margaret Pomeranz AM 

Board

Sandra Sdraulig AM is a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience as a film and TV executive in both the commercial and cultural sectors of the Australian film, TV and digital media industry. She is an ICF accredited Executive Coach and established and operates Through the Roof: Executive Coaching for Women. Previously, she was the producer & presenter of Friday on My Mind, a weekly AFTRS live interview program where screen practitioners across film, TV and new media discussed their work, ideas and career trajectories. Sandra was formerly the CEO of Film Victoria (2002 to 2011); Executive & Artistic Director of the Melbourne International Film Festival (1996-2000); Film Distribution & Marketing Manager for Palace Entertainment and Distribution Manager for the Australian Film Institute. She has also been a Board Member of the South Australian Art Gallery and the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. Is currently Deputy Chair of Screen Canberra and Vice President of the Natalie Miller Fellowship. Sandra has had a long-standing association with the Adelaide Film Festival, having developed the original plan for its establishment in 2001. In 2012 she was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) for her leadership and contribution to the Australian film and TV industry.

Andrew Mackie and longtime business partner Richard Payten have released more than 200 films and generated over $300 million at the box office. The films they have acquired and distributed have won 7 Palme d’Ors and been nominated for 48 Academy Awards, and include The King’s Speech, Boy, Samson & Delilah, Balibo, An Education, The White Ribbon, Strictly Ballroom, Look Both Ways, Good Night And Good Luck, Volver, Secrets & Lies, Dead Man, Amour, Quartet and Rabbit Proof Fence. In 2007 he and Payten co-founded independent distributor Transmission Films, alongside the Oscar-winning production company See-Saw Films (The King’s Speech, Shame, Top of the Lake.) Prior to Transmission, they were Joint Managing Directors of Dendy Films. As an Executive Producer his credits include Tracks, Oyster Farmer, Candy, Mary And Max, Charlie & Boots and The Eye Of The Storm. Andrew joined the AFF Board in 2014.

As a Partner with PwC, Maria leads the Adelaide People Business focussed on the provision of taxation and HR related services associated with employment. Whilst having a background in general taxation and broader business advisory, Maria has specialist expatriate tax technical skills and extensive experience dealing with multinationals in relation to their global workforce. Maria has focused on these areas for 17 years whilst based in PwC’s London, Sydney and now Adelaide offices. Maria has extensive experience in working with clients across a number of industries including the entertainment and media industry, given the movement of its workforce across jurisdictions. Maria has also been a contributor to PwC’s annual Outlook publication focussed on outlining global trends in the media and entertainment industry. Maria joined the AFF Board in 2014.

Martha Coleman brings with her domestic and international experience in both physical and executive production of films and television. Her producing career began with the seminal award winning film Praise (Fipresci, TIFF, 1999). For 8 years Martha was based in London, where she was head of development at Icon and head of creative affairs/ Executive Producer at Newline/ EFD joint venture company Material Entertainment. In 2009 Martha returned to Australia to take up the role of head of development at the newly formed federal agency Screen Australia, where she was responsible for the strategic direction of the department and sat on the production investment and producer offset committees until she left in 2014 to return to producing, setting up production company Revlover in partnership with commercials production company Revolver. Revlover has film and television projects in development with eOne, Transmission Films, all3media the ABC and Stan and was awarded Screen Australia Enterprise Funding in 2016. The company has just completed Diary of an Uber Driver, a comedy drama television series for ABC and all3media, which will air in 2019.

Sandy is a first-generation Australian of Dutch, French, Portuguese and Ceylonese descent. Her parents gave her a deep-rooted understanding of business, an adventurous spirit, commercial acumen and a love of the arts. Sandy is married to Gregg Mitchell, a graphic designer and artist, and has two daughters, and a son.

Sandy was elected as an Area Councillor in the 2015 by-election and served as Deputy Lord Mayor from June 2017 to November 2018. She has had a career in both the public and private enterprise, not-for-profits, and Local and State government, including three years as General Manager City Culture and Community Services for the City of Adelaide.

Sandy has contributed to the success of Adelaide’s thriving arts and culture community for more than two decades, including having been CEO of the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival, as well as producer of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas in 2018. She has been on numerous boards including the Adelaide Convention Bureau, Premier’s Climate Change Council, Adelaide Film Festival, Capital City Committee, as well as a trustee of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust and Chairs a disability housing solutions organisation Aliro Ltd.

As Lord Mayor, Sandy is keen to keep costs low for residents and businesses by reducing red tape, strengthening Adelaide’s global reputation for culture, climate change action, and entrepreneurialism, preserving Adelaide’s heritage, and enhancing the city’s precincts and main streets for the benefit of local small business owners and the community.

Anton Andreacchio is a South Australian producer and entrepreneur, working across new screen technologies and applications.

Anton has produced pioneering works in virtual reality, including Summation of Force, Stuck In The Middle With You, and Once Upon A Time In the Western Suburbs, and founded VR/AR studio Jumpgate. Since 2014, Jumpgate has also produced the first VR Symphony Orchestra Concert in the world with the Adelaide Symphony, and utilises the technology for training projects in high performance sport and construction industries.

Jumpgate has sponsored and supported the Adelaide Film Festival since 2015, as well as the Australian International Documentary Conference (2018), Melbourne International Film Festival (2017, 2018), the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Australian String Quartet.

In addition to Jumpgate, Anton has founded three other screen businesses: Convergen, an animation company that specialises in infrastructure visualisation and has completed over 400 projects, production company Double Bishop, and data science consultancy, GMTI Consulting.

Anton is on the inaugural Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, which has supported the launch of the new South Australian Office of the Chief Entrepreneur.