The Journey To Your First Feature

Amy Wang  is an award-winning Chinese-Australian writer/director. Shortly after graduating from AFI, Amy’s short Unnatural was awarded Gold at the Young Director Awards at Cannes Lions 2018. From there, Amy wrote on many features including Crazy Rich Asians 2, and The Sculptor. Her TV credits include: writer/producer on The Brothers Sun for Netflix, starring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, and writer on the limited series From Scratch for Netflix, starring Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña. 

Emma Hough Hobbs (she/they) is a queer artist from Adelaide. They're a filmmaker, animator and production designer. They co-wrote and co-directed their Teddy Award winning debut feature film Lesbian Space Princess, which premiered in the 2025 Berlinale Panorama program. Emma's previous short On Film was in competition at SXSW Sydney 2023. As a props master they have worked on projects such as A24’s Talk To Me and Gold starring Zac Efron.

Leela Varghese (she/her) is an Australian writer and director. She co-wrote and directed her debut feature, Lesbian Space Princess, which was selected for the Panorama section of Berlinale 2025, where it won the 39th Teddy Award. Leela’s short film I’m the Most Racist Person I Know premiered in the Narrative Short Competition at SXSW Austin 2025, where it won the Special Jury Award. She also has an accomplished career in television, and an award-winning career as a musical comedian.

Sophie Somerville is a writer and director based in Melbourne, Australia. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2019. Her short Peeps (2019) premiered at Telluride Film Festival and has had a successful run at various festivals including Sydney Film Festival. Her latest short LINDA 4 EVA (2023) was selected at Sydney Film Festival where it won Best Director as part of the Dendy Awards for Short FIlms.